Compact and mainstream desktop 3D printers measure about 350 to 500 mm (14 to 20 in) wide in their makers’ listings, and weigh 5.5 to 35 kg (12 to 77 lb). The compact Bambu Lab A1 mini is 347 × 315 × 365 mm. Enclosed 350 mm-class machines such as the Creality K2 Plus reach 495 × 515 × 640 mm. Large-format printers with 400 mm-plus build volumes measure about 700 mm per side.
These are outer dimensions, the space the machine takes up. For how large a part fits inside, see build volume and what size 3D printer you need.
How big is a 3D printer?
A compact printer like the Bambu Lab A1 mini measures 347 × 315 × 365 mm (13.7 × 12.4 × 14.4 in) and weighs 5.5 kg. Mainstream 256 mm-class machines are about 390 to 465 mm wide and weigh 8 to 18 kg. Enclosed 300 mm-plus printers reach about 500 mm wide, 640 mm tall and 35 kg.
Outer dimensions (width × depth × height) and weights as each maker lists them, with build volume for scale:
| Printer |
Outer size (mm) |
Outer size (in) |
Weight |
Build volume (mm) |
| Bambu Lab A1 mini |
347 × 315 × 365 |
13.7 × 12.4 × 14.4 |
5.5 kg (12.1 lb) |
180 × 180 × 180 |
| Bambu Lab A1 |
465 × 410 × 430 |
18.3 × 16.1 × 16.9 |
8.3 kg (18.3 lb) |
256 × 256 × 256 |
| Original Prusa MK4S |
500 × 550 × 400 (without spool) |
19.6 × 21.6 × 15.7 |
7 kg (15.4 lb) |
250 × 210 × 220 |
| Bambu Lab P1S |
389 × 389 × 458 |
15.3 × 15.3 × 18.0 |
12.95 kg (28.5 lb) |
256 × 256 × 256 |
| Elegoo Centauri Carbon |
398 × 404 × 490 |
15.7 × 15.9 × 19.3 |
17.5 kg (38.6 lb) |
256 × 256 × 256 |
| Prusa CORE One+ (Gen 2) |
415 × 444 × 555 |
16.3 × 17.5 × 21.8 |
22.5 kg (49.6 lb) |
250 × 220 × 270 |
| Bambu Lab H2D |
492 × 514 × 626 |
19.4 × 20.2 × 24.6 |
31 kg (68.3 lb) |
325 × 320 × 325 |
| Creality K2 Plus |
495 × 515 × 640 |
19.5 × 20.3 × 25.2 |
35 kg (77.2 lb) |
350 × 350 × 350 |
| Anycubic Kobra 3 Max |
706 × 640 × 753 |
27.8 × 25.2 × 29.6 |
19 kg (41.9 lb) |
420 × 420 × 500 |
| Elegoo OrangeStorm Giga |
1,224 × 1,164 × 1,425 |
48.2 × 45.8 × 56.1 |
104 kg (229.3 lb) |
800 × 800 × 1,000 |
The A1 and P1S share a 256 mm build volume, yet the enclosed P1S weighs 12.95 kg and the open A1 weighs 8.3 kg.
How much desk space does a 3D printer need?
A 3D printer needs its listed footprint plus room for anything that moves or sits on top. A bedslinger, whose bed slides front to back, needs far more depth than its body: Bambu Lab asks for about 695 mm (27.4 in) for the 410 mm-deep A1. An enclosed CoreXY printer needs its footprint plus headroom.
Where the extra space goes, in makers’ own figures:
- Depth for a moving bed. Bambu Lab’s wiki adds 90 mm and 195 mm to the A1’s 410 mm depth for the bed’s front-to-back travel, about 695 mm in total. For the A1 mini it gives about 390 mm.
- Height for a filament unit on top. Bambu Lab says to place the AMS 2 Pro on top of the P1S “for optimal space efficiency”. The AMS 2 Pro body is 226 mm tall, so the stack reaches about 684 mm (26.9 in). Creality lists the K2 Plus Combo, with its filament unit on top, at 916 mm tall against 640 mm for the printer alone.
- Clearance around an enclosed printer. Bambu Lab recommends 700 × 700 × 1,100 mm of space for the 492 × 514 × 626 mm H2D: about 200 mm more width and depth, and 474 mm more height.
- The spool at the back or side. Some listed sizes leave the spool out: Prusa gives the MK4S “without spool” and Sovol lists the SV08 Max “excluding spool holder”.
For a working rule, start from the maker’s footprint. On a bedslinger, use the maker’s bed-travel figure. With no published figure, move the bed to its front and back limits and measure the depth it sweeps. On an enclosed printer, add the height of anything stacked on top and room to open the door or lid.
Motion layout drives the difference. The A1 and P1S print the same 256 mm cube, yet the A1 bedslinger needs 695 mm of depth while running and the P1S, a CoreXY whose bed moves only up and down, is 389 mm deep. The motion systems guide explains why.
Large-format desktop printers with 400 to 500 mm build volumes measure about 700 mm (28 in) on each side and up to 750 mm tall. The Anycubic Kobra 3 Max is 706 × 640 × 753 mm and 19 kg. The Sovol SV08 Max is 700 × 710 × 750 mm, excluding its spool holder.
Sovol’s product page lists no net weight for the SV08 Max.
The Elegoo OrangeStorm Giga sits past the desktop class. With an 800 × 800 × 1,000 mm build volume, it measures 1,224 × 1,164 × 1,425 mm and weighs 104 kg (229 lb). Elegoo lists a larger “maximum size for machine activity” of 1,224 × 1,520 × 1,570 mm, so moving parts need another 356 mm of depth. CNX Software noted at launch that it “would typically be installed on the floor.”
The large-format printer list compares build volumes across the database.
