3D printers are much simpler than 2D printers, in terms of manufacturing the parts. Aside from the extruder area, the parts are simple mechanical off the shelf (or at least simple to manufacture) parts plus some machined or 3D printed interface parts. Most of the complex parts are not unique to a 3D printer and thus they are mass produced and cheap.
Many of the important parts in a laser or inkjet printer Have traits like tiny, precise, fluid-tight, even high voltage. And they are only made for printers, they aren’t commodity parts you can just buy. Just getting the parts to make one printer would probably cost 2 orders of magnitude more than buying a printer.
Many of the important parts in a laser or inkjet printer Have traits like tiny, precise, fluid-tight, even high voltage. And they are only made for printers, they aren’t commodity parts you can just buy. Just getting the parts to make one printer would probably cost 2 orders of magnitude more than buying a printer.