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According to hands-on testing from Thomas Sanladerer, aka Made with Layers on YouTube, a dead-cheap $77 3D printer on AliExpress is somehow still functional, just built as cheaply as possible. Considering most budget 3D printers start with pricing of $160 USD or higher, this is a genuinely impressive feat. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you should buy it, even if your needs are entry-level.

Below, we’ll be discussing Sanladerer’s hands-on impressions with the $77 EasyThreed K9 3D printer and try to help you gleam whether you should opt for it or save up for a more expensive model from ourBest Budget 3D Printers orBest 3D Printers lists, instead.

First, the pros. The Easythreed K9 3D printer is obviously insanely cheap by industry standards, and the benefits don’t stop there. It’s also pretty lightweight due to mostly plastic construction and uses hollow rods, which reduces shipping costs and is ultimately an effective cost saver, since it still works. There’s also easy assembly, which is mostly a tool less sliding of parts together, though some screws will need to be manually twisted or screwed in.

There are some notable downsides observed by the Made with Layers video, though. The Easythreed K9 only supports 250 g PLA spools, which means you’ll most likely end up using loose filaments instead. Actually running the printer results in unpleasant smells from the cooling fan, which only get worse when you start an actual print— enough for Sanladerer to leave the room for his two test prints.

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There’s also half a millimeter of backlash in the motor, which is a miniscule inaccuracy but an inaccuracy nonetheless. While the two 3D prints in the video look generally smooth, close analysis at 4K reveal lots of small bumps on what should be smooth surfaces, most likely caused by this issue.

Finally, the 3D printer firmware claims to be using a Robin Lite mainboard but is most likely something else emulating it for compatibility, since it’s using a different CPU. This generally seems to work regardless, but is observed by Sanladerer in the video and could be an important detail.

Overall, the Made with Layers video doesn’t present the Easythreed K9 3D printer as a truly optimal way into entry-level 3D printing. We would still recommend checking our list ofindustry-leading 3D printers , particularly if you can afford to spend even $150 or so. But that 3D printing is even possible for less than $80 is truly impressive, and bodes well for the future of the 3D printing industry and businesses aligned to it.