Currently, on Kickstarter, there are over 800 funding propositions containing the term “3D printing”. Below are the top six Kickstarter 3D printer projects. 

However, it is worth noting that just because a product raises a lot of money, it does not mean the product will be successful in the future. If you intend on splashing cash on Kickstarter 3D printer projects, then it is worth being prepared to lose out on money!

1. Kickstarter 3D Printer: The Micro – The First Truly Consumer Printer

Which printer is it? The winner of the most funded 3D printing Kickstarter projects is M3D. This 3D printer boats a low cost, space efficiency and a low power consumption, as well as being pretty quiet.  By September 2015, they had shipped 99% of all of their Kickstarter pledges and you can now even order one of these printers on Amazon with just a quick one week turnaround – all for $449.

Funds raised: They raised over $3.4 million in April of 2014 over the period of a single month. This is extremely impressive considering they only hoped to raise $50,000.

Link: More at the M3D homepage.

2. Kickstarter 3D Printer: Tiko – The Unibody Printer

Which printer is it? This printer cost a very cheap $179 and they claimed it was: “high quality and easy to use, while keeping costs down”. However, the major deliveries were supposed to begin in November of 2015 and there have been delays. They said: “The tolerances we require are simply too challenging for mass production with our (previous) manufacturer – nobody warned us back when we designed and prototyped it.”

All3DP has assembled an in-depth FAQ for the Tiko 3D.

Funds raised: Tiko managed to raise over $2.9 million in April of 2015. All of this was done over a single month exceeding their original target of $100,000.

Link: Right over here. 

3. Kickstarter 3D Printer: 3Doodler – The World’s First 3D Printing Pen

What was funded? The money went towards creating the world’s first 3D Printing Pen. This design uses ABS plastic and it allows you to actually draw models in the air (and for the less artistic, on paper which you can then stick together).

The price of this gadget is $50 a unit. It saw the end of the campaign in November 2014 and all of their pens were shipped on time!

Funds raised: The 3Doodler raised $2.3 million in March 2013.

Link: Here’s the company homepage. 

4. Kickstarter 3D Printer: 3Doodler 2.0 – The World’s First 3D Printing Pen, Reinvented

What is it? It’s the improved version of the 3Doodler. this was a second campaign from the same company which raised $1.5 million to produce a pen that is much slimmer, lighter, quieter and even easier to use.

Funds raised: It was the second campaign from the same company that raised $1.5 million to produce a pen that is much slimmer, lighter, quieter and even easier to use.

The Tiko team created The 3Doodler 2.0 – this was a second campaign from the same company which raised $1.5 million to produce a pen that is much slimmer, lighter, quieter and even easier to use.

For this project, they also managed to make sure everything ran smoothly – you can buy one of these for just $99 on Amazon.

Link: Right here.

5. Kickstarter 3D Printer: FLUX All-in-One 3D Printer

Which 3D printer is it? By reaching their goal, they completed a “stretch goal” which aimed to include wi-fi and even real-time monitoring – as this has been achieved it will be interesting to see if they pull through. The cost of this promise was just $499. In their last update in December 2015 – they were expecting to begin “fulfilling Kickstarter rewards” in July 2015. However, no printers have been shipped yet.

Funds raised: The Flux managed to raise $1.6 million in December of 2014 to build their “all in one” 3D printer.

Link: Right here.

6. Kickstarter 3D Printer: The Buccaneer – The Pirate that Sank

What happened? When it comes to 3D printing, the Buccaneer was everbodys darling in 2013. However, no product materialized. It has now been over two years and the most recent news was an update in October 2015 stating: “What we are doing is stopping building too many of the current machine, go back into serious hardware mode, and build a machine that we can fulfill backers within cost and also to build a healthy foundation for the company.”

Funds raised: The Buccaneer raised $1.4 million in June 2013.

Link: Here’s the homepage.