Classification of Different Types of 3D Printers

Asking what different types of 3D printers there are can get you a variety of seemingly different & confusing answers. That is because there are a number of different criteria are often used to classify 3D printers.

If you simply ask about the different types of 3D printers – you might get an answer based on a one criteria such as the technology employed one time, and a completely different answer the next time you ask based on something like the coordinate system the 3D printer uses to position the printer head.

Common Characteristics Used to Classify 3D Printers

3D printers on the market today differ in terms of: 

1. The technology the printers employ to successively lay down layers of material, 
2. The coordinate system the printers use to position the printing head
3. The materials the printers are able to use to print an object,
4. The number of etruders the printer has, and 
5. The practical applications for 3D printing technology, or what it is used for.

All of these primary differences, or characteristics, are what are commonly used to classify the printers into different “types” of 3D printers.

Below, is a table showing the different types of 3D printers based on Technology, Coordinate System, Material and Application.

Multiple Type 3D Printers

Most 3D printers are usually classified as being a specific type in EACH of the above columns. For example, we have a Qidi Technology iFast 3D Printer that would be appropriately characterized as a:

1. Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) or Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) 3D printer if we were describing it’s type by the technology it employes– since it melts a plastic filament layer by layer to physically create the 3D model.
2. A cartesian 3D printer – since it uses a cartesian coordinate system (X, Y & Z) to determine where to move the printer head.
3. A thermoplastic 3D printer – since the material it prints with is a meltable plastic filament. Since it is capable of printing with 2 different materials by merit of it having 2 extruders, and one of those materials could be water soluble supports – it could also be classified as a multimaterial/water soluble support 3D printer.
4. A Dependent Dual Extruder 3D Printer – since the # of extruders it has 2 extruders that are on the same print head and are NOT capable of independent movement.
5. A Hobbyist/Enthusiast or Prototyping 3D printer – since that is what it actually used for, or its application.

Conclusion

There are many different types of 3D printers. A 3D printer’s distinguishing characteristic that usually leads to its classification as one type of 3D printer or another is usually based on one of several things:

• the type of technology it uses to print (Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), Stereolithography (SLA), Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) Digital Light Processing (DLP) Multi Jet Fusion (MJF)),
• what moves (i.e. the extruders, build plate or combination of the two), and how it moves (according to a cartesian coordinate system with an X, Y & Z axis, Core XY, Delta, Polar…),
• the material it uses to create the 3D model,
• or the application for which 3D printer is actually used for.

I hope this helps clarify in your mind all the different types of 3D printers that are out there today. As we know – this is a rapidly developing technology, and I am sure there will be new types of printers that spring into existence in the future.

Sincerely,