$140 3D Printer Power Spec Duplicator i3 Mini V2 -Is it worth it in 2020?
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- Опубліковано 17 жов 2024
- I examine the Power Spec Duplicator i3 Mini for $140 to see if it would be a good starter printer or good printer for a maker space. Unfortunately, this little guy is too problematic for new users. However, it can print TPU very well with a small tweak.
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Glad to see this video, since friend of mine just purchased one. I think that some conclusions aren't correct. Like when you show the part not sticking to the bed!!! That is fixable, but you didn't address that at all and keped blaming slicer or the machine. BUT I do agree that the temperature controlled bed should stay set and or you should be able to change it - I never had this problem ever and none of my friends either. The firmware should be fixed or you can download from others a better version. Also, I do agree that this inexpensive, cheep printer has more to grow if they want to sell this as a printer! Thanks for sharing your ideas.
Just picked up one of these for fifty bucks on Facebook! Perfect for my daughter's birthday coming up🎉❤
Spot on with this review. We made the mistake of buying several of these our middle school. Big mistake. They do work, but not on a regular basis. We were hoping they be ideal because our lab is so small. The only thing I will say though is I haven't had to replace any parts other than the bed stickers. I just wish the things wouldn't crash all the time. Our kids get tired waiting and waiting to print things only to find something that has glitched out. Our Dremel printers just work, wish this did, too. At first I thought it was the kids messing things up, but it wasn't. However, the one thing you didn't touch on was the machine is really easy to load and unload, at least for kids. The thing is built like a tank so it can take a beating.
Thank you for this review! As a totally beginner noob, I was set to go with a small 3D FDM as my entry level to 3D printing. Ive had my eye on the Wanhao Duplicator i3 Mini (looks to be a predecessor to yours, with no heated bed). And mine was even more expensive then yours (231usd translated from Swedish currency). My aim on this was a small machine due to not having alot of space. I guess I'll have to make some space for a more steady, larger one, like the Ender series or something. Again, thanks for NOT being like those reviewers, that only talks sunshine about the product due to being sponsored by the manufacturer. (I know you bought yours). Cheers from Sweden :)
That's a bowden tube setup, not a direct drive, you might want to amend your statements. A direct drive pushes filament directly into the hot end from the stepper motor with no tube. Seems like there is a first layer problem there as well, I would definitely get the head closer to the bed. Does this printer have part cooling? I would also test some more with retraction distance This looks much more like a hobby machine that needs mods to work properly (which you do mention), I actually expect this at the price point. I can see a few mods that I would dive into to make this better. Also keep in mind that you might have a lemon, other people have success with no mods at all. Which says something about this companies QC (not to good). I would certainly look at that firmware asap, I have a couple extra ramps boards laying around and I would likely swap one in ASAP so that I don't need custom firmware. I enjoy the tinkering process though. I've been wanting something in this form factor, I might actually give one a try. Looks like it should be simple enough to add a real belt tension system, remove any other forms of slop, perhaps check the flatness of the bed and bend it into something closer resembling "flat", change the electronics, add an all metal hot end, add dedicated part cooling, and perhaps add a BLTouch.
I was about to mention the same exact thing...I was going no, that's not a direct drive buddy...
Hello Guys, Thanks for the Video. I have had my Powerspec I3 mini for 2 years and I tried to print once and ruined my mat (Printing Surface). Hot end was to close and I burnt holes in the mat. I just replaced it (the mat) a week ago and now I am wanting to give it a shot again. I have Ultimaker Cura (v4.8.0) installed and I am trying to learn how to put in the machine settings (bed measurements) Where added in CURA by the way my version is 4.8.0 Settings > Printer > Manage Printers > Machine Settings then I see printer then X width Y depth Z height < Are these the bed measurements/settings?
Yes, those are the bed settings. You will also need to make sure you selected heated bed plate and heated bed volume. As a tip, I have found using the heated bed starts to act strange and shut down after several minutes if its above 60 degrees. I usually keep it around 55-58. The power supply seems to weak to handle anything above that for long periods.
@@make_and_remake Mine is Version 1 not 2, no heated bed on this one.
Hey Jason. Great review. My print head keeps crashing into the post. Any ideas?
It sounds like the end stop switch may not be connected or have a faulty wire. You could check the connections at the stop switch or even at the main board.
Wow! You really must have a lot of free time on your hands for such a thorough review. Of course I could have saved you a lot of time and told you this machine is useless. Although I was surprised how you got TPU to print with that little clamp. If I still had the printer I would try it. I bought one of these a few months a ago from a Microcenter in Houston. Nothing but problems. As you said the firmware was junk. It didn't matter what I put on the card, the thing always changed the temps. I also thought it was a lot louder than I thought it would be. When you mentioned benchy I had to laugh because I never could even get the thing to print. Like you said, it's a shame because the thing is so small it would have the perfect footprint. Also, you forgot to mention the crappy filament they gave. I tried it and that was a mistake. Returned it and just bought the Sidewinder from Gearbest. Good video, but like I said I could have saved you the time and said the thing is junk. Anybody that bought this for a school, good luck lol.
No doubt! I really wanted to like this machine. All I know this fall if we return back to school on a traditional schedule, this thing isn't making the list of printers to put in the classrooms.
Do you think these "firmware glitches" are specific to this model, or do you think its an issue across all "PowerSpec" printers?
I am not sure if the firmware is across all PowerSpec printers. However, I know this particular issue seems to be on many of the i3 mini printers. I think most people have gotten used to the glitchy firmware because the printer is so cheap. Nevertheless, it still persists. A few people have reached out to me that bought several of them to deploy them in their school district. They had similar issues and were highly dissatisfied with them.
@@make_and_remake I have a powerspec i3mini v2 and ive only had 3 firmware crashes no temp changes and such but also i would be interested if you still have the stl or ogj file for that tbu clamp would you link it
and my firmware issues allways happened during heatups
After upgrading firmware, heat bed temp issues and lockups went away. Need to do more printing to fully test. I purchased mine for $99. Probably worth it with the firmware update. Like you said, not for a beginner.
Glad to hear most your issues have seemed to went away. If you don’t mind me asking, what firmware did you end up upgrading with?
@@make_and_remake I used Marlin 2.0.3 with a template for Wanhao i3 mini and customized bed size, and possible a couple other settings. Became very stable.
huh. i have the first gen and its print quality is pretty good. the ONLY thing is if i try to reheat the nozzle after it has started to drop is that the firmware will freeze. but after it has dropped below ~65 i can reheat without problems. glad i didn't get this one then.
I'm glad you did not get one with the buggy firmware. I really do like the materials from this printer and the small size. The fact it can print TPU so smoothly makes this little guy pretty awesome. I debated for awhile to exchange it for a new one, but after speaking with so many other people that experienced the same issue, I just decided it wasn't worth my time to try another one. Upgrading the firmware, however, is something that is happening sooner than later.
I have the same printer and my benchy printed way better
No wonder they only made thease for a couple years mine was so bad it was unusable
Direct drive? What? Did people actually watch this? When was that mentioned? Typical