The Monoprice Cadet ($249.99) is an inexpensive 3D printer designed for novices of all ages. A setup glitch, its minuscule build volume, and its awkward filament handling keep it from wresting our budget 3D printer Editors' Choice from the XYZprinting da Vinci Mini. Still, it's easy and safe to use and consistently produced objects of good print quality in our testing.

Small Wonder

While testing and reviewing products at home rather than in PC Labs, I have been acutely aware of the dimensions of products and their packaging, in determining how and where to fit them in my New York City apartment. While 3D printers often come in ginormous boxes, the Cadet is a fortunate exception, arriving in a relatively tiny 16.7 by 11.4 by 11.4-inch carton. Nested snugly within the box is a marginally smaller, padded box that holds the Cadet and a bag of accessories. These include a power brick and cord, USB cable, a microSD card and card reader, tools such as Allen wrenches, a glue stick, an extra sheet of tape for the build plate, and a small coil of filament (more on this later). On top of the Cadet is a sticker with a QR code that lets you easily download the user manual.

My initial reaction on removing the Cadet from its box and seeing this tiny printer—measuring just 10.6 by 8.5 by 7.9 inches—with white frame, gray top and base, and blue LCD screen on top was, "It's adorable!" The price of such miniaturization is that the print volume is also petite, a mere 4.1 by 3.9 by 3.9 inches (HWD). That is the smallest build volume of any 3D printer that we've reviewed—it's even smaller than the MakerBot Replicator Mini (4.9 by 3.9 by 3.9 inches), the Polaroid PlaySmart 3D Printer (4.7 inches cubed), and the FlashForge Finder 3D Printer (5.5 inches cubed).  The unheated build plate is covered with a sheet of matte tape, to which objects adhere during printing. The metal build plate is detachable, and it is easy to remove printed objects by flexing the plate.

Unlike the Monoprice Voxel 3D Printer, which prints using acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) or polylactic acid (PLA), the Cadet exclusively uses PLA-based filaments (including PLA, PLA Plus+, and PLA Pro). The same is true of some other budget 3D printers such as the XYZprinting da Vinci Mini and also some higher-end machines like the Dremel DigiLab 3D40 Flex 3D Printer. PLA is well suited for entry-level 3D printers, as it doesn't emit unpleasant fumes like ABS.

Another beginner-friendly feature is a porous metal sheet that descends to stand in front of the extruder during printing. This prevents users from touching the hot extruder end and burning themselves.

Fretting About Filament

Monoprice touts the Cadet's ease of setup, claiming that you will be up and running in less than 30 seconds. That seems overly optimistic under the best of circumstances—rather like saying, "I'll be done in a second"—and it was certainly not my experience, due largely to one major hiccup. The basic setup procedure is simple enough, consisting of removing various pieces of protective foam from within the printer, attaching the guide tube to the top of the filament feeder, and then using the non-touch LCD paired with a knob—from which you can control a wide range of printer functions—to start the filament-loading process.

You then insert the end of the filament into the bottom of the filament feeder while holding a spring-loaded clamp open to allow the filament to pass upward between two gears. Then you release the clamp so that the gears grip the filament and press the knob to propel the filament through the guide tube into the extruder assembly, where it is heated to its melting point in preparation to print. Then you can insert the included microSD card in its slot, navigate to one of the three sample files, and launch your first print.

When I first tried to load filament, I heard a familiar noise that told me that the gears were slipping without pulling the filament through, and I verified it by holding onto a bit of the filament and noting that it wasn't moving. After I tried unloading and reloading the filament with the same results, I checked the user manual, but saw no hints as to how to resolve this. I thought I would have to call tech support, but then I noticed there is a bolt that helps hold the filament guide tube in place. By adjusting the bolt, I got the filament to feed properly. I don't know if I would have thought to try this had I not set up some three dozen 3D printers over the years.

The Cadet has a filament spool holder, an arm that unlatches from the printer’s side to swing down and stick straight out. It is short, so it only fits relatively narrow filament spools, and is positioned pretty low, so it won't easily hold thick spools. In testing, I eschewed it in favor of a jury-rigged spool holder consisting of a dowel (part of a tripod shaft) supported by two stacks of books, one on either side, and the Cadet’s accessory box in back. You can also buy or even 3D print spool holders—although perhaps not with the Cadet due to its small build volume.

Recommended by Our Editors

XYZprinting da Vinci Mini Review - Review

XYZprinting da Vinci Jr. 2.0 Mix Review - Review

Flashforge Finder 3D Printer Review - Review

The only filament that came with the Cadet was a small coil of white PLA, enough to print maybe two objects. I say maybe because after printing one of Monoprice's sample files—the Dragon—I got most of the way through printing the Fortune Cat when the filament snagged and the print was ruined. (This was in part my fault, because I had just set the coil on the table instead of looping it over the spool holder and wasn't watching it when it snagged.) If you get the Cadet, you will definitely want to buy extra filament with it.

Monoprice doesn't offer any specific suggestions as to filament to use with the Cadet (other than that it needs to be PLA-based). To work with the printer's own spool holder, the spools have to be small (no larger than 0.5kg), and they still might be a challenging fit. With my jury-rigged spool holder, I tried several PLA spools from different brands, and they all printed smoothly with the Cadet. 

Software and Connectivity

An adapted version of the popular open-source 3D printing program Cura 4.3—other versions of which we have seen included with numerous other printers—came with the Cadet. Cura performs all the essential functions of preparing a 3D object file for printing: making basic changes such as rescaling, moving, and rotating the object—a virtual representation of which, within the build area, is shown onscreen; setting parameters such as resolution and supports; slicing the object into virtual layers for printing; and saving the file in GCODE format. I used Cura to prepare our files for printing on the Cadet, except for the included sample files, which came preprocessed and ready to print.

Monoprice also includes the Wiibuilder 3D printing slicing utility with the Cadet. I took a look at it and concluded that Cura performs the same functions and proved faster, so I stuck to the latter in testing the Cadet.

I printed most of our test files from the included microSD card. The Cadet also supports USB and Wi-Fi printing, the latter through the Monoprice Poloprint app, which can be installed on both Apple and Android devices. From Poloprint, you can print files stored on Monoprice's cloud or on a microSD card inserted in your printer.

Good-Quality Test Prints

The default Draft resolution is 200 microns, while Fine is 100 microns and Very Fine is 60 microns. The finer the resolution, the longer the print time. I printed nine test prints with the Cadet, eight at Draft resolution and one at Fine. Quality of the Draft objects compared with the Fine was good enough that unless you're printing a project for which high resolution is paramount, there should be no reason to use Fine or Very Fine.

I printed a selection of our standard test objects as well as several files included with the printer. Except for the abovementioned filament snag, there were no misprints, and print quality was uniformly good. The Cadet's tiny print area limits the size of printed objects. I scaled one of our standard test objects, which combines geometric shapes and raised text, down to 60 percent of its normal size. To my surprise, except for a couple of rough spots, it printed well despite its miniaturization. Overall print quality for the Cadet was impressive considering the printer's low price.

Fun for Beginners of All Ages

As far as entry-level 3D printers go, the Monoprice Cadet 3D Printer has a lot going for it. It is very easy to print with, and its print quality is surprisingly good. Monoprice recommends it as a printer for beginners—whether kids, teens, or adults—and classrooms. While we don't recommend that young children use any 3D printer solo, with its safety and ease-of-use features, the Cadet can be used with minimal supervision. Although users may soon outgrow its tiny build volume, the inexpensive Cadet is a good choice for 3D printing newbies of all ages. The only snags are its small build area, meager included supply of filament, and primitive spool holder.