8 3D Printers you can buy for the same price as an Xbox or less.

During Dr. Phil Reeves talk at the 2015 International CES 3D Printing conference he suggested that if 3D printers were going to become a true consumer product the price would need to be similar to that of a games console.

So here’s eight 3D printers that are available to either buy now or pre-order for the $349/£329 RRP of an Xbox One.

Tiko - From $179

Starting with one of the newest of the bunch is the Tiko – Unibody 3D Printer, which is currently available fully assembled for $179 on Kickstarter.  TCT was invited to a fringe CES event to see the unveiling of the printer back in January. The team behind Tiko have worked tirelessly to produce a printer that not only looks like a home appliance – with its sleek unibody structure and enclosed printing platform -  but is totally consumer friendly; from the absurdly low price to the plug-and-play functionality.

Da Vinci Jr

XYZPrinting are on a quest to become a total consumer brand, the company – a subsidiary of huge OEM supplier Kinpo Group – launched their latest FFF printer at CES 2015. XYZ have aimed their scaled-down printer at homes and schools, claiming it never needs calibrating and the filament loading is fully automatic. The price point for the Da Vinci Jr is bang on the Xbox One money at $349 and is due for release at some stage during this year.

Micro 3D Printer

The King of Kickstarter. As it stands M3D's Micro is the most successfully funded 3D printer in the history of the crowd funding platform - garnering a whopping $3.4m after only seeking $50k. The early bird price for the plug-and-play FFF 3D printer was $199 to the first 250 backers, who have all now received their machine, the current pre-order price is still on the Xbox threshold of $349. Early reviews of the printer have been largely positive, this quote is fairly reflective of those we have seen so far: 

Peachy Printer

Without doubt the most unusual of the bunch; Peachy Printer came from the mind of inventor Rylan Grayston, whose $100 system uses technology based on stereolithogrpahy and is designed for the user to build themselves. The printer works by turning a 3D model into an audio waveform that is played out through your computer's headphone jack, this waveform controls a set of electromagnet mirrors, which use a drip system to build up a model out of a selection of resins. The Peachy Printer did have its sceptics but such is the drive of the founder that the Peachy Printer is still going strong and they even updated their Kickstarter backers this week. 

New Matter's MOD-t

The MOD-t was proudly on display at CES 2015 as an Innovations Nominee, New Matter's stand backed onto a smart home display, which is apt because New Matter's 3D Printer looks very much like an item you'd see in a smart home brochure. The FFF printer broke new ground when it launched last year with a staggeringly low early bird price of $149, but even the current price of $349 is cheap for a printer that involved product design gurus frog, who have previously worked with the likes of Apple, Disney and Intel.

Genesis 3D Printer

Just launched - and smashing through their $45k goal in less than 24 hours - is X3D Machine's Genesis printer. Although it is available in both dual and single extruders the USP to this particular list is that the Genesis Duo model comes in right on the $349 nose and is the only dual extruding 3D printer available at this price. The Genesis Duo's specs are comparable to that of a MakerBot Replicator 2 but at a fraction of the cost. Printing in two colours or printing two identical items at the same time on a heated bed, with a 12 x 12 x 12 inch build volume are very appealing features and show just how much the cost of 3D printing is falling. 

Printrbot Simple Kit

The next two 3D printers in the list are build-it-yourself machines that have been around for some time but the fact that they're still amongst some of the most popular printers goes to show just how good they are. First up is the prtinrbot Simple Makers Kit, which is priced at $349 and comes unassembled. If you just check out the 3D Printing Google Plus Community alone you'll see praise aplenty for Brook Drum's company. Because of Brook's dedication to creating products that work and his larger than life personality he nows stars in the Discovery Science programme All-American Makers.

RepRap Huxley Duo

Truth be told, if you're sourcing the parts yourself and you know what you're doing there's probably an inordinate amount of combinations of parts you could use in order to create a machine that prints three-dimensional objects for less than the cost of an Xbox. But if you're looking for a ready made RepRap kit then the only model that fits under the price bracket is the Huxley Duo, which is the third incarnation of the DIY RepRap troop. Creator of the RepRap project Dr Adrian Bowyer runs the online shop RepRap Pro, where a Huxley Duo kit can be picked up for £290 + VAT, which technically takes it over my original threshold unless, of course, you're setting up a small business...