how to draw the eiffel tower 3d easy
The research
- Why you should trust us
- What is a 3D pen?
- How we picked
- How nosotros tested
- The best 3D pen: 3Doodler Create+
- Flaws only not dealbreakers
- The best pen for kids under 12: 3Doodler Beginning
- The competition
Why you lot should trust the states
Since 2013, I've been discovering, studying, and testing 3D printers—and sometimes 3D pens—for tech publications including Gigaom, TechCrunch, and now Wirecutter. I understand the shortcomings of the technology as it exists, and also its potential.
When researching this guide, I interviewed Rachel Goldsmith, a New York–based artist who uses 3D pens prominently in her work (and who the 3D-pen brand 3Doodler commissioned to practice artwork in the past) virtually the general features that matter the about when using a 3D pen. I also spoke to Joseph Flynt, who writes frequently about 3D pens for industry blog 3D Insider, nigh notable pens he has tested.
What is a 3D pen?
A 3D pen is the handheld cousin of a 3D printer. You feed strands of hard plastic (called filament) into the pen, and the pen melts the filament and extrudes information technology out of the tip as a string of gooey plastic. By holding the pen like a regular pen and drawing in any management—including straight upward into the air, with practice—you can create 3D art, figurines, game pieces, or basic plastic objects like baskets and telephone holders. You lot may even exist able to repair broken objects made from ABS plastic by using a 3D pen to "weld" the pieces back together with melted ABS.
3D pens tin can be useful to people of all ages and ability levels—even kids equally young as 8 can use models especially designed to be safer to work with, like our also-great pick. They tend to appeal to anyone who already likes 3D printers, drawing, or modeling, though they offering less fine-grained control during the creative process than many artists may be used to: Drawing a clean-looking model with a 3D pen takes a lot of practice, which ways that beginners should be okay with their creations looking a piddling more organic.
This freeform cartoon attribute is likewise what makes 3D pens peculiarly highly-seasoned to kids, though for those who prefer more guidance or construction, a wealth of stencils are available online for creating anything from the Golden Gate Bridge to a rhino beetle. Manufacturers generally exercise not recommend 3D pens for children under 8, but we think use by a responsible younger child under developed supervision is fine.
If you already own a 3D printer, yous might experience like you already accept enough plastic objects in your life. Only working with a 3D pen is more than creative and satisfying considering you're actually producing something with your hands instead of designing with software and letting a printer produce it. You can as well combine 3D printing with 3D drawing by using a 3D pen to fill in mistakes in a printed model, or to finish it with colorful details. And 3D pens don't have a size limit like a 3D printer—you lot can work at virtually limitless scale.
How nosotros picked
While searching for 3D pens to examination, nosotros consulted existing buying guides from sites similar 3D Insider, Pop Science, and Code Mom. We also asked our experts about the most important features to look for and potential flaws to avert.
You tin can spend up to $300 on a 3D pen, but not anybody needs the actress features found on high-end models, such every bit more than-powerful motors (which allow for more precision and additional extrusion options) or the adequacy to print using unusual materials. You tin also find pens for less than $25, only they become poor reviews, and we didn't come across whatsoever worth testing. The best pens for most people tend to cost between $25 and $100 and take the post-obit features:
- Comfortable to concord: Considering 3D drawing projects usually take significant time, comfort is of import. Although i of our experts said information technology's possible to get used to the shape of whatever 3D pen, we preferred a pen with a more ergonomic shape that'due south comfy from the start. And the heat from the part of the pen that melts plastic shouldn't make the grip area uncomfortable to hold.
- Reliable: The pen shouldn't be prone to filament clogs or interruption easily.
- Steady plastic extrusion: The pen should put out a steady, fifty-fifty strand of plastic at a comfortable speed, adding to your sense of control over the pen.
- Customizable settings: Pens that give you a option of extrusion speeds make it easier to switch between slower detail work and faster infill work, and multiple temperature settings make information technology possible to work with a wider range of filament types.
- Continuous extrusion: A continuous-extrude option (where you simply printing a button in one case to commencement drawing) is easier on your manus during longer drawing projects than a button yous take to hold down.
- Like shooting fish in a barrel to load: Whether you want to load in a fresh cord of plastic or bandy the existing one for a different color, it should exist simple and fast to load and unload filament.
- Swappable tips: Pens that come with (or accept the option to purchase) multiple tip sizes allow you to draw in different thicknesses, which is useful for switching between details and filler.
- Portable: The pen should be cordless or at least have a string that'due south long plenty to use in a diverseness of work environments. In our experience, a string of less than effectually half dozen feet of length still felt a chip too short.
- Good customer service: The company behind the pen should be reachable if something goes wrong. Information technology's a bonus if the pen has a generous replacement policy or warranty.
- Widely compatible filament: Most 3D pens are compatible with lots of different brands of filament, but some require uniquely designed plastic that has special features—or locks you into ownership from the same company. A 3D pen that tin can work with a range of materials and brands is amend.
- Rubber: The pen shouldn't give off dangerous or overly evil-smelling fumes.
Using the above criteria, we narrowed our list to eight 3D pens for an initial round of testing in early 2018: the 3Doodler Get-go, 3Doodler Create, Scribbler 3D Pen (discontinued), Mynt3d Printing Pen, Soyan 3D Pen (discontinued), Polaroid Draw (discontinued), 3Dsimo Basic, and Tipeye Smart 3D Pen (discontinued). In late 2018, we tested the 3Doodler Create+ and 3Doodler Pro (discontinued). In late 2020, nosotros tested the 3Doodler Pro+.
How nosotros tested
I tested all eleven pens myself and then enlisted the help of a panel of four kids, ages 8 to 10, to further exam the two pens appropriate for people under 12. For the initial test, nosotros evaluated how comfortably each pen fit into testers' hands and took note of whether it felt too hot later extended apply. We drew a directly line beyond a sheet of plastic, constructed a small box that required drawing straight into the air, and built a 10-inch-tall model of the Eiffel Tower using a paper stencil.
We likewise evaluated the settings on each pen, including how easy it was to change the temperature and speed. We loaded and unloaded filament and watched out for jams. We also fabricated note of how much aroma and dissonance were produced.
For our child exam panel, we asked each kid to use each of the 2 pens for up to xxx minutes apiece. We provided the kids with books of stencils but let them decide how they wanted to play with the pens. Some kids used the stencils, others chose to free draw. We then asked the kids to pick their favorite pen and explicate what they liked and disliked about each.
The best 3D pen: 3Doodler Create+
Our choice
3Doodler Create+
The all-time drawing experience
Comfortable to hold and easy to start using correct abroad, the Create+ also benefits from 3Doodler's excellent client service and the option to buy different-size tips.
Buying Options
The 3Doodler Create+ offers the best overall cartoon feel for people ages 12 and older who want to beginning working with 3D pens. In our testing, information technology drew clean lines of plastic that solidified rapidly, was the easiest to utilise, and was one of the most comfortable to hold. Information technology comes with the widest variety of useful accessories, and should you ever demand help, 3Doodler'south customer service is by far the most responsive nosotros encountered.
3D drawing projects can take a while to consummate, so we similar that the triangular coated aluminum body of the Create+ feels natural to hold, even over long periods of use. Your finger rests naturally within reach of ii buttons that you press one time to start or stop extruding at a tedious or fast speed, respectively—a blueprint we found platonic for achieving fine control while drawing. The Create+ also stays comfortably absurd while drawing, unlike many of the earliest 3D pens.
The Create+ puts out steady, fifty-fifty strands of plastic every bit you draw. The lines solidify chop-chop and stay put when you lot draw over them; most other pens grab onto still-soft filament and drag it along, warping your drawing. We appreciate that instead of having to hold a button downwards to extrude the plastic, you just press one time, which adds to this pen's comfort for long periods of drawing. The Create+ has a speed range that'due south somewhere in the middle of the pack for pens nosotros tried, but both its fast and slow settings are comfortable for normal drawing. The pen is too the all-time among those we tested at drawing lines straight into the air—something we didn't do all that oftentimes during normal utilize, but that's a much-hyped ability for 3D pens.
Loading filament is easy with the Create+; it follows the standard 3D pen procedure, which is similar to that of a glue gun. To unload filament, you press and hold both extrude buttons until the strand of filament is loose enough to tug out. 3Doodler recommends unloading the pen after every use to forestall long-term impairment from storing plastic inside it. The pen lets you choose between two heat settings, for ABS plastic (well-nigh 380 degrees Fahrenheit) or PLA plastic (about 360 degrees), which is all y'all need if you're using 3Doodler's line of filament options (more than on this below).
Supposedly, one of the nearly common problems with any 3D pen is a filament clog (caused by melted plastic hardening and getting stuck within the pen), and 3Doodler pens are the only ones we tested that come with tools designed to ready clogs. Notwithstanding, we never had the opportunity to apply it because the Create+ pen—like all 11 pens we tested—never actually chock-full for us.
The Create+ is among the only pens we tested with the option to buy additional tip sizes (you can buy them for the 3Doodler Create and Pro pens too). One of our experts strongly recommends extra tips, as thin tips requite you more control over particular piece of work, and thick tips are better for filling in large areas more quickly. Subsequently testing the diverse tips, we concord. If yous want more control over particular work or to speed up infilling, the boosted tips will aid. There are also two ribbon-like shapes that tin can be useful for calculation texture. You don't have to buy these tips for a skilful experience with the Create+, but they certainly assist. One word of circumspection: Make sure the pen is hot when you bandy a tip or y'all take a chance permanently breaking your pen.
Every bit a office of our testing, we sent each 3D pen visitor an e-mail asking if it is safe to use third-party filament. Nosotros found that 3Doodler responded within minutes—the fastest of any visitor we queried—and was ane of but a handful of companies that responded at all. Afterward aircraft it halfway beyond the country twice, the original Create pen nosotros tested stopped working and nosotros had the run a risk to interact with 3Doodler'south customer service again. As before, someone responded within minutes by email. Within 25 minutes of the first response, the person helping us had diagnosed an electrical event and offered to ship a replacement. All 3Doodler pens are covered by a one-year warranty.
Flaws but non dealbreakers
We got like line control from the Tipeye Smart 3D Pen, our old budget selection, despite the Create+ costing significantly more. However, we institute that the Create+ model's other strengths make the additional cost worthwhile. Nosotros also noticed that the Create+ has a tendency to pause to reheat when you stop extruding, which can be annoying when you are stopping and starting frequently to depict fine details. It slowed down the overall pace of our drawing, but information technology was worth the wait to get evenly heated filament in render.
The Create+ comes with 75 10-inch strands of plastic, which is more than yous become with nearly of the pens we tested. However, the ABS and PLA filament refills for the Create+ pen—which come in a broad range of colors and types—are the nigh expensive of whatsoever pen we tested. (The company says that using third-party filament voids the pen's warranty, as 3Doodler's pen motors are designed to handle straight, brusk strands of plastic, not the longer, coiled strands common to cheap third-party filament.) For example, a pack of 25 10-inch strands (20 feet of filament) for the Create+ starts at $8, compared with 240 anxiety of third-party filament for our budget option for around $15—which works out to well-nigh $1.25 for 20 feet. That'south a fivefold departure, but considering that 20 feet is enough filament for roughly ii hours of constant drawing at the Create+ pen's fast speed, information technology's not a huge difference on a per-project footing. (The Eiffel Tower in the photo above took about an hr, including starting and stopping.)
The shorter filament strands of 3Doodler pens also run out faster, which means y'all have to stop and reload a Create+ more than often than you exercise pens from other manufacturers. Reloading while drawing can be abrasive—peculiarly if you wait too long to reload and the pen just stops extruding plastic.
As was the example with all of the other pens we tried, using the Create+ with ABS filament gives off a chemical-similar odor, while PLA filament strands smell more like maple syrup. Too like other models, the Create+ produces a whiny motor noise while drawing. It's annoying merely not loud enough to issues someone in the next room.
The Create+ has a 5.ix-foot string that's fairly standard for a 3D pen, just information technology felt a fleck brusque in our work environment: You lot want a lot of slack in the cord and so you don't feel any tugging from the summit of the pen every bit you work. We recommend ownership an extension cord if you don't plan to use the pen directly in front of an outlet.
The best pen for kids under 12: 3Doodler Kickoff
Too great
After testing two kid-safe pens with the help of a panel made upwardly of four children, nosotros think the 3Doodler Start is the best option for anyone under age 12. We noticed during testing that kids like to touch and mold the pens' extruded plastic, which means that pens with hot tips that utilize ABS or PLA plastic—including the Create+—are not rubber for them to use. The 3Doodler Showtime has a cool-to-the-impact tip and makes employ of special plastic that comes out of the pen at a cooler temperature so kids tin can draw and mold however they choose.
Our 4-child panel was carve up on which pen they preferred overall, only all four kids liked using the Start, and only 2 liked the 3Dsimo Basic. The Outset is smaller and curved, which a majority of the kids said made it fit improve in their easily; the Basic is longer and flat like a processed bar. Neither pen chock-full during testing, but because their tips are shorter than an adult-friendly pen, the role of the pen around the tip had a addiction of dragging through half-dry plastic and getting gunked up. Both pens got gunky enough to annoy the panelists, though the Start gunked noticeably less than the Basic.
It's possible to draw steady, straight lines with the Start, but because it uses filament that has a more than claylike texture and takes longer to dry than the filament in our other picks, it requires more patience while using. In fact, it's the slowest pen of any we tested considering you have to movement slowly and await for lines to dry completely before attempting to draw over them again.
Some of the testers found drawing with the 3Dsimo Bones to be slightly easier because the pen uses PCL plastic—a material that performs closer to the PLA used in the developed pens. We likewise found that drawing a line straight into the air was much harder with either of the kid-friendly models, considering it takes the only-extruded plastic from these pens so long to dry. Neither model has temperature controls.
We didn't encounter whatever issues loading or unloading the Start, but as with our top selection, you lot're stuck using 3Doodler'southward expensive refill filament. And ane tester disliked the brusque, directly pieces of filament (which need to be reloaded more than oft than other types) so much that he preferred the 3Dsimo Bones overall.
Y'all cannot buy other sizes of tips for the Start. However, you can accuse it and use information technology without a cord—a feature we wish all 3D pens had. And like the Create+, the Start benefits from the fastest-responding customer service team of any pen we tested. The Start is also backed by a one-yr warranty. It produced virtually no scent and was tranquillity plenty not to annoy patrons in a coffee store during our kid exam console.
The competition
The 3Doodler Pro+ is the most comfortable pen to hold and gave united states of america the greatest amount of control over our lines. It's 1 of the most flexible pens nosotros've tested when information technology comes to materials, too: While the Create+ is compatible with PLA, ABS, and Flexy plastics, the Pro+ adds additional options like forest (blended with plastic), copper (also blended with plastic), and nylon. It also allows for precise temperature command, which makes it easier to work with unusual tertiary-party materials. However, these benefits weren't enough for us to recommend the Pro+, because it costs more than than iii times as much equally the Create+. That pricing rules it out for anyone merely the well-nigh devoted 3D pen users.
The 3Doodler Create is the older model of the Create+ and was our previous top pick. Nosotros like it for many of the same reasons equally the afterwards model, including condolement, customer service, and tips for drawing multiple line sizes. Its brushed aluminum outside also looks a flake more polished than the Create+ model'due south plastic beat, in our stance. Nonetheless, the Create+ handles filament noticeably better, making drawing smooth, directly lines easier. If you want a pen that shares near features with our height selection at a cheaper toll, the Create could exist a proficient choice while it's all the same available.
The Mynt3d Printing Pen the company loaned us was dead on arrival—information technology would load filament only a few millimeters at a time and heated up merely when we held one of its buttons downward, which is not the mode it's designed to work. But the squarish shape of the pen would have been enough to disqualify it for comfort reasons: Unlike with the other pens, our fingers did not rest naturally on the extruder button. Mynt3d did non respond to our customer service request.
We tested the cool-to-the-affect 3Dsimo Basic against the 3Doodler Kickoff to notice the best 3D pen for kids. 3Dsimo is i of the few companies (along with 3Doodler) that responded to our client service request, and the pen is uniform with cheaper, third-party filament. Although iii of the four kid testers thought the Start'due south smaller size made it easier to hold in their smaller hands, one thought the Basic allowed them to draw in greater detail. In our ain testing, nosotros agreed: While the Commencement extrudes claylike plastic that is easier to mold, the 3Dsimo's plastic feels closer to what's used in adult pens (despite being cool to the bear on immediately subsequently extrusion). The Basic comes with a cute book of stencils that's larger and better printed than the First'south stencil booklet, but the pen is also more expensive and not as widely available as the Start.
The 3Doodler 3D Build and Play isn't a traditional 3D pen; you turn a handle to extrude a cord of soft plastic into a mold to create shapes. Nosotros tried it in person at Toy Fair in 2022 and found it underwhelming. While it's safe to use for children ages 4 and up, we found it all the same took some skill to utilise the molds, and the results looked sloppy.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-3d-pen/
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