I am brand new to printing and haven't bought my first one yet....I spend way too many hours watching review videos and no one on here agrees on anything. Everyone recommends a different printer and everyone has different opinions. It's frustrating as hell for a new person to the hobby as I have absolutely no idea what models to look at....I thought the Neptunes were great and here this video says no....sigh...
I'm in the same boat. I settled on buying the N4 Pro, but now I'm back to the drawing board. Ideally, I want a 5 head Prusa XL, or a Bambu Labs P1S w/AMS. Realistically, the Ankermake M5c, Adventure 5m, or Bambu Lab P1P (stretching to budget) are what I'll start looking at.
I've been 3D printing for 7 months and I can tell you it's often very frustrating. I have four Bambu printers and a Neptune 3 Max and a 4 max. Don't buy a Bambu printer unless you REALLY need multi color. After a few months they break down constantly. The Max 3 has been a dream and the Max 4 has been horrible.
Although I have enjoyed other reviews of yours, it seems like you phoned this one in. This is a feature packed printer that is at an entry level price, but can be set up for people who want to have an excellent printer and have more experience. The fact that its a Klipper printer with built in ethernet access is a big deal since it can do input shaping and can print directly from the user interface. Your chief complaint was that you tried to do something that was too big? That's on you and shouldn't even have been mentioned. Many of us can't afford a Bambu printer and don't get stuff for free. We are trying to find the best printer on our budget. This, for me, is the most feature packed one at this price. As someone who prints both FDM and Resin, they both have a place and pros/cons.
Whilst I hear your complaints, I really do. My complaints are more than it wouldn't do something big. The layer shifting issues are common on this device and whilst my layers shifted in one place in one place. In an earlier slice it was elsewhere. My complains are also that the parts you will need access to most often are hard to access, the slicer you get is nasty and this does not lead to a good experience for any beginner. I'm not saying buy a Bambu, though you be fair you can get an A1 for little more thank these cost. But even the Anycubic Kobra 2 series have been far better than these Neltune 3.5 printers.
I just double checked all the printers I could find in this range. And the customer reviews. There are quite a few complaints about the Neptune 4 pro for exactly what you mention here, usually by people who are newer to FDM printing. At the excellent youtube channel Aurora Tech they do very careful reviews and analysis and found some speed issues and settings that fixed most of the problems. Elegoo should definetly address them with updated printer profiles as well as publishing profiles for other slicers. So, I retract my statement. You were spot on after all@@FauxHammer. The Anycubic Kobra 2 pro is often considered a better printer in this category, has auto z offset setting and supposed wifi, (only works with smartphone app) but since it can't print nylon I just can't do it. I'll deal with the Neptune Pro 4 pro issues because of that.
Had the Neptune 4 as my first 3D printer for a month. It's printing like a champ now, most of the issues I had were lack of user knowledge. Incredible piece of kit, love it.
I have a Neptune 4 Pro and love the printer. No layer shifting or any other issue. The only problem is the loudness of fans. That's my sixth printer and by far the best one.
I bought a used N4 2 months ago and have had very little issues with it. The bed was super loose as well as the extruder when I received i. I am sure it was returned because the prior owner never tightened anything even though the instructions tell you to. The only other issue I had was adhesion and that was resolved by cleaning the PEI sheet as I think it had oil on it from the factory. Since then I have put over 800 hours on it and get perfect prints. I am still running an old stock firmware too. I also use an older version of Simplify3D as it seems to print much faster than Prusa or Orca with the same settings. I do agree that these were rushed to market and Elegoo is still learning Klipper. Hopefully the N5 will fix all of the issues that seems to plague others with the N4.
@@FauxHammer I was a long time supporter of Elegoo since the beginning, starting out with their initial offerings from resin then to FDM and well, no more. I got the N4 and it was just trash. Eventually just stopped being tight with my money and put some money into the Bambulabs P1P and I won't be going back. The time I've saved from not having to "tinker, fix, repair, upgrade and modify" a machine has been better used elsewhere enabling me to actually just do what I want to do - print.
I am so disappointed with my N4 and frustrated. If I could just do whatever you did and just get my dam N4 not to mess up first layer or spaghetti I'd be happy. Constant issues and I keep trying things and keep failing prints. I think i must have a nozzle issue so now im searching for a guide to how to replace it and hoping nothing else messes up.
CHECK YOUR SCREWS on the Z Gantry lead screws. They are always loose. Get a flex 5.5mm nut driver. See Video right side 10:24. Notice the lock nut is almost off. The screw is loose also I bet. The lock nut is impossible to get to so the flex driver gets it done. The bed rails are also dirty most likely and taking the bed off, cleaning the bed rail car, and adjusting the tension on the car against the rails did it job for me. Quiet and prints rock solid.
Those screws through the brass bushing are meant to have some slack in them. I confirmed this with Elegoo support, as so many people in the Facebook group for the N4 were asking it.
As a Neptune 4 Pro user myself, you do bring up a lot of valid points. However, I still thought I made a good purchase as I haven't experienced as many problems. I think part of the reason is I didn't get my printer to print helmets or cosplay. I print toys and tools and practice my design skills to make functional tools for myself. I'm a tinkerer. With printing smaller items I rarely experience layer shifts. Also, the first thing I did when I got the printer was tune it. I have almost 1000 hours on it and haven't had to do any nozzle maintenance yet. But I only print with non-abrasive PLA. The negative points of the review are well founded. If I were new to 3D printing and were looking into buying this, I probably would have cared a lot about what was said in this video. So, all-in-all, I'd say you put out a fairly informative video. Nice work. My only critique would be to do more research on the printer before posting about it. You were on the nose about the differences between the 4 and the 4 pro being minor. And You most likely knew about the other couple things that were different and didn't mention them, but I feel you'd owe it to your viewers to mention them all anyway. You did say that you're a resin kinda guy, though. I've never used a resin printer in my life. So I'm sure if I did a review on one, I'd probably miss a few things. Also, I'm not a UA-camr, so I'm sure if I did a review of anything it would only get 2 views. And both of them would be from my mom. I hope I'm coming across as pretentious, because I suck at my people skills and can't stand the thought of thinking I did good when I did nothing but offend people. The key to happiness is low expectations. It's easier to be pleasantly surprised that way. Therefore, I hope you were offended by this comment. Thank you for your time and consideration on this matter.
JBP...I also have the N4PRO and do exactly what you do with it (tinkering, smaller prints, etc) and have had very few issues except some 1st layer bed adhesion issues here and there. Yet I read so many forum posts about issues that so many others have. You actually nailed it when you pointed out that you (as well as I) aren't printing helmets or cosplay bur rather smaller models. I'm tempted to printout a large model just to see if my N4PRO can handle it.
@@FauxHammer The pro also has a segmented heat bed, which you'll only really see the benefit of if you use their version of CURA. Otherwise, you'd have to add a post-processing script in Prusa Slicer or Orca Slicer to determine the size of the print yourself and add the macro command to turn off the larger heat bed segment accordingly. Another thing that screams that this printer isn't for the novice user.
@@jellybeanpowderOMG!!! Is it really possible to heat only part of the bed? I bought a N4PRO but I have no idea how to do this! I hate their Cura... Could you please tell me how to do this macro command or where can I find? Thank you veeeery much for this info! Here in Brasil the K1 is double the price of the Nep4 and the bambu is something like 4x... Not affordable to me right now.
I bought a Neptune 4 as my first. Received it about 5 weeks ago. Ive ran into some of these issues already, and had no idea about the others. That being said I absolutely love this machine! Also... NOT putting the magnetic print plate back after finishing a print will cause this machine to BURY the nozzle into the bed... Goodtimes.
Could you list any issues you faced issues with the neptune 4 and did you have to make any upgrades in order to ensure proper functioning, if so could you please share Thanks in advance
As an experienced 3D printer user who has just bought (and loving) a Neptune 4 Max, I absolutely agree these printers are not beginner friendly. I cut my teeth on a Tevo Tornado (and made all the usual upgrades etc). For beginners, I love the Flashforge Adventurer series - we have a few an uni and they just work.
Absolutely agreed, for a beginner those Adventurers are awesome. I have the Adventurer 5, and it's Good. But they need to sort their software out to reach the masses.
After 3 months have you had any issues with the neptune 4 max and did you have to make any upgrades in order to ensure proper functioning, if so could you please share Thanks in advance
Had the Max. Sent it back. The z-axis shift ended up plugging up the hot end when it failed in the middle of a medium-sized 10 hour print. I wish you had published this before I purchased the Max! I’m like you - I just don’t care and things just need to work.
For network connectivity, I installed an Intel AX212 pci-e wifi 6 card and use my physical ethernet port to connect directly to the printer. Its cuts out the headache of swapping usb drives all the time especially since moonraker can be used to send a g-code file straight from the slicer to the printer itself and automatic print starting. No mucking about with moving files all over the place.
This video is exactly why I love your stuff. Watching you disassemble so much just to change the nozzle has completely turned me off this printer, which is probably why none of their sponsored videos mention it. Back to looking at Anycubic, I guess, since Bambu is out of my price range. Keep up the honest work!
Just received mine. maqde 3 prints. total at 10hours. so far no issue about what you mentionned. (I got the 4 Plus btw). Did the update all went smooth. No bed issue no print issue. Only thing to do was to tighen the excentric wheel on the bed
thanks for the honest review! personally i bought the neptune 4 printer on 7/8/2024, out of the box following the instructions the set up was pretty easy for me. this was my first printer and i was hoping for a good intrudction printer (the bugs are worked out and its smooth sailing out side of learing maintenice) it printed ok but the second print started messing up. i assumed it was me so i started my learning proscess. 28 days later i learned of its huge flaw. i tried to update softwhere/firmwhere but i was now spening days with out running and my print list was getting even bigger. i went to amazon and requested a refund, this is not a beginer printer. lots of bugs and kinks i had no idea what i was walking into... even thou i have experience with SSH 'ng in , loads of Tech experience both digital and real world. i wish i would have found this honest review before i bought it. i should have went bamboo
I subscribed because this is the only channel of all the 3d printing yt channels that openly criticizes "out-of-box" experiences for 3d printers. This channel literally wants 3d printers to progress as an actual consumer product rather than just being a specialized hobby.
I like your work a lot - but this time what I saw rushed was your review. Sure: if you want want an out of the box, hit print and WOW FDM printer, there is a price for that: Bambu. But ANY other FDM printer requires good adjustments. PID tuning, Linear Advance, belt tension, eccentric nuts, input shaping - if you didn’t do any of that, you don’t have a calibrated FDM printer. If you are not interested in these aspects, then FDM is not for you. Because even a Bambu printer will require maintenance - it is a matter of time before it gives rubbish prints without proper mechanical adjustments. Other than that, I love you ❤️😘💕
I bought a Mars 3 Pro to print bases for my sculptures. It may be slower, but for someone who knows next to nothing about FDM printing, it just works for me. Think I’ll just stick with that for a while.
It's a double edged sword. It can clead to better quality for thinner layered printes becasue the hot nozzle is not near the previous layer for long enough that it re-melts it.
+1 biggest point that was not mentioned - you can't buy gears for Neptune 4, which means if you will decide to print with glass fiber abs, you will have a disposable printer because you will not be able to change them
So this is my first printer. By default. My kid wanted one, so that means I learn how to use it and then teach him. It's been a learning experience all along. Assembly was easy. I work on cars and motorcycles and am a little mechanically inclined. I however am not a computer guy. I've gotten better. I've learned how to download and do upgrades to firm ware lol thanks elegoo. But I'm actually swapping this and 99 bucks to upgrade to the Neptune 3 max the huge one. But no klipper because elegoo hasn't gotten all the bugs worked out. This thing was released WAY to soon I figured that out when I was taking my controller alert to upgrade it lol NOT the one for first time 3d printing. Glad to find your review. Also for the helmets drop your flow to 80% I was shredding masks about 1/2 or 3/4 through it was layers were too thick and the print head was where it supposed to be.
I watch a lot of reviews and you really knock it out of the park on your FDM reviews. I don't do resin yet. Not sure I am ready to volunteer for the carcinogens
Thank you so much for this video. I research everything to ad nauseam and stumbled across many posts on FB with people having issues with the 4 series. Yet 99% of youtubers claim its great. This review made me rule it out since this will be my first 3d printer I didnt want to try and have to troubleshoot what was going wrong without a clue of what is right. I wanted the A1 but its bed is just a little to small and since its just a hobby speed is not the most critical thing for me. I went with the Elegoo 3 pro and out of the box for a total 3d noob this thing has been awesome. Thanks for your honesty, seems pretty rare in the world of have a free 3d printer in exchange for "honest review" Gained a sub, thanks again
Ive had a nep4 pro for 3 months now and only issues i have had was user error. And on the noise of the metal guide wheels. I have had none when the big fan is off my printer is so quiet I have to check to see if it is still printing. As long as they are not over tightened and have a little grease they should be all good. Have quite a few hours on it and havnt touched the wheels in over a month and they are still very quiet.
It probably was rushed BUT it's been nearly 4 months and I know they have had firmware updates. I would like to know if some of the issues have been addressed?
I have one which works fine for me but I tinkered with it ant fixed most of the issues it had I realise not everyone has the same time and knowledge base to do the same things I did so I complelty agree with this title....
Wanted to weigh in and thank you for the honest review. I actually was looking at either the Pro or Max as a first printer, and was impressed by the feature set at such a low price point. I had no idea they used proprietary nozzles and that the bed leveling was semi-automatic though. I’ll have to consider it more carefully. Thanks again!
When you use the compare feature on the website, it makes it very clear the difference between the 4 and 4 Pro. Other the rail material, the Pro version has two heating elements on the bed compared to the one heating unit of the 4.
they clearly have a comparison table on their website. there are 2 main difference between the 4 and the 4 Pro: 1. the rails and 2. the pro has a two-zone heating bed
I removed noozzle from the back without removing anything. As i did not install that stupid fan u can easly acess it from back of printer. Strip down silicon sheet and rest as it goes..
I've had a pain trying to use my Ender 3 Max Neo. After getting my P1S , I've only tried the ender once and it was slow and didn't print that well. I'm in the same boat you are as I don't have time to "Tinker" with printers to get them to work. Now having used a Core X Y printer I'm not a fan of Bed Slingers. Now I know I can go into the Ender and change things and make it faster and print better, but id rather spend my free time making things and learning slicers more to improve quality. I've since put the Ender back in its box , and while doing that found the hot end had been loose. Apparently from the start. Well for now I'm just using the P1S and would love to try other brands , even bed slingers, but I'm really down to user experience . For a new person coming into the field, you don't know what you don't know. Call me lazy, but I want it to just work out of the box. I think the leg work should be done by the company making the product, not the end user. Its great to have the option to change things, but only if you want to instead of have too. Hats off to all the peeps that can rebuild and reprogram these machines and I'm impressed with their skill and knowledge , but its not my bag. Working a full time crappy job, family and children and growing a baby UA-cam channel, when I do have free time, I just want stuff to work. I have no experience with Elegoo or any other brand outside Creality and Bambu, and I know I have way way way more to learn. Great Video as always sir/Solute !
I fell into the Ender trap when I heard it was easy to start small and upgrade as you go. I spent the next year figuring out how to tweak it. Now I've got it to where I can print out a template for a silicone mold in 3-8 hours. I am now looking to replace it with something from the Neptune 4 series.
I am new to 3d printing and I just bought a neptune 4 pro that comes in in a couple days and I am trying to learn about it and what to expect and I found this super helpful. I guess with how my brain likes to work I should have gone with a ender 3 but hay I open to the challenge
@programacao1238 mines fine just don't move it around. I was having to move alot for a while while my house was being repaired and now my bed will make a crunching noise then the software will crash otherwise I finished making a halo helmet before that happened
I haven't been able to print anything but 75x75mm first layer squares for almost a week on my N4P. My patience has dried up. On a happier note my first resin printer is doing very well the M5s and with your videos have ordered a M5 vat for the better resolution. TY bye the way for the idea 💡
Thank you for the viddie. Struggling to find a entry level/beginner 3d printer because every video I see it a warning not to buy whichever printer I am looking at. It is so frustrating that the only printers folks seem to agree are worth it are $700+.
100% Agree with you. It's a GOOD printer but it is flawed. I have the 4 and the 4 Plus. Putting them through their paces. It reminds me of the early days of the V2 Ender 3 "MOD IT and it will be great". BUT your right this is marketed to the beginner crowd as competitive with Bambu. It's no Bambu Lab. It's a ENDER 3 S1 PRO on Steroids. You get alot of what people want m now in a new printer but still has the feeling of being forced to "HAVE TO MOD THIS" rather than just getting an out of the box, setup, run a bed mesh to level and your printing type printer. Love the honest review.
Hi Mate Thank you for your honest review was thinking of buying but now leaning towards the sovol 7 plus seems to have good reviews, it will be my first 3d printer Cheers Mark
Ive got a Neptune 4 and have so far printed 2 spools of PLA through it and I had a couple issues of the bed not adhering but I just started to use a glue stick and it fixed the issue. Other then that I have had good results with it right out of the box. Ive done a couple levelings with it but I didnt have to adjust anything as far as bed wobble or anything else...It worked fine
I picked up a Neptune 4 Max a month or so ago. I haven't had any nozzle issues, but the main problem is that the extra speed is useless because the bed whips around so fast that it shakes the fuck out of whatever I set it on to the point where it causes layer shifts. I was concerned it was going to rip the legs off my desk. I tried setting it on the floor, and I could feel my whole house moving beneath my feet. So unless you're mounting this printer to a steel-reinforced bunker, I don't see how you're going to keep it stable enough at full speed to work properly. Also, any thin supports the Cura software likes to create are useless because support wobbles back and forth like crazy while printing. So I set it on the slowest, "silent" level (which is anything but silent), and I just wait longer. Which is fine. Print quality is much better than I expected. And the build volume is respectable, though still a bit small on the 4 Max, and I have to break half the things I want to print into multiple pieces and then glue them together.
This would have been a good chance to make a recommendation here that has the features you were referring to. At THIS price point . Not the $1000-1500 models you rave about.
I bought my 4 Pro oct 17th of this year, it had been working perfectly just using the thumb drive. no connection to the internet, i turned it on christmas night to use it and got an error message to update the firmware. been trying to update the firmware for 2 days now nothing happens, so i just emailed the company to see if they can help me.
Thank you for the video, I want to immerse myself in this world and these videos are helping me a lot, thanks to that I already have resin selected, but I don't know which fdm, I change every 2 days, but I have about a week left, so we'll see how many more videos I can see :D
@@FauxHammer From the beginning I was clearly convinced that I wanted a P1S. But then I thought that in the future I want to create some kind of full body armor, and I decided to go for the Elegoo plus, the bigger one doesn't fit in my house anymore and it's so much cheaper. I'm still thinking if it's worth the bigger/cheaper one, but I'll still be angry, or the more expensive one, maybe without problems and to do it in more parts,
The bad accessibility to the print head is definitely a bummer. Maybe the aux fan unit could be mounted with magnets instead of screws to make the process a bit easier?
@@vespineyt I concur, I just placed an order for one. The recall gave me some pause but I found out its not much of an issue. I did spend 2x my initial budget but after watching several reviews it's a no brainer. Thanks for the input, much appreciated.
I have a Neptune 2 and still rarely use it because I don’t want to spend the time learning everything that is necessary for it to run smooth. So I usually keep to my resin printing rather the tinkering with mines.
Great video, i wish I would have seen it like 2 weeks ago. I have the Neptune 4 and I can't get any big prints to work. The slice software is Orca slice. Wish me luck. I will learn this
I think a lot of companies are just “throwing spaghetti against the wall” to see what sticks…so many new models that seem to be just tacking letters and numbers on the end to stand out
Spot on ... I have the 4 Max and have no idea how it got out the door when it keeps forgetting the Z offset on power down ... how does a QA team miss that?
Wait... So despite there being effectively two standards for nozzles (RepRap, aka V6, and Volcano (I refuse to consider Creality's proprietary MK8 a "standard" since it's mainly just them that uses it)) they've gone and done their own thing, and then paired it in with making the most commonly worked on tool a royal pain to actually work on. Voron changed the design of their mounts for the Clockwork/Stealthburner combination in order to make it even easier to do maintenance - four screws to remove the part cooling, and another 4-6 if you need to fully disassemble things to get to the hotend (two holding the two parts of the hotend mount, and then 2-4 to remove the hotend (it depends on what hotend you're using)). I still don't understand why so many of these printer brands are targeting beginners or entry-level pricing, and slapping on a bunch of things that are generally unimportant. The average person starting out is going to think speed is neat, but would rather just have something that WORKS. Yes I'm aware there's two core parts of the hobby, those who want to tinker with everything, and those who want tools... I fall into the latter myself. I'm the person running a mostly stock Voron Trident at speeds I'm happy enough with, and it does exactly what I've asked it to, and it keeps going. But the biggest thing of it all, is while the auxiliary fans are nice, four 5015 fans running at max are going to absolutely scream, and that's going to drive most people bonkers... Also, it's 2023, why are so many companies still doing the four screws thing!!!!
Spot on with everything you said here. WHY!!!! because they rushed it out to market by speeding yup the Neptune 3's, that's it. there's no innovation here other than a hot end LED and replacing an SD card slot with USB
Thanks for the video. I’m still pretty sold on the 4 plus . Can you please share what kind of workspace is required for these? I’m worried that I won’t have anywhere to put it but in a garage that isn’t climate controlled.
in the video you say that the maintenance of the print head needs to be done quite often. For what? How often do you service your head? 1-2 times a month? More often? WHAT ARE YOU TYPING WITH?! What do you serve?
@@FauxHammer that's what I wanted but they couldn't get it in stock so I ended up with the anycubic kobra pro 2, which isn't nearly as polished, but has done really well so far.
With the plethora of 3D printers out there what company/model (yes it's probably a very diff question0 would you suggest/recommend one looks into for printing of structural stuff like gears, camera accessories etc where the resolution needs to good and not having to process stuff later. Plus do you have any experience with printers which are good for Delrin and or polycarbonate printing. Hope you can help/suggest. Don't worry i won't hold you to any thing LOL.
Thanks for the insightful video! As someone who recently got into resin 3D printing with the Saturn 2, I was hoping that the Elegoo printers would be great for FDM. As a novice to it though, a lot of the things you mentioned looked like pretty big turnoffs for a newer user. I think I'll wait for another generation of Neptune printers, or look at some of the competition for an FDM printer.
@@FauxHammer I'll have to check them out! A friend just picked up one, I believe a Kobra 2, and he's been loving it so far. Thank you so much for all the videos you put out, they're super helpful for novices like myself!
Yeah, I cant get a single print finish without a layer shift or bed leveling issues. I have spent hours calibrating, and I have to recalibrate every tiem before a print.@@FauxHammer
when it works, its pretty awesome but its not the most reliable machine. need to be prepared to make adjustments and deal with issues.... mine has an annoying issue with nozzle dragging over the printed area sometimes randomly and part warping has popped up recently
Great video. I was thinking of getting the reduced price Elegoo Neptune 3 Pro. Would you know if the 3 Pro has basic m8 nozzles that are straight forward to change or is it a case of struggling with disassembly even for a nozzle change? Thanks in advance.
Do not get this printer do not get this printer. I've had their Neptune three and I don't know what happened. I'm pretty sure they sold the company off. This is a completely different machine is absolutely horrible like absolutely horrible. I can't even get the thing to work and I used to print on Neptune three for over half a year I made hundreds of dollars.
ummm, yes but mainly because it;s a little easier to get to the hot end as you don;t need to remove the part cooling fan every time. but both are still awkward. please just get a Bambu A1 and save yourself a lot of headaches.
I've had firmware issues and have installed what they sent. My printer took the update the first time then started saying that the firmware wasn't on the "root menu" when it sent an error again. I've had to update the screen as well since that's a separate system somehow. Last night, the leveling knobs fell off and the print ruined. I have yet to get something off of it that was correct. It couldn't print PETG despite following all the correct steps and being advertised as doing so. I've already messed up one print head assembly and replaced it. Elegoo support hasn't been that helpful really considering I get more information on troubleshooting from youtube.
I found your layer shift issue to be of interest. I have the N4 Pro and was printing an egg dispenser, which has some tall pieces for the ramps that get glued to the main body. Both ramps failed at the same height, with an error. I am curious if this is related to your layer shifting at a specific height. I will be trying these again with Orca, which I am learning anyway. For the most part, I've had few issues, but I came from an Ender 3 V2, so it's a matter of perspective.
What would be a good alternative to the Neptune 4 Max then? I was close to buying this one, but the problems you mention would be too annoying for me I think. So, anything out there that also has a reasonably big (30+cm) build area, same-ish price?
For that size the Neptune 4max is your best bet. Mine comes in Friday. I have had the Neptune 4 for 2 days now and so far I love it. I really Don't understand where all this hate is coming from. Out of the box I have never had a better printer experience in terms of setup and first print. In my initial prints look phenomenal. I've actually been using a silk metallic color glitter material(burnt titanium by flash forge) for most of my prints and have not had a problem yet. The silks tend to be tougher to print with and when you combine it with a glitter it makes it a lot more challenging. I have not had any problems yet. I would like to know what better printers he is referencing because I have not seen or used one. Check out Aurora Tech's review on the Neptune 4 Max. Implementing clipper and all these different features is new to these manufacturers and I honestly think elegoo has done a better job than most. There is no direct competitor to the max in that price range. In the very near future I think we will see more features implemented on all the Neptune 4 series printers.
It's a good printer if you pay used price. I got a n4 pro for $180. Though yeah I wouldn't recommend it to someone as a first printer unless they are the type of person who likes to tinker and dial in settings. Even the automatic bed levelling is weird and tedious on this thing. If you're dropping $300 on a printer in 2024, just buy a bambu a1 without the ams.
For clarity, I have three neptune 2S's and a neptune 3 max. I love to tinker with my printers and like Elegoo as a brand for fdm. Though I will be doing the Ender NG corexy mod to those 2Ses.
Hi, I have a problem my flash drive. The one that can with my Neptune 4pro works on the machine but not on my laptop. I bought two flash drives One 2.0 and 3.0 they work on the laptop, but not on my machine. What am. I doing wrong? Please help me out with this problem. Thank you. Walter😢😢
Nope, and I won't touch them either. If you want h the video closely, mostbkf the karts are from the Saturn 3. I thinknkts just a Saturn 3 in another chassis. I was considering doing a video called Scam warning until I saw a couple if people had them. They emailed me. I reolked. Never spoke to them since
So if I was to buy my first novice printer with easy software that works out of the box what would you recommend , iv heard the original prusa are supposed to be good ?
Bambu A1, Just released my video yesterday, hope that helps. I've not used a Prusa, but it looks the opposite. It's certainly no A1 in terms of approach.
Currently the Creality k1 is about £100 more than the NP4. Is the £100 extra worth paying for the K1 because I’ve seen some good and some bad reviews on the K1
Easily worth it, it seems there was a load of issues with the first batches that I address in my K1 max review But I got a K1 later, and mine was perfect, beyond perfect. It was incredible If you get one though, get the Camera add-on too!
That thing with the nozzle actually seems more like an asshole move to screw over the customers, so they'd have to come to THEM to get replacement parts instead of being able to just get them anywhere. Same thing Anycubic tried back with the Photon Mono, where they made it so you'd need to get the new FEP from them, because the sheet was glued to the frame at the bottom of the vat, rather than just being a sheet pressed between two parts like everywhere else and everything was made of cheap plastic to make sure trying to get the sheet out of the frame it came in would probably break the frame. Don't remember which, but another manufacturer made a killing back then because their own metal vats were compatible with that printer and would do away with that hassle.
Thank you, perfect timing. i was going to buy the 4 pro this weekend, but now i think i will do some more research into which are easier to maintain and learn on. love your channel. keep rocking
I have a neptune 4 pro it will not level. I can do the auxiliary level for hours and not get to go to each corner without having to make an adjustment. I can go around once get everything where it should be< I'll go back to 1 and it'll be so tight it almost tears the paper. Next I'll go to 2 It'll be so loose I fix, 3 will be the same 4 is slightly off back to 1 it'll be loose 2 will be tight same with 3. You get the picture, It will go on and on like this. I know adjusting a corner will have a slight effect on the others but it some point I should be able to go around to all 4 corners and I shouldn't have to make an adjustment. I'll do the leveling over and over eventually I get a good print. I'll go to print the same thing again and I'll get stringing or some areas will be fine and others I'll get stringing or the filament doesn't adhere to the bed and get drug around by the nozzle or wraps around it. This is my first 3D printer I watched all the reviews they talked about how great it was and at a good price so I pre ordered it. I have gone through 4 spools of filament with only a hand full of usable prints. I think the issue for me is the z axis doesn't seem to go down to the same spot every time. This would account for the auxiliary leveling never working. Even when I auto level I can make no adjustments to the z offset or the knobs and the values will change every time.
I am brand new to printing and haven't bought my first one yet....I spend way too many hours watching review videos and no one on here agrees on anything. Everyone recommends a different printer and everyone has different opinions. It's frustrating as hell for a new person to the hobby as I have absolutely no idea what models to look at....I thought the Neptunes were great and here this video says no....sigh...
I'm in the same boat. I settled on buying the N4 Pro, but now I'm back to the drawing board. Ideally, I want a 5 head Prusa XL, or a Bambu Labs P1S w/AMS. Realistically, the Ankermake M5c, Adventure 5m, or Bambu Lab P1P (stretching to budget) are what I'll start looking at.
Same here
I have the Neptune 4 plus and have zero issues. I absolutely love it.
@@84Eraursls I haven't heard of the Anker or Adventure!
From continued research I think the Bambu P1S is the way to go
I've been 3D printing for 7 months and I can tell you it's often very frustrating. I have four Bambu printers and a Neptune 3 Max and a 4 max. Don't buy a Bambu printer unless you REALLY need multi color. After a few months they break down constantly. The Max 3 has been a dream and the Max 4 has been horrible.
Although I have enjoyed other reviews of yours, it seems like you phoned this one in. This is a feature packed printer that is at an entry level price, but can be set up for people who want to have an excellent printer and have more experience. The fact that its a Klipper printer with built in ethernet access is a big deal since it can do input shaping and can print directly from the user interface. Your chief complaint was that you tried to do something that was too big? That's on you and shouldn't even have been mentioned. Many of us can't afford a Bambu printer and don't get stuff for free. We are trying to find the best printer on our budget. This, for me, is the most feature packed one at this price. As someone who prints both FDM and Resin, they both have a place and pros/cons.
Whilst I hear your complaints, I really do. My complaints are more than it wouldn't do something big. The layer shifting issues are common on this device and whilst my layers shifted in one place in one place. In an earlier slice it was elsewhere.
My complains are also that the parts you will need access to most often are hard to access, the slicer you get is nasty and this does not lead to a good experience for any beginner.
I'm not saying buy a Bambu, though you be fair you can get an A1 for little more thank these cost. But even the Anycubic Kobra 2 series have been far better than these Neltune 3.5 printers.
I just double checked all the printers I could find in this range. And the customer reviews. There are quite a few complaints about the Neptune 4 pro for exactly what you mention here, usually by people who are newer to FDM printing. At the excellent youtube channel Aurora Tech they do very careful reviews and analysis and found some speed issues and settings that fixed most of the problems. Elegoo should definetly address them with updated printer profiles as well as publishing profiles for other slicers. So, I retract my statement. You were spot on after all@@FauxHammer. The Anycubic Kobra 2 pro is often considered a better printer in this category, has auto z offset setting and supposed wifi, (only works with smartphone app) but since it can't print nylon I just can't do it. I'll deal with the Neptune Pro 4 pro issues because of that.
I think it's ironic (and appropriate) that he phoned in the review and the main complaint from him is that he feels it was rushed to market printer.
@@FinalLevelBoss Why should I bother if they don't?
I don’t know how you think this is an appropriate response. I tried reading it multiple times but with so many errors it just makes no sense.
Had the Neptune 4 as my first 3D printer for a month. It's printing like a champ now, most of the issues I had were lack of user knowledge. Incredible piece of kit, love it.
I think I' getting one as my first one, the 4 instead of the pro as the pro is $150 more on Amazon
@@looseprayers I read somewhere yesterday that the pro is $129 on some prime day sale. I assume that's US, I don't know what that is 😊
I have a Neptune 4 Pro and love the printer. No layer shifting or any other issue. The only problem is the loudness of fans. That's my sixth printer and by far the best one.
I bought a used N4 2 months ago and have had very little issues with it. The bed was super loose as well as the extruder when I received i. I am sure it was returned because the prior owner never tightened anything even though the instructions tell you to. The only other issue I had was adhesion and that was resolved by cleaning the PEI sheet as I think it had oil on it from the factory. Since then I have put over 800 hours on it and get perfect prints. I am still running an old stock firmware too. I also use an older version of Simplify3D as it seems to print much faster than Prusa or Orca with the same settings. I do agree that these were rushed to market and Elegoo is still learning Klipper. Hopefully the N5 will fix all of the issues that seems to plague others with the N4.
Great insight, thank you. and yeah I hope they actually try with the N5. I just ordred the OrangeStormGiga, so I hope they learn before that too
@@FauxHammer I was a long time supporter of Elegoo since the beginning, starting out with their initial offerings from resin then to FDM and well, no more. I got the N4 and it was just trash. Eventually just stopped being tight with my money and put some money into the Bambulabs P1P and I won't be going back. The time I've saved from not having to "tinker, fix, repair, upgrade and modify" a machine has been better used elsewhere enabling me to actually just do what I want to do - print.
I am so disappointed with my N4 and frustrated. If I could just do whatever you did and just get my dam N4 not to mess up first layer or spaghetti I'd be happy. Constant issues and I keep trying things and keep failing prints. I think i must have a nozzle issue so now im searching for a guide to how to replace it and hoping nothing else messes up.
CHECK YOUR SCREWS on the Z Gantry lead screws. They are always loose. Get a flex 5.5mm nut driver. See Video right side 10:24. Notice the lock nut is almost off. The screw is loose also I bet. The lock nut is impossible to get to so the flex driver gets it done. The bed rails are also dirty most likely and taking the bed off, cleaning the bed rail car, and adjusting the tension on the car against the rails did it job for me. Quiet and prints rock solid.
Those screws through the brass bushing are meant to have some slack in them. I confirmed this with Elegoo support, as so many people in the Facebook group for the N4 were asking it.
As a Neptune 4 Pro user myself, you do bring up a lot of valid points. However, I still thought I made a good purchase as I haven't experienced as many problems. I think part of the reason is I didn't get my printer to print helmets or cosplay. I print toys and tools and practice my design skills to make functional tools for myself. I'm a tinkerer. With printing smaller items I rarely experience layer shifts. Also, the first thing I did when I got the printer was tune it. I have almost 1000 hours on it and haven't had to do any nozzle maintenance yet. But I only print with non-abrasive PLA. The negative points of the review are well founded. If I were new to 3D printing and were looking into buying this, I probably would have cared a lot about what was said in this video.
So, all-in-all, I'd say you put out a fairly informative video. Nice work.
My only critique would be to do more research on the printer before posting about it. You were on the nose about the differences between the 4 and the 4 pro being minor. And You most likely knew about the other couple things that were different and didn't mention them, but I feel you'd owe it to your viewers to mention them all anyway. You did say that you're a resin kinda guy, though. I've never used a resin printer in my life. So I'm sure if I did a review on one, I'd probably miss a few things. Also, I'm not a UA-camr, so I'm sure if I did a review of anything it would only get 2 views. And both of them would be from my mom.
I hope I'm coming across as pretentious, because I suck at my people skills and can't stand the thought of thinking I did good when I did nothing but offend people. The key to happiness is low expectations. It's easier to be pleasantly surprised that way. Therefore, I hope you were offended by this comment.
Thank you for your time and consideration on this matter.
Not pretentious at all. This is some if the best feedback I've ever had. Honestly, I dobtvjnkwnof anhbother differences between the 4 and 4 pro
JBP...I also have the N4PRO and do exactly what you do with it (tinkering, smaller prints, etc) and have had very few issues except some 1st layer bed adhesion issues here and there. Yet I read so many forum posts about issues that so many others have. You actually nailed it when you pointed out that you (as well as I) aren't printing helmets or cosplay bur rather smaller models. I'm tempted to printout a large model just to see if my N4PRO can handle it.
@@FauxHammerI believe the Pro also has a 2 zone segmented heated bed.
@@FauxHammer The pro also has a segmented heat bed, which you'll only really see the benefit of if you use their version of CURA. Otherwise, you'd have to add a post-processing script in Prusa Slicer or Orca Slicer to determine the size of the print yourself and add the macro command to turn off the larger heat bed segment accordingly. Another thing that screams that this printer isn't for the novice user.
@@jellybeanpowderOMG!!! Is it really possible to heat only part of the bed? I bought a N4PRO but I have no idea how to do this! I hate their Cura... Could you please tell me how to do this macro command or where can I find? Thank you veeeery much for this info! Here in Brasil the K1 is double the price of the Nep4 and the bambu is something like 4x... Not affordable to me right now.
I bought a Neptune 4 as my first. Received it about 5 weeks ago. Ive ran into some of these issues already, and had no idea about the others. That being said I absolutely love this machine!
Also... NOT putting the magnetic print plate back after finishing a print will cause this machine to BURY the nozzle into the bed... Goodtimes.
yeah I've done that before too!
Could you list any issues you faced issues with the neptune 4 and did you have to make any upgrades in order to ensure proper functioning, if so could you please share
Thanks in advance
As an experienced 3D printer user who has just bought (and loving) a Neptune 4 Max, I absolutely agree these printers are not beginner friendly. I cut my teeth on a Tevo Tornado (and made all the usual upgrades etc). For beginners, I love the Flashforge Adventurer series - we have a few an uni and they just work.
Absolutely agreed, for a beginner those Adventurers are awesome. I have the Adventurer 5, and it's Good. But they need to sort their software out to reach the masses.
After 3 months have you had any issues with the neptune 4 max and did you have to make any upgrades in order to ensure proper functioning, if so could you please share
Thanks in advance
@@chillSpoofy nope, no issues at all - over 600 print hrs now in total. I have added linear rails but out of choice, not necessity.
Had the Max. Sent it back. The z-axis shift ended up plugging up the hot end when it failed in the middle of a medium-sized 10 hour print. I wish you had published this before I purchased the Max! I’m like you - I just don’t care and things just need to work.
I have the Max Review online already for my Members. I've gone easy on these compared to what i said about the Max
For network connectivity, I installed an Intel AX212 pci-e wifi 6 card and use my physical ethernet port to connect directly to the printer. Its cuts out the headache of swapping usb drives all the time especially since moonraker can be used to send a g-code file straight from the slicer to the printer itself and automatic print starting. No mucking about with moving files all over the place.
This video is exactly why I love your stuff. Watching you disassemble so much just to change the nozzle has completely turned me off this printer, which is probably why none of their sponsored videos mention it. Back to looking at Anycubic, I guess, since Bambu is out of my price range. Keep up the honest work!
Also the only differences I have seen between the 4 and the 4 Pro are the rails and the partitioned heat bed.
I've got 4 Anycubic FDM printers and they're really good value. My original Mega is still working ok. No bells no whistles many prints.
@@ausfoodgarden I haven't had that much success with my Anycubic Mega X or Chiron
I think you just have to raise the gantry, take out the silicone cap, use a proper tube key to change the nozzle.
@@eaman11 That's okay I got a Creality K1 😝
Just received mine. maqde 3 prints. total at 10hours. so far no issue about what you mentionned. (I got the 4 Plus btw). Did the update all went smooth. No bed issue no print issue. Only thing to do was to tighen the excentric wheel on the bed
thanks for the honest review! personally i bought the neptune 4 printer on 7/8/2024, out of the box following the instructions the set up was pretty easy for me. this was my first printer and i was hoping for a good intrudction printer (the bugs are worked out and its smooth sailing out side of learing maintenice) it printed ok but the second print started messing up. i assumed it was me so i started my learning proscess. 28 days later i learned of its huge flaw. i tried to update softwhere/firmwhere but i was now spening days with out running and my print list was getting even bigger. i went to amazon and requested a refund, this is not a beginer printer. lots of bugs and kinks i had no idea what i was walking into...
even thou i have experience with SSH 'ng in , loads of Tech experience both digital and real world.
i wish i would have found this honest review before i bought it. i should have went bamboo
I am happy with mine and been printing since 2016. I enjoy watching your videos as they are well produced.
I really appreciate your reviews you’re not 100% shitting on it but do where it deserves and I appreciate that!
Your honesty on your review and clear explanation without making me yawn makes me like you plenty. I needed this video. Subscribed thank you
I subscribed because this is the only channel of all the 3d printing yt channels that openly criticizes "out-of-box" experiences for 3d printers. This channel literally wants 3d printers to progress as an actual consumer product rather than just being a specialized hobby.
I like your work a lot - but this time what I saw rushed was your review. Sure: if you want want an out of the box, hit print and WOW FDM printer, there is a price for that: Bambu. But ANY other FDM printer requires good adjustments. PID tuning, Linear Advance, belt tension, eccentric nuts, input shaping - if you didn’t do any of that, you don’t have a calibrated FDM printer.
If you are not interested in these aspects, then FDM is not for you. Because even a Bambu printer will require maintenance - it is a matter of time before it gives rubbish prints without proper mechanical adjustments.
Other than that, I love you ❤️😘💕
I bought a Mars 3 Pro to print bases for my sculptures. It may be slower, but for someone who knows next to nothing about FDM printing, it just works for me. Think I’ll just stick with that for a while.
Don't blame you.
I did a short video about speed and I've learned its not really all its cracked up to be if quality is your end goal.
It's a double edged sword. It can clead to better quality for thinner layered printes becasue the hot nozzle is not near the previous layer for long enough that it re-melts it.
What did you just say
+1 biggest point that was not mentioned - you can't buy gears for Neptune 4, which means if you will decide to print with glass fiber abs, you will have a disposable printer because you will not be able to change them
So this is my first printer. By default. My kid wanted one, so that means I learn how to use it and then teach him. It's been a learning experience all along. Assembly was easy. I work on cars and motorcycles and am a little mechanically inclined. I however am not a computer guy. I've gotten better. I've learned how to download and do upgrades to firm ware lol thanks elegoo. But I'm actually swapping this and 99 bucks to upgrade to the Neptune 3 max the huge one. But no klipper because elegoo hasn't gotten all the bugs worked out. This thing was released WAY to soon I figured that out when I was taking my controller alert to upgrade it lol NOT the one for first time 3d printing. Glad to find your review. Also for the helmets drop your flow to 80% I was shredding masks about 1/2 or 3/4 through it was layers were too thick and the print head was where it supposed to be.
I watch a lot of reviews and you really knock it out of the park on your FDM reviews. I don't do resin yet. Not sure I am ready to volunteer for the carcinogens
Thanks so much
Thank you so much for this video. I research everything to ad nauseam and stumbled across many posts on FB with people having issues with the 4 series. Yet 99% of youtubers claim its great. This review made me rule it out since this will be my first 3d printer I didnt want to try and have to troubleshoot what was going wrong without a clue of what is right.
I wanted the A1 but its bed is just a little to small and since its just a hobby speed is not the most critical thing for me.
I went with the Elegoo 3 pro and out of the box for a total 3d noob this thing has been awesome.
Thanks for your honesty, seems pretty rare in the world of have a free 3d printer in exchange for "honest review"
Gained a sub, thanks again
Thankyou. Yeah, your trust in my reviews is worth far more than me pandering to the Brand
Ive had a nep4 pro for 3 months now and only issues i have had was user error. And on the noise of the metal guide wheels. I have had none when the big fan is off my printer is so quiet I have to check to see if it is still printing. As long as they are not over tightened and have a little grease they should be all good. Have quite a few hours on it and havnt touched the wheels in over a month and they are still very quiet.
I wish I'd had your experience with mine. But at the same price point I've had printers with no issues.
which one at same price point? @@FauxHammer
Nah just a hater. @@FauxHammer
@@ridealongryan eh?
Thanks for covering the fine points that few others do, Ross...incredibly insightful, useful, and much appreciated!
My pleasure!
It probably was rushed BUT it's been nearly 4 months and I know they have had firmware updates. I would like to know if some of the issues have been addressed?
I have one which works fine for me but I tinkered with it ant fixed most of the issues it had I realise not everyone has the same time and knowledge base to do the same things I did so I complelty agree with this title....
Thanks so much.
I always appreciate and honest, fair review. Thanks!
Wanted to weigh in and thank you for the honest review. I actually was looking at either the Pro or Max as a first printer, and was impressed by the feature set at such a low price point. I had no idea they used proprietary nozzles and that the bed leveling was semi-automatic though. I’ll have to consider it more carefully. Thanks again!
If you can? push to get the new Bambu A1. It’s the ultimate beginner FDM printer
That was a really good no B.S. review. I really like your candor and willingness to point out the bad as well as the good. Thanks!
When you use the compare feature on the website, it makes it very clear the difference between the 4 and 4 Pro. Other the rail material, the Pro version has two heating elements on the bed compared to the one heating unit of the 4.
it does now...
they clearly have a comparison table on their website. there are 2 main difference between the 4 and the 4 Pro:
1. the rails and 2. the pro has a two-zone heating bed
Man, having to take the whole deal off the carriage to unclog or swap a nozzle is just daft - thanks for bringing that up!
No worries. i would have missed it too if these weren't so crap!
Hey, I had a clog on this printer, but I did not have to disassemble I just raised temp to 300 celius and used an Allen key and push out clog
I removed noozzle from the back without removing anything. As i did not install that stupid fan u can easly acess it from back of printer. Strip down silicon sheet and rest as it goes..
I've had a pain trying to use my Ender 3 Max Neo. After getting my P1S , I've only tried the ender once and it was slow and didn't print that well. I'm in the same boat you are as I don't have time to "Tinker" with printers to get them to work. Now having used a Core X Y printer I'm not a fan of Bed Slingers. Now I know I can go into the Ender and change things and make it faster and print better, but id rather spend my free time making things and learning slicers more to improve quality. I've since put the Ender back in its box , and while doing that found the hot end had been loose. Apparently from the start. Well for now I'm just using the P1S and would love to try other brands , even bed slingers, but I'm really down to user experience . For a new person coming into the field, you don't know what you don't know. Call me lazy, but I want it to just work out of the box. I think the leg work should be done by the company making the product, not the end user. Its great to have the option to change things, but only if you want to instead of have too. Hats off to all the peeps that can rebuild and reprogram these machines and I'm impressed with their skill and knowledge , but its not my bag. Working a full time crappy job, family and children and growing a baby UA-cam channel, when I do have free time, I just want stuff to work. I have no experience with Elegoo or any other brand outside Creality and Bambu, and I know I have way way way more to learn. Great Video as always sir/Solute !
I fell into the Ender trap when I heard it was easy to start small and upgrade as you go. I spent the next year figuring out how to tweak it. Now I've got it to where I can print out a template for a silicone mold in 3-8 hours. I am now looking to replace it with something from the Neptune 4 series.
I am new to 3d printing and I just bought a neptune 4 pro that comes in in a couple days and I am trying to learn about it and what to expect and I found this super helpful. I guess with how my brain likes to work I should have gone with a ender 3 but hay I open to the challenge
I just bought a Neptune 4 Pro. Many videos recommended it. How is yours?
@programacao1238 mines fine just don't move it around. I was having to move alot for a while while my house was being repaired and now my bed will make a crunching noise then the software will crash otherwise I finished making a halo helmet before that happened
I haven't been able to print anything but 75x75mm first layer squares for almost a week on my N4P. My patience has dried up. On a happier note my first resin printer is doing very well the M5s and with your videos have ordered a M5 vat for the better resolution. TY bye the way for the idea 💡
Did you check the heater? These printers have double heat area.
Thank you for the viddie. Struggling to find a entry level/beginner 3d printer because every video I see it a warning not to buy whichever printer I am looking at. It is so frustrating that the only printers folks seem to agree are worth it are $700+.
Get a Balbu A1 if you want easy. Without the AMS, that's $500
100% Agree with you. It's a GOOD printer but it is flawed. I have the 4 and the 4 Plus. Putting them through their paces. It reminds me of the early days of the V2 Ender 3 "MOD IT and it will be great". BUT your right this is marketed to the beginner crowd as competitive with Bambu. It's no Bambu Lab. It's a ENDER 3 S1 PRO on Steroids. You get alot of what people want m now in a new printer but still has the feeling of being forced to "HAVE TO MOD THIS" rather than just getting an out of the box, setup, run a bed mesh to level and your printing type printer. Love the honest review.
Thanks so much and I'm glad you hear your reflections here.
Hi Mate Thank you for your honest review was thinking of buying but now leaning towards the sovol 7 plus seems to have good reviews, it will be my first 3d printer
Cheers Mark
Ive got a Neptune 4 and have so far printed 2 spools of PLA through it and I had a couple issues of the bed not adhering but I just started to use a glue stick and it fixed the issue. Other then that I have had good results with it right out of the box. Ive done a couple levelings with it but I didnt have to adjust anything as far as bed wobble or anything else...It worked fine
Thanks for the refreshingly honest review!😊
My pleasure 😊
I picked up a Neptune 4 Max a month or so ago. I haven't had any nozzle issues, but the main problem is that the extra speed is useless because the bed whips around so fast that it shakes the fuck out of whatever I set it on to the point where it causes layer shifts. I was concerned it was going to rip the legs off my desk. I tried setting it on the floor, and I could feel my whole house moving beneath my feet. So unless you're mounting this printer to a steel-reinforced bunker, I don't see how you're going to keep it stable enough at full speed to work properly. Also, any thin supports the Cura software likes to create are useless because support wobbles back and forth like crazy while printing.
So I set it on the slowest, "silent" level (which is anything but silent), and I just wait longer. Which is fine. Print quality is much better than I expected. And the build volume is respectable, though still a bit small on the 4 Max, and I have to break half the things I want to print into multiple pieces and then glue them together.
Wow, but that’s understandable. Yeah you really need a core XY printer for the fastest speeds
You saved my money, just now wanted to order 3 pro or 4. Will go with bambu lab a1 mini, thank you! like and subscription.
Interesting to see this perspective, when almost universally every other 3d print channel raves over this machine. Appreciated.
Glad it was helpful!
This would have been a good chance to make a recommendation here that has the features you were referring to. At THIS price point . Not the $1000-1500 models you rave about.
I bought my 4 Pro oct 17th of this year, it had been working perfectly just using the thumb drive. no connection to the internet, i turned it on christmas night to use it and got an error message to update the firmware. been trying to update the firmware for 2 days now nothing happens, so i just emailed the company to see if they can help me.
I have a Neptune 4 Max and is pretty darn good.
Thank you for the video, I want to immerse myself in this world and these videos are helping me a lot, thanks to that I already have resin selected, but I don't know which fdm, I change every 2 days, but I have about a week left, so we'll see how many more videos I can see :D
Anything by BambuLab. That is now the yardstick by which all other printers are measured, assuming you want a good printer and ease of use.
@@FauxHammer From the beginning I was clearly convinced that I wanted a P1S.
But then I thought that in the future I want to create some kind of full body armor, and I decided to go for the Elegoo plus, the bigger one doesn't fit in my house anymore and it's so much cheaper. I'm still thinking if it's worth the bigger/cheaper one, but I'll still be angry, or the more expensive one, maybe without problems and to do it in more parts,
The bad accessibility to the print head is definitely a bummer. Maybe the aux fan unit could be mounted with magnets instead of screws to make the process a bit easier?
i love your true review, i think most of people what to see true review not commerical, good to you
I appreciate that!
Excellent review. I was just about to purchase one of these printers. I will keep looking. I do have an Elegoo resin printer.
The Bambu lab A1 is Awesome I would recommend that
@@vespineyt I concur, I just placed an order for one. The recall gave me some pause but I found out its not much of an issue. I did spend 2x my initial budget but after watching several reviews it's a no brainer. Thanks for the input, much appreciated.
I got a neptune 4 and other than occasional weird first layer issues , I had zero problems.
I have a Neptune 2 and still rarely use it because I don’t want to spend the time learning everything that is necessary for it to run smooth. So I usually keep to my resin printing rather the tinkering with mines.
Printers have come a long way for out of box usability, with Bamblab leading the charge. Elegoo, not so much.
Would the neptune 3 pro be better?
We can always count on you to keep it real.
Great video, i wish I would have seen it like 2 weeks ago. I have the Neptune 4 and I can't get any big prints to work. The slice software is Orca slice. Wish me luck. I will learn this
Good luck!
I think a lot of companies are just “throwing spaghetti against the wall” to see what sticks…so many new models that seem to be just tacking letters and numbers on the end to stand out
Agree, this is Elegoo and I rate this no more than your typical unknown printer brand that makes clones of printers from other companies.
Wish we'd seen this video a few months ago before we bought (and returned) a Neptune 4 Pro
I didn't get how I prevent layer shifting if I would buy one of them, do I only use Orca Slicer and the problem is gone?
i don;t get it either, I stopped using the printer. I;m not the only one reporting this issue.
@@FauxHammer Oh okay, I am looking for my first printer and thought this one would be an option
@@tacticallooter if you wnat a new hobby, sure, get one of these, if you just wnat to print, get a Bambu A1
@@FauxHammer Thank you the Bambu A1 might be what I am looking for I just need to convince myself now to spend 600 bug on one :D
Good review. Thanks for the heads up😊
happy to help
I don't care how bulletproof something is, if the repair/maintenance is hard to acess, that's a no for me....
agreed
I am pretty sure you could have just as easily removed the nozzle from below without taking the whole thing apart. At lease on the N3P you can
What about the extruder gear?
Spot on ... I have the 4 Max and have no idea how it got out the door when it keeps forgetting the Z offset on power down ... how does a QA team miss that?
so glad i bought bambu
Glad I watched this was going to buy one but I don't like messing around
Appreciate your straightforward approach to what works and what doesn't.
thank you
What's your opinion about the quality and other aspects of the Neptune 3 series in comparison? Were you happier with them?
I was but honestly that was my first FDM printer. back then it was pretty par for the course. at the time. Now Elegoo is lagging behind.
I’ve been printing for 3 years now and I have the worst Luck ever. Out of many failures I found Prusa to be one of the best on the market
Having just used my first. I get you
Wait... So despite there being effectively two standards for nozzles (RepRap, aka V6, and Volcano (I refuse to consider Creality's proprietary MK8 a "standard" since it's mainly just them that uses it)) they've gone and done their own thing, and then paired it in with making the most commonly worked on tool a royal pain to actually work on. Voron changed the design of their mounts for the Clockwork/Stealthburner combination in order to make it even easier to do maintenance - four screws to remove the part cooling, and another 4-6 if you need to fully disassemble things to get to the hotend (two holding the two parts of the hotend mount, and then 2-4 to remove the hotend (it depends on what hotend you're using)).
I still don't understand why so many of these printer brands are targeting beginners or entry-level pricing, and slapping on a bunch of things that are generally unimportant. The average person starting out is going to think speed is neat, but would rather just have something that WORKS. Yes I'm aware there's two core parts of the hobby, those who want to tinker with everything, and those who want tools... I fall into the latter myself. I'm the person running a mostly stock Voron Trident at speeds I'm happy enough with, and it does exactly what I've asked it to, and it keeps going. But the biggest thing of it all, is while the auxiliary fans are nice, four 5015 fans running at max are going to absolutely scream, and that's going to drive most people bonkers... Also, it's 2023, why are so many companies still doing the four screws thing!!!!
Spot on with everything you said here. WHY!!!!
because they rushed it out to market by speeding yup the Neptune 3's, that's it. there's no innovation here other than a hot end LED and replacing an SD card slot with USB
Thanks for the video. I’m still pretty sold on the 4 plus . Can you please share what kind of workspace is required for these? I’m worried that I won’t have anywhere to put it but in a garage that isn’t climate controlled.
my 4 pro kicks ass and has been cranking out killer prints for months
I wish I had that experience
Maybe you should learn how to set it up properly then.
@@chrissavill8713 there’s that 3d printing community douchebaggery
How about the 4 Plus? I've heard the max can be a pain in the ass but I've heard from some that the Plus is sort of a goldilocks atm.
It’s the one I didn’t have. But again. For me. Proprietary Nozzle is. Big red flag
@@FauxHammer That's fair.
in the video you say that the maintenance of the print head needs to be done quite often. For what? How often do you service your head? 1-2 times a month? More often? WHAT ARE YOU TYPING WITH?! What do you serve?
Thank you for this take. I was skeptical about this printer. I am curious what is your recommended low budget Fast 3D printer?
Bambu Labs A1 Mini without AMS
@@FauxHammer that's what I wanted but they couldn't get it in stock so I ended up with the anycubic kobra pro 2, which isn't nearly as polished, but has done really well so far.
Do you have to go through this setup every day, or is that just the first time set up?
Thanks for your review! So, how would you compare this with the neptune 3 pro, which you reviewed quite positively I remember?
I liked the Neptune 3 Pro back then, but it was a long time ago. That was fine. These were rushed out as a cash grab. Awful these are IMO
Interesting to hear the 4 normal is better in terms of noise
With the plethora of 3D printers out there what company/model (yes it's probably a very diff question0 would you suggest/recommend one looks into for printing of structural stuff like gears, camera accessories etc where the resolution needs to good and not having to process stuff later. Plus do you have any experience with printers which are good for Delrin and or polycarbonate printing. Hope you can help/suggest. Don't worry i won't hold you to any thing LOL.
Great vid, I have the Neptune 3- I won't be upgrading to the 4 - the lack of easy & quick access to the hotend/nozzel is a brokers design.
Thanks, and I don't blame you.
Thanks for the insightful video! As someone who recently got into resin 3D printing with the Saturn 2, I was hoping that the Elegoo printers would be great for FDM. As a novice to it though, a lot of the things you mentioned looked like pretty big turnoffs for a newer user. I think I'll wait for another generation of Neptune printers, or look at some of the competition for an FDM printer.
Competition wise at same price for spec, check out the Anycubic Kobra line
@@FauxHammer I'll have to check them out! A friend just picked up one, I believe a Kobra 2, and he's been loving it so far. Thank you so much for all the videos you put out, they're super helpful for novices like myself!
I'm currently struggling through tuning my Neptune 4 Max. What a paint it is 😅
wait for my review of the max, it;s worse than this.
Yeah, I cant get a single print finish without a layer shift or bed leveling issues. I have spent hours calibrating, and I have to recalibrate every tiem before a print.@@FauxHammer
when it works, its pretty awesome but its not the most reliable machine. need to be prepared to make adjustments and deal with issues.... mine has an annoying issue with nozzle dragging over the printed area sometimes randomly and part warping has popped up recently
Great video. I was thinking of getting the reduced price Elegoo Neptune 3 Pro. Would you know if the 3 Pro has basic m8 nozzles that are straight forward to change or is it a case of struggling with disassembly even for a nozzle change? Thanks in advance.
You can just unscrew the nozzle yes. But everything else including the heatsink is a teardown
OK, so if i cant get a neptune 4 or a anycubic kobra 2 pro, what should i get in the $200-$250 dollar range?
Do not get this printer do not get this printer. I've had their Neptune three and I don't know what happened. I'm pretty sure they sold the company off. This is a completely different machine is absolutely horrible like absolutely horrible. I can't even get the thing to work and I used to print on Neptune three for over half a year I made hundreds of dollars.
Do you believe that Neptune 3 Pro is easier to maintain than Neptune 4?
ummm, yes but mainly because it;s a little easier to get to the hot end as you don;t need to remove the part cooling fan every time. but both are still awkward.
please just get a Bambu A1 and save yourself a lot of headaches.
I've had firmware issues and have installed what they sent. My printer took the update the first time then started saying that the firmware wasn't on the "root menu" when it sent an error again. I've had to update the screen as well since that's a separate system somehow. Last night, the leveling knobs fell off and the print ruined. I have yet to get something off of it that was correct. It couldn't print PETG despite following all the correct steps and being advertised as doing so. I've already messed up one print head assembly and replaced it. Elegoo support hasn't been that helpful really considering I get more information on troubleshooting from youtube.
My 4 max was a shit show them elegoo sent me a new one and working like a champ ever since
I found your layer shift issue to be of interest. I have the N4 Pro and was printing an egg dispenser, which has some tall pieces for the ramps that get glued to the main body. Both ramps failed at the same height, with an error. I am curious if this is related to your layer shifting at a specific height. I will be trying these again with Orca, which I am learning anyway. For the most part, I've had few issues, but I came from an Ender 3 V2, so it's a matter of perspective.
hope it is solved with Orca, mine was
@@FauxHammer I sliced a remix of the model with Orca and it printed the entire thing without a hiccup.
What would be a good alternative to the Neptune 4 Max then? I was close to buying this one, but the problems you mention would be too annoying for me I think. So, anything out there that also has a reasonably big (30+cm) build area, same-ish price?
Maybe the Kobra? I've not tested one yet though.
Chekcnoytvthe Qifitech X-Max and Crfality K1 Max
For that size the Neptune 4max is your best bet.
Mine comes in Friday.
I have had the Neptune 4 for 2 days now and so far I love it.
I really Don't understand where all this hate is coming from.
Out of the box I have never had a better printer experience in terms of setup and first print.
In my initial prints look phenomenal.
I've actually been using a silk metallic color glitter material(burnt titanium by flash forge) for most of my prints and have not had a problem yet.
The silks tend to be tougher to print with and when you combine it with a glitter it makes it a lot more challenging. I have not had any problems yet.
I would like to know what better printers he is referencing because I have not seen or used one.
Check out Aurora Tech's review on the Neptune 4 Max. Implementing clipper and all these different features is new to these manufacturers and I honestly think elegoo has done a better job than most.
There is no direct competitor to the max in that price range.
In the very near future I think we will see more features implemented on all the Neptune 4 series printers.
It's a good printer if you pay used price. I got a n4 pro for $180. Though yeah I wouldn't recommend it to someone as a first printer unless they are the type of person who likes to tinker and dial in settings. Even the automatic bed levelling is weird and tedious on this thing. If you're dropping $300 on a printer in 2024, just buy a bambu a1 without the ams.
For clarity, I have three neptune 2S's and a neptune 3 max. I love to tinker with my printers and like Elegoo as a brand for fdm. Though I will be doing the Ender NG corexy mod to those 2Ses.
Hi, I have a problem my flash drive. The one that can with my Neptune 4pro works on the machine but not on my laptop. I bought two flash drives
One 2.0 and 3.0 they work on the laptop, but not on my machine. What am. I doing wrong? Please help me out with this problem.
Thank you. Walter😢😢
Format your new drives to FAT32, right click on them in explorer and choose format
Sir, have you been sent any Ultraprint machines to review as part of their kickstarter?
Nope, and I won't touch them either. If you want h the video closely, mostbkf the karts are from the Saturn 3. I thinknkts just a Saturn 3 in another chassis. I was considering doing a video called Scam warning until I saw a couple if people had them.
They emailed me. I reolked. Never spoke to them since
@@FauxHammer Thanks so much for the reply and information!
So if I was to buy my first novice printer with easy software that works out of the box what would you recommend , iv heard the original prusa are supposed to be good ?
Bambu A1, Just released my video yesterday, hope that helps.
I've not used a Prusa, but it looks the opposite. It's certainly no A1 in terms of approach.
Currently the Creality k1 is about £100 more than the NP4. Is the £100 extra worth paying for the K1 because I’ve seen some good and some bad reviews on the K1
Easily worth it, it seems there was a load of issues with the first batches that I address in my K1 max review
But I got a K1 later, and mine was perfect, beyond perfect. It was incredible
If you get one though, get the Camera add-on too!
Hello, I am dealing with jewelry business. Is there a printer you would recommend?Thanks for your help
That thing with the nozzle actually seems more like an asshole move to screw over the customers, so they'd have to come to THEM to get replacement parts instead of being able to just get them anywhere.
Same thing Anycubic tried back with the Photon Mono, where they made it so you'd need to get the new FEP from them, because the sheet was glued to the frame at the bottom of the vat, rather than just being a sheet pressed between two parts like everywhere else and everything was made of cheap plastic to make sure trying to get the sheet out of the frame it came in would probably break the frame. Don't remember which, but another manufacturer made a killing back then because their own metal vats were compatible with that printer and would do away with that hassle.
I'd agree but even Elegoo don't even sell their parts! so we're all screwed. months after release.
@@FauxHammer That applies to the pro version and the low end model is best, yes?
Thank you, perfect timing. i was going to buy the 4 pro this weekend, but now i think i will do some more research into which are easier to maintain and learn on. love your channel. keep rocking
Easiest one is the Bambu A1 or the Ankermake M5C
Brilliant printers can't go wrong
@@ridealongryan lol. fair point...
I have a neptune 4 pro it will not level. I can do the auxiliary level for hours and not get to go to each corner without having to make an adjustment. I can go around once get everything where it should be< I'll go back to 1 and it'll be so tight it almost tears the paper. Next I'll go to 2 It'll be so loose I fix, 3 will be the same 4 is slightly off back to 1 it'll be loose 2 will be tight same with 3. You get the picture, It will go on and on like this. I know adjusting a corner will have a slight effect on the others but it some point I should be able to go around to all 4 corners and I shouldn't have to make an adjustment. I'll do the leveling over and over eventually I get a good print. I'll go to print the same thing again and I'll get stringing or some areas will be fine and others I'll get stringing or the filament doesn't adhere to the bed and get drug around by the nozzle or wraps around it. This is my first 3D printer I watched all the reviews they talked about how great it was and at a good price so I pre ordered it. I have gone through 4 spools of filament with only a hand full of usable prints. I think the issue for me is the z axis doesn't seem to go down to the same spot every time. This would account for the auxiliary leveling never working. Even when I auto level I can make no adjustments to the z offset or the knobs and the values will change every time.