What are 3D pens?
3D Pens are magic wands that let you turn what you draw into a 3-dimensional object. Imagine that, you can now take a portable 3D printer on hand, how accurate the object you can illustrate depends on your drawing skills and imagination. For these reasons, the 3D pen is pretty prevalent among little artists and even the people who love craft in a creative approach. Here is our comprehensive review of 3 popular brands of 3D Pens (including 3Doodler, MYNT3D, SCRIB3D) covering both of their starter kits and advanced kits for beginners and professionals. Without further ado, here we go.
How do 3D pens work?
The material used for making 3D objects is named filament. What you need to do is inject filament into the 3D pen, the heat will melt the material and transform it into a kind of plastic string that allows you to flexibly outline the object’s structure and even to make strings into the air and build 3D objects with ease.
What can 3D pens do?
Imagination and craftsmanship allow you to create unique pieces in any shape. There are plenty of ways to play and use the 3D pen. Here are just a few examples to show what you can do.
- turn 2D design into 3D craftwork (e.g. design of necklace & keychain)
- build objects (e.g. create landmarks)
- repair broken objects (e.g. phone holder, zipper for backpack)
People who love the 3D Pens
3D pens are suitable for kids ages 8 and over with parental guidance. In fact, everyone would enjoy using the magic wand on hand to create their interesting work from scratch. The more practice you take, the more great stuff you can accurately build. Therefore, most of the 3D pen products would come with some template and guide book to show you how some creations you can actually build from beginner level to professional level.
Selection criteria of purchasing 3D Pens
Our researchers test a few 3D pens ourselves and read through product descriptions of 3D Pens that are currently available and easy to find in the market. Here are a few important factors that we would consider in making a purchase decision.
- The 3D Pen should be save in use, in particular, the materials used, and the process of creating crafts are up to safety standard for kids to build 3D object themselves
- The 3D Pen should come with building tutorials, guidance. It helps users to follow the steps and get familiar with using the pen.
- The filament refillment used could be easily found in the market. That means you can conveniently order extra materials to further upgrade your work and get add-on stuff in the marketplace.
- Last but not least, It is about the price of the 3D Pen. Price range of various brands of 3D pens could be pretty different. We would feature a few brands from beginner levels and advanced levels in the following.
The Brands of 3D Pens We Recommend
After conducting some research, we finally picked the below 3 brands of 3D pens that have outstanding features and performance. What’s more, all of them provide starter sets and advanced sets for users to play with.
Brand of 3D Printing Pen | Starter Set | Advanced Set |
3Doodler | 3Doodler Start+ Essentials | 3Doodler Create |
MYNT3D | MYNT3D Junior | MYNT3D Professional |
SCRIB3D | SCRIB3D P1 | SCRIB3D Advanced |
Features of 3D Printing Pens
3Doodler 3D Pens
3Doodler Starter set – 3Doodler Start+ Essentials
- Child-Safe 3D Printing Pen, designed with no hot parts, protect kids from the burn risk
- The safest plastic filaments used, materials made in USA in great quality
- Refined extrusion gears for a smoother drawing experience
- STEM toy to inspire creativity, design, planning, building and spatial understanding.
- Free downloadable templates and examples to follow. Users can visit 3Doodler website to get additional plastic filaments
- Complete 3D pen kit to start the 3D work includes 3Doodler Start 3D Pen, DoodlePad/Doodlemat, 2 Mixed-color Packs of Start plastics (48 Strands) activity guide and more.
Advanced Set – 3Doodler Create
- Advanced DUAL DRIVE TECHNOLOGY adopted. It features improved power, durability, and reliability for a superior doodling experience.
- Using the best & safest 3Doodler Create Plastic Filaments. The Create+ 3D Printing pen is compatible with 3Doodler Create 3mm PLA, ABS and Flexy Plastic
- The 3D Printing Pen is a versatile tool to create art, design and personalize objects. What’s more, it helps you design solutions for everyday problems.
- Extrude heated plastic that hardens almost instantly. It allows users to draw 3D structures, freehand or on stencils with ease. What you need to do is just plug the 3D pen in, insert 3Doodler Create plastic, wait for the 3D pen to heat up and then create your unique artwork.
- The Advanced set of 3Doodler Create comes with 15 different colors of 3Doodler Create plastic refills & a comprehensive activity guide book.
3Doodler Create to build Castle 3Doodler Create for Daily Fixes 3Doodler Create Package 3Doodler Create to draw 3D works 3Doodler Create to make 3D objects
MYNT3D 3D Pens
Starter Set – MYNT3D Junior
- MYNT3D Junior 3D Pen is designed specifically for kids, with easy to grasp ergonomic design and low temperature nozzle that won’t hunt kids hands
- help your young artists and builders unleash imagination to turn 2D work into 3D objects
- Junior2 3D Pen is updated with the same sealed nozzle design as more advanced MYNT3D pens to stop clogs and provide countless hours of enjoyment and learning
- Battery powered, charges with Micro USB (note: AC adapter is not included) works with kid safe at low temperature
- child-safe 1.75mm PCL filament used
- The starter set includes everything you need to start the 3D works. The package contains 3D pen, user manual, 3 rolls of MYNT3D PCL plastic, starter stencils and USB cable
Advanced Set – MYNT3D Professional
- MYNT3D Professional 3D Pen offers you more and for skillful 3D object builders. It makes imagination come to life.
- The professional 3D pen is with adjustable feed. It lets you regulate speed and flow for optimal control of material for drawing smoothly
- Temperature is adjustable in 1 degree increments from 130C to 240C, for optimal fine-tuning
- Large, OLED display lets you monitor temperature of material to help you achieve a wide variety of effects
- Kit includes 3 colors of ABS plastic filament A/C adapter and slim, ergonomic touch pen with 1 year limited warranty
SCRIB3D 3D Pen
Starter Set – SCRIB3D P1
- 3D Pen for All, users can create, draw, doodle, and even build in 3D with this affordable starter set. The new SCRIB3D P1 3D Pen helps improve spatial thinking, creativity and artistic skills. Good quality 3D printing tool for practicing and making custom handmade decorations, accessories and even for daily fixes.
- The P1 Pen features a stepless speed function designed for optimal speed control
- 3D Pen Starter kit with All You Need – The set includes either 3 colors (15 meters) or 10 colors (60 meters) of PLA plastic to keep you Doodling for ages, as well as a power adapter, step-by-step manual, and a free stencil guide. Just plug in, heat it up and enjoy the fun of creating 3D masterpieces. PLA is a versatile, easy-to-use printing plastic that is great for both first time and advanced users.
- Easy to Setup – Simply plug the adapter into the back of the pen and choose your filament. The red light will turn on indicating warm up, this will take about 2-3 mins. Double click the forward button to start and feed the filament through the back of the pen.
- Easy to Control – Once the filament has reached the nozzle of the pen, click forward to stop. Press and hold the forward button or double click for a continuous flow. Once you have completed your design, press and hold the reverse button to retract filament.
- Support various Uses – The SCRIB3D P1 Pen is temperature adjustable to accommodate multiple types of filament: PLA (160-210℃, 320-410°F) or ABS (210-235℃, 410-455°F)
- Speed Control Available – Unlike other 3D printing pens, the P1 has an easy-to-use stepless speed slider, designed for optimal speed adjustment. Perfect for any task, from slow & intricate projects to faster infill work.
- Child-Safety, Good Quality Material Used – The P1’s ceramic nozzle and premium motor ensure safety and high performance without clogging.
- More practical functions available – Equipped with 2 minute auto sleep function after 3D doodling stops, anti clogging features, and intuitive controls ensure a seamless Doodling experience.
Advanced Set – SCRIB3D Advanced
- Create, Draw, Doodle, Sketch, and Build like a Pro in 3D with our new SCRIB3D Advanced Pen. It features variable speed control, a large LCD screen to help monitor heat and ensure you have the correct settings, as well as a range of other engineering enhancements to ensure a smooth and accurate Doodling experience. Our most advanced 3D Printing Pen – designed for making accurate and creative 3d models and structures. The only limit is your imagination.
- Sleek and ergonomic design with curvature intended to fit your hand for the most comfortable 3D drawing experience on the market. The Advanced pen’s “soft touch” surface is designed for optimal Doodling comfort. Features LCD display with buttons for loading / unloading and adjusting the temperature and speed, as well as 8 different speed options so you can regulate speed & flow for optimal control of line thickness while creating.
- Includes 3 colors (15 meters) of PLA plastic, power adapter, step-by-step manual, and a free stencil guide. Just plug it in, heat it up and enjoy the unlimited fun of creating a three-dimensional masterpiece like a Pro. PLA is a versatile, easy-to-use printing plastic that is great for both first time and advanced users.
- Plug the adapter into the back of the pen and choose your filament. The red light will turn on indicating warm up, this will take about 2-3 mins. Double click the forward button to start and feed the filament through the back of the pen. Once the filament has reached the nozzle of the pen, click forward to stop the pen. Press the forward button once to start; click once to stop. Once you have completed your design, press and hold the reverse button to retract filament.
- Built in safety features, anti clogging features, and intuitive controls ensure a seamless Doodling experience.
Final Verdit
3D Pen (handheld 3D Printer) can perform more than expected. If you or your beloved like crafting, 3D drawing, and custom-made stuff, That’s a perfect tool to help turn a 2D drawing into a 3D object. What’s more, it also can be used for simple daily fixing for certain practical uses. It is suggested to choose a model at the starter level and decide whether you want to go advanced to draw and craft as a Pros using a better 3D Pen.
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