Top 10 3D printers as reviewed by Make: magazine

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Make: magazine recently did a comprehensive review of 26 different 3D printers.

It chose 10 printers as Standouts:

Best in shootout print quality / overall winner: Ultimaker 2
Thin wallet win: Printrbot Simple Metal
Most maker machine: Lulzbot Taz 4
Feature packed: Replicator 5th Generation
Happy mediums: Zortrax and Ditto Pro
Rookie of the year: BEE THE FIRST
Smart software integration: Deltamaker
Reliable performer: Afinia Up Plus 2 (a.k.a. Up Plus 2)
Most upgradable: Ultimaker Original+

We’ve personally tested a number of these machines and have had the best overall experience with the Afinia/Up printers using ABS plastic (especially using the Zortrax filament).

Buy your copy of the Make: 42 Annual 3D Printing Guide.

Makers Empire: Better learning by design

Makers Empire helps K-8 teachers teach Design Thinking, STEM and 21st-century learning skills using 3D printing. Our pioneering 3D solutions for schools include 3D modelling software, over 150 lesson plans aligned with international standards and professional development. With Makers Empire, engaged students learn how to solve real-world problems and make their world better.

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Testimonials
"The software is fantastic! Very user friendly. The students enjoyed beginning with the challenges and it was a useful way for them to jump right in! ... The students are seeing the real life applications of math and engineering in the real world... (but) I think the best part so far has been the spatial reasoning - students are solving the problems they encounter and so I can really see some critical thinking happening."

Maria (Mimi) Brown, Program Support Teacher
St. Joseph Catholic School, Ontario, Canada

From the beginning, the students had no trouble. They absolutely loved it... The students' favorite part was going from the computer screen to something they can hold in their hand...It’s always better if you can give students an authentic reason to communicate."

Sandra Wiseman, Library Media & Technology Integration Specialist
Woodsdale Elementary School, West Virginia, USA

"After having tried several softwares I can say hands down that Makers Empire has been the easiest for my students in grades 3-5 to access and manipulate."

Christopher Burdman, STEM Teacher
Joseph P Tynan Elementary School, Boston, USA

"Software is great, very user friendly... Kids loved it."

Bryan Couts, Technology Teacher
Titusville Middle School, Pennsylvania, USA

“Redlands has been using Makers Empire to support the students’ creative writing efforts. Students were asked to design a character or an object using the Makers Empire software. After this creative process, students had to justify the design attributes of their character or object in writing. Students became actively involved in the creative process which helped inform their writing process. Makers Empire is a great hook before a writing task.”

Shireen Winrow, E-learning Facilitator
Redlands School, Redlands, NSW

"A roadmap to start 3D printing at our school."

Giovanna Iannicelli, Teacher
St Mary's College, SA

"As a school, this has been a game changer in the 3D design game for our students of all ages. This is a great design and creation tool that teachers and students can use to be innovative and share ideas with a vibrant community of makers. With Makers Empire, students learn how to identify needs and opportunities and then create, prototype, test and refine designs of solutions using 3D printing."

Craig Kemp, Head of Educational Technology
Stamford American International School, Singapore

"Exploring 3D objects using the @MakersEmpire software. The students of 2/1N didn’t want to stop and kept asking when can we do it again!"

Samantha Newth, Assistant Principal
North Kellyville Primary School, Kellyville, NSW

“Before I started with Makers Empire I had no idea how 3D printing worked. I avoided coding and anything to do with the DigiSpace... Definitely, do the PD (professional development) from Makers Empire. It was very clear and helped me put 3D printing into practice… I think it’s wonderful for someone who is a bit fearful… it really helped me develop confidence in it.”

Jane Doherty, Teacher Librarian
Kelvin Grove State College, Australia

"I was trying to start 3D printing in our school for a while, but I found it very difficult to start from nothing. I needed a lot of resources and easy access to resources. This program has provided everything that I needed. It was wonderful!... All of my students learned how to use Makers Empire design software during my STEM classes. I used Makers Empire lessons: “Let’s Get Decorated” with 5th-8th grade students and “Mazes” with 8th grade students. They all loved learning about 3D printing... I enjoyed teaching this, observing their enjoyment, learning and looking at their awesome designs,"

Meltem Albayrak DiLeo, Teacher
Holy Trinity Catholic School, Pennsylvania, USA

"I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your session and learning about Makers Empire. Your product is easy to use and beautifully designed. I think teachers are going to love it!"

Cathy Rodriguez
Los Angeles County Office of Education, California, USA

"The students love it. They picked it up very quickly. Now, they are better at it than I am!"

Colleen Small, Media Specialist
Groveland Elementary School, Minnesota, USA

“I’m sending you the very best wishes and enormous gratitude for connecting our students with your learning program. To say this purchase has been transformative might sound like an exaggeration but it’s pretty darn close to the truth."

Mary Bongiovanni, Director of Design Thinking
Pace Academy, Georgia, USA

“Makers Empire is a more student-friendly version of TinkerCAD for your primary kids. It’s so much easier and there are games to teach the kids how to design and how to manoeuvre the build plate… TinkerCAD, Sketchup – they are all for upper grades.”

Robin McGinnis, North/South/Jr. High Lead Teacher – STEAM
Mount Healthy City School District, USA

“The (3D printing) lesson plans are really good. While they’re designed around the Makers Empire software, they’re actually designed around the design cycle. This is important is that it’s actually saying to kids, here’s a design cycle that has these steps in it: you have a thought, you make a plan, you design it, you print it, you check it, and then you go back and you improve it. It's driving kids to think about the design cycle."

Russell Deer, Principal
Braemar College, Woodend, VIC

'I found Makers Empire to be incredibly user-friendly. In particular, it was very “school” friendly. There are very easy processes for children of all ages and literacy levels to log onto their accounts saving so much time and stress... the learning is in the process, not the product. You could very successfully use Makers Empire without ever actually printing anything (but it is a lot more fun and exciting when you can print it!)... All unit plans have direct links to the curriculum including the Digital Technologies curriculum. The deeper I delve into using Makers Empire the more opportunities I see for using maths in an authentic manner, particularly when using the Shaper app with measurements, shapes etc.”

Hajnalka Molloy,Leader of Campus Library and Information Services
Aberfoyle Park Primary Campus, Aberfoyle Park, SA

"Yessss! We have found the perfect application for Elementary Students to design and 3D Print on the iPad. Thank you @MakersEmpire!!

Adam Torrens, Educator
Stamford American International School, Singapore

"I love Makers Empire software. It is great to use with elementary age students... I love teaching students how to design for 3D printing. It’s so fun watching them problem solve to create a certain shape by adding or taking away."

Karen Owen, Technology Teacher
Grace Christian Academy, Tennessee, USA

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