Just a few short years ago, Monoprice wasn’t even in the 3D printer market, and was instead focusing on its expansive accessory business. Fast-forward to today, and the company is now the top 3D printer manufacturer in the world, and the entry-level $200 Select Mini is the best-selling 3D printer by a factor of three.
Don’t think for a minute that Monoprice is stopping there, however. Shane Igo, the company’s vice president of product management, stopped by the Digital Trends booth at CES 2018 on Thursday morning to detail Monoprice’s efforts, as well as show updates to the best-sellling Mini and introduce a massive new 3D printer called the Delta Pro.
Starting with the third-generation Mini, Igo says Monoprice focused on making improvements that will further solidify its lead in the market — most notably its “out-of-the-box” operation. Version 3 also adds auto-leveling (especially important for beginners) and a touchscreen, making it easier to operate than ever before.
What we’re really excited about is the Delta Pro, however. This massive printer takes the build area of the Mini and increases it by 10 times. This allows for printing of much taller objects, and at a price of around $1,000, it will be one of the largest print areas at that price point.
If you remember the Delta, which we reviewed late last year and debuts in April for $159 (and was one of our CES 2017 award winners), the Delta Pro also uses the same configuration where the print head is suspended by three arms that can better move it through three-dimensional space. It’s not a new concept — some other companies are already using it — but it definitely speeds up printing.
Igo said a 9-inch-tall vase that he was printing would be complete in about three hours, versus the six to eight hours it would take with traditional 3D printing methods. Another thing about the Delta? It’s really quiet. According to Igo, it produces only 44 decibels of noise, practically unheard of in this industry, no pun intended.
Related Posts
Talk to AI every day? New research says it might signal depression
This finding comes from a national survey of nearly 21,000 U.S. adults conducted in 2025, where participants detailed how often they interacted with generative AI tools and completed standard mental health questionnaires. Within that group, about 10% said they used AI daily, and 5% said they engaged with chatbots multiple times throughout the day. Those daily users showed higher rates of reported depressive symptoms and other negative emotional effects, such as anxiety and irritability.
You might actually be able to buy a Tesla robot in 2027
The comments follow a series of years-long development milestones. Optimus, which was originally unveiled as the Tesla Bot in 2021, has undergone multiple prototype iterations and has already been pressed into service handling simple tasks in Tesla factories. According to Musk, those internal deployments will expand in complexity later this year, helping prepare the robotics platform for broader use.
Blue Origin joins the satellite internet race with its 6 Tbps TeraWave network
According to the official announcement, Blue Origin plans to launch 5,280 low-Earth orbit satellites and 128 medium-Earth orbit satellites for the service, with the first ones set to deploy in late 2027. The low-Earth satellites will rely on RF connectivity and offer a max data transfer speed of 144 Gbps, while the medium-Earth satellites will use optical links to reach the publicized 6 Tbps speed. In comparison, SpaceX's Starlink maxes out at 400 Mbps at the moment, with future upgrades aiming for 1 Gbps.