Another day, another 3D printer on the Kickstarter crowdfunding/preorder platform-- this time it's the turn of the iBox Nano, supposedly the smallest and most affordable 3D printer around.

How small is the iBox Nano? All of 10 x 7 x 20cm. Makers iBox Printers say such dimensions are possible through use of liquid resin instead of plastic filament for 3D printing, which the printer hardens layer by layer via UV LEDs. Further shrinking the printer is construction in laser-cut extruded acrylic (aka Polymethyl metacrylate or PMMA).

The use of UV LEDs also allows the printer to be optionally powered via battery.

The small size obviously restricts the dimensions of printed objects-- but the makers suggest this is not too much of an issue, as 3D printers are generally used to print small objects anyway. In any case printed object resolution is around 328 microns, which is on par with extrusion printers.

According to Gartner the 3D printer market "is at an inflection point", as global shipments are forecast to reach 217350 units in 2015, up from 108151 in 2014, before growing to over 2.3 million by 2018.

"Unit shipment growth rates for 3D printers, which languished in the low single and double digits per year throughout the 30 years since the first 3D printers were invented, are poised to increase dramatically beginning in 2015," the analyst says. "As radical as the forecast numbers may seem, bear in mind that even the 2.3 million shipments that we forecast will be sold in 2018 are a small fraction of the total potential market of consumers, businesses and government organisations worldwide."

Leading the market through 2018 in 3D printing technologies is material extrusion, since it is the technology behind consumer (sub-$1000) 3D printer segment. Driving consumer 3D printer adoption is lower prices, improved performance and expanded global availability.

On the enterprise side, 3D printing viability for prototypes and manufacturing, together with lower costs, improved quality and a wider material range are main market drivers.

Arduino is the next company to take on consumer 3D printing with the Materia 101, a collaboration with Sharebot designed for use by beginners, makers and educators.

It features a 140 x 100 x 100mm print bed, allowing for the printing of items around the size of a large tea mug. Printing comes through Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) via PLA filament, although Arduino says Crystal Flex, PLA Thermosense, TPU, PET, PLA Sand and PLA Flex filaments are also usable, if unsupported.

The one factor making the Materia 101 different from similar consumer 3D printers is the Arduino Mega 2560 board at is heart-- being open source, users with the required know-how can modify it and its software software to their hearts' desire.

According to Gartner 3D printing might be evolving rapidly but it is still at least 5 to 10 years away from consumer adoption, even as enterprise and medical applications start seeing more compelling use cases.

"Today, approximately 40 manufacturers sell the 3D printers most commonly used in businesses, and over 200 startups worldwide are developing and selling consumer-oriented 3D printers, priced from just a few hundred dollars," the analyst says. "However, even this price is too high for mainstream consumers at this time, despite broad awareness of the technology and considerable media interest."

The Gartner Hype Cycle for 3D printing notes two running themes for the nascent industry-- enterprise and consumer 3D printing are very different from each other, and 3D printing consists of not of one but seven technologies.

First off, consumer and enterprise 3D printing represent different uses and requirements, even if organizations currently make use of "consumer" devices. This demands separate evaluation of the two markets.

According to Canalys Q1 2014 3D printer shipments reach 26800 units, with 52% being enterprise purchases while the rest going consumer use in proof of increasingly competitively priced units.

"Businesses from a range of industries have invested in the technology to experiment and test its potential, to expedite design and prototyping processes, or to enable local customised manufacturing," the analyst says. ‘While enterprise engagement will continue to grow, it looks to be the consumer space that will drive shipments in the near future."

Canalys says 67% of 3D printers shipped in Q1 2014 cost below $10000 pre-tax, and a number of basic printers come at sub-$1000 and even sub-$500 prices. Such competitive pressures will only cause prices to fall further, making the technology more affordable to businesses and consumers alike.

Another contender enters the increasingly crowded consumer 3D printer arena-- this time it's Black Eyed Peas star turned tech entrepreneur Will.i.am and Coca-Cola with the Ekocycle Cube.

The Ekocycle Cube is based on the Cube 3 from 3D Systems, a 3D printer maker counting Will.i.am as CCO. The Coca-Cola involvement comes in the print filament cartridges, which the company says contain around 25% of "post-consumer recycled materials," with an average of around 3 bottles per cartridge.

"We will make it cool to recycle, and we will make it cool to make products using recycled materials," Will.i.am says. "This is the beginning of a more sustainable 3D-printed lifestyle. Waste is only waste if we waste it."

It seems a week can't pass by without a story involving an affordable consumer 3D printer, and won't you know it here's another one-- the New Matter MOD-t, a device promising "affordable and easy" 3D printing.

Just launched as an Indiegogo crowdfunding/preorder campaign, the MOD-t differs from similar printers (such as the M3D Micro or MakerBot Replicator Mini Compact) in being a white box holding a motorised print bed, over which a printhead hovers atop a pair of metal rods.

New Matter says this design features "dramatically" fewer parts, allowing for an "ingenious" 2-axis motion system-- essentially the printed moves from side to side while the printhead moves up and down, eliminating the need for a gantry system or elaborate calibration and bringing down production costs.

Stratasys subsidiary MakerBot ships a 5th generation 3D printer-- the Replicator Mini Compact, a small (as the name suggests) consumer printer promising easy and affordable 3D printing.

First announced at CES 2014, the printer uses FDM technology and supports STL, OBJ, Thing and MakerBot object files. An on-board camera allows users to monitor 3D printing process (via soon released MakerBot Mobile app), while a Smart Extruder handles actual printing.

"The MakerBot Replicator Mini is one of the first 3D printers to shift from the office to the home," the company says. "We're excited to have the MakerBot Replicator 3D Printing Platform and our Fifth Generation 3D printing technology inspire creativity and innovation in adults and children alike."