Wow... I kind of feel cheated. So many 3D print hobbyists on RUclips were very very positive. I've had the machine (V4) since June - and got it exactly because I'm not an electrician. Pretty much plug-and-play, it seemed. Now I'm kind of scared of turning it on TBH. Yeah... I feel cheated.
@@ryzdavis Yea, This was my first printer which I purchased over a year ago. I do not have these problems and it prints great. If you spend a few minutes on their facebook page, you can learn what to do quickly, like printing strain relief guides and other things. I have been to a lot of 3D printer facebook pages and it seems all 3d printers have many issues that you will sometimes have to print extra pieces to correct and the X1 seemed to have the least amount of issues. (they do have a legit ribbon issue but I also read up on that ahead of time and corrected my ribbon so it would not come out of its socket and short), No problems after a year of use.
Straightforward and honest!!! Too many "Reviewers", "Experts" or whatever, with affiliate links in the description trying to sell you things.. And that's why I've watched your i3 clone Dolly series and built my own machines (well, with my own mods) that, I can honestly say, beat any Ender3 (I don't really know why so many people consider this pile of aluminium as a benchmark) or whatever clone in terms of quality, and believe it or not, with Mega/Ramps combos. Nice one Tom!!! Danke!!!!
The "CE vs 'China Export'" difference is actually an urban legend and not correct. There is no official certifying organization for Comformité European. It's all a self-certifying program where the company itself produces declarations of conformity and puts the mark on their own product to certify it complies with EU regulations. In the end, it's always the person/company importing the product into the EU which is responsible for the compliance, regardless of how the CE marking was put on the product.
Yes, the ce is pretty much just a declaration that the manufacturer or seller claims it fulfills the ce criteria. If a product has a ce marking on it but doesn't meet the criteria then the maximum penalty is three months in jail and a £5,000 fine for the director of the offending company. If they get caught. The real kicker is that the product may not be sold in eu after that. If they get caught. Also the sellers have a legal responsibility to ensure that all relevant goods they sell have appropriate CE marking. In the UK, the penalty for supplying non-compliant products is imprisonment or a fine. If they get caught. So I wouldn't say it is meaningless. If you trust the product maker enough to buy their product then you can trust the ce marking as well and assume they have done the work to meet the criteria. The ce marking does have its issues when chinese companies can get around a lot of the penalties and checks by just selling hardware to the eu area from china. And with world wide ordering and shipping of consumer devices the ce becomes hard to enforce.
@@erwinlommer197 If you see the incorrect CE marking then it’s a good indicator that the manufacturer hasn’t even looked at the requirements for CE. Chinese manufacturers often copy everything on a product. I used to work for a company that made fan heaters (amongst many electrical items), and some reps came back from China with fake heaters complete with the company logo on the knock-off switches because they assumed it was some form of safety declaration. (Spoiler: they were very unsafe indeed.)
You can download the CE logo from the European site, going true it myself it's one of the first things mentioned. Like Thomas shows there is only 1 correct logo and all others are considerd fake Chinese stamps. Tells the story about how much they care🤔
@@ryzdavis The existence of an "early" printer with the same name and markings is itself an issue. Phantom revisions are common in chinese printers and are a terrible practice for consumer safety and the reliability of received products. If it is true that there is a newer v4 it would only reinforce that artillery has no issues changing aspects mid-production without alerting the public. While I agree that might make some complaints invalid, I don't think it would affect the final recommendation status.
Interesting timing. The X1 was my first 3D printer. I got it 6 months ago, and then got two more 4 months ago (all v4). I switched them all to .6mm nozzles. The power wires for the bed heater on all three broke within the last week. All three were at the kink you showed closest to where it meets the back of the case. I figured out there were issues when all three were showing thermal runout errors for the bed. I just replaced the bed heaters on all three and I added strain support to keep the wires where they meet the bed heater far more stable, and to keep the entire length of power/thermistor wires from kinking and instead bending with a reasonable radius. Then I went and added the same support to the two Genius printers I recently picked up. Thank you for all of your great videos and information, especially when it may ruffle a feather or two!
@@iBert0 - I found a design I liked on Thingiverse. Just go to that site and search for "sidewinder strain relief". You'll have several options to choose from. I suggest also adding a cable chain or something similar. For me, since I was already pulling the print somewhat apart in order to replace the bed heater, I ran a piece of filament inside the cable sleeve along side the power and thermistor cables. I don't know how long this solution will last, but so far so good.
I'd love to see your thoughts on the X2 now that it's finally out. At first glance it appears Artillery have addressed most of your concerns, but a deep dive review would be great!
Man... I wish this had come out 11mo ago... I saw all the great reviews and got one. It worked great all year until around a month ago when I decided to run my first real big print. The printer started to burn while I was eating lunch. If I hadn't smelled the smoke my house probably would've burned down. For some reason the extruder stopped moving on top of the print and the heater cutoff sensor did not work, so it started burning the PLA and the heatblock had started slipping. I contacted Artillery mentioning the problem and all they said is they would send a new motherboard and heater. Theh didn't attempt to diagnose the issue at all. I told them I'd rather get a replacement since we don't know where the failure is and thankfully I still had 1 month left on the warranty, but they only would send the parts (without any concern for my ability to actually fix the machine). Now its been weeks since they were supposed to send the parts. I'm out a printer for the Christmas gifts and fixes around my house and I just don't know if I can ever trust this machine to run any job longer than 1h. If you could make a YT series on how to fix these issues I think it would be not only super useful. But you may even save some lives out there for the people that unfortunately didn't get to your review in time... Thanks a lot for the honest review! Love your work. PS. The moment I assembled the printer I put dabs of hot glue on the ribbon cables. They're still going strong, so im sire that wasn't the issue..
For example extrem Z-Wobble after 150 mm build hight. The Partcoolingfan is doing a extrem anoing Sound during printing. The printbed was absoluty Not flat and my prints didnt Stick Well to the printsurface. The Firmware is so Bad adjusted (for example so linear advaced enabled) the time in Spend in this printer to fix all the Problems i Had is to much for 400 €. I own 3 printers and this Thing was Out of the Box the worst one. (Sorry for my bad english)
@3D Print Wrangler I can operate a 3D printer and have successfully done so. I've owned a Monoprice Maker Select v2 for almost 5 years, maintained it, upgraded it, and know it inside and out. It just is not available for me at the moment. When I said they sent parts "without any concern about my ability" it doesn't mean I dont have the ability. I asked for documentation and all they said was "mark the cables". I know I can figure out how to replace the motherboard, but what I want is to figure out the actual root of the problem so I can have peace of mind and avoid it in the future. I'm sure that I could figure it out, however the faster the better because I don't have as much time as I used to these days. I sent them pictures and a detailed description of the issue. They didn't ask for pictures of the motherboard, log files, or any sort of diagnostics on my end. It's taking weeks to get the parts and we don't even know if this will actually solve the problem since the new motherboard may have the same issue. I asked them if this was a known issue that they had solved in the new motherboard and did not get an answer. So yeah... its ok to send parts for a year old machine if you're going to work with the consumer, but if you're not going to solve the issue and aren't willing to at least gove some details so it can be prevented, then I dont think its unreasonable to ask for a replacement. This printer was my first upgrade. The maker select was sold and and marketed as something you would tinker with. The X1 was sold as something that was pretty much good to go with all these safety features, so the expectations are different. Then of course you use the machine for almost a year and trust the safety features will hold while you eat your lunch in your own house 2h into a print. Of course it wouldn't likely have burnt my house down because I take precautions like running it only when I'm home and checking the octoprint every so often, and I have a fire extinguisher on hand, but the fact that it wash starting to burn means that there was a very real risk if I hadn't taken those precautions like many people would.
I would never leave ANY 3D printer made in China in a room working while no one is around to keep an eye on it..well, that goes for any electronics made in China. I even unplug my printer from the wall when It completes printing and I'm done with it. Glad you caught it in time.
@3D Print Wrangler Mabye you could use some of the arguments if the printer was a kit, and even then I would think some of your points would still be a long bow to draw. They are sending out dangerous products and putting it on the user to fix them if there are issues to boot. As for no other manufacturer would replace - Im pretty sure my Aldi would (where I got mine) but then again they aren't about to burn my house down either.
Another happy X1 user. Bought about 1 year ago as a first 3d printer. It arrived via BangGood missing 2 spool holder screws and has a very slightly warped bed. The heater cable is kink free. I've twiddled some screws, moved the spool holder off the machine, added a sock to the heater block and a flexible Creality build surface (I'm too impatient to wait for the bed to cool and the extra layer helps with the slight bed warp but does need a higher initial bed temperature). It gets a few 10's of hours use a month and is proving to be accurate and reliable. The process is so much more enjoyable since I've been able to stop worrying about alignment and 'the first layer' - at least for a given filament. Cons: Z does need extra bracing if printing tall. Maximum acceleration and speed settings are optimistic. Notes: I've removed the plastic Z coupler thingies. With the Z belt removed, a tip I've seen mentioned elsewhere, the weight of the head can back drive the Z screws. My left Z screw shows slight miss-alignment, I'm in the 'if it works don't fix it stage' so will investigate someday.
@3D Print Wrangler Really??? I have (had) 2 of them. Yes, more then the 400 you mean even, almost 500 here. Also have helped 'restoring to work' a couple of others here in the Netherlands and Belgium. Yes, better then Creality in many regards in electrical problems, but 'no indicents'? Maybe not reported in for example the States and since here in Europe we are mainly responsible for our own stuff we have to fix it ourselves or throw them away. Also I have been following the forums and did a review of these printers myself. Some are earthed, some are not, bed-heaters coming loose from the buildplate: plenty. Shortconnects in the bedheater-cables: here in contacts near me: twice. Luckily we have very strict rules in Europe for the electrical systems so no-one was killed for as far as I know and no house burned down because of this. Other issues like melting ribbon cables: quite normal after a while. Just need to replace them regularly or change the system and or the subboards. 'Burning PSU'? I had two and some others have had more. But many problems can also be related to we in Europe have between 230 and 240 Volt as an official voltage and have different beds and settings on the PSU's. I have seen and have had in my hands all mayor versions from start to the beginning of this year. Since Corona-virus makes it almost impossible to visit other people and limits my time more, so there might be yet another change after the start of this year that makes them better but still have messages every time about electrical problems with this modells. Yes, in my experience better then Creality but still many issues. I threw all of my Crealities away, only used in parts and one of my modified sidewinders (other PSU, extra 24 V. bed with PSU, other cabling to the nozzle-heater, stabilizers) is running nicely here mostly every day. Yes, it was a strange feeling and smell a good year ago when the PSU of one decided to melt and make special noises, actually the second original PSU from Evnovo that was. Also needed new stepperdrivers, new mainboard later because of other faults in those parts.
Yup, but they didn't go in-depth with the electrical connections. Given the printer's ability to produce good prints, the large area, and relatively low price it's still really good in my opinion. Even the electrical part is better than a lot of random Chinese printers out there, like my previous delta lol
Other youtubers mentioned that their units were grounded and there are even some vids showing this. I am not saying Thomas is wrong. Envovo likes to iterate on their printers without saying anything about it, and there could have been some downgrades in quality.
@@NullNamos I did measure resistance to ground on the unboxing livestream - it doesn't make contact on mine. They are trying to ground the frame through the powder coating, which sometimes works, sometimes doesn't, but it's definitely not the proper way to do things. @Lucas Abdala @ManikWeet The other reviews may very well have been accurate for the units they received - but it looks like Evnovo are constantly making changes to the printer, some for better, some for worse. That, in itself, is an issue because you never know what you're going to get. Considering some of the poor design choices that were made on the X1 I received, it's got me questioning Evnovo's general approach to quality control and reliability testing.
@@MadeWithLayers yeah that's kinda suspicious 😬 They also made a video about quality control issues and demonstrated their quality controll, but I guess they haven't really learned from those complaints as demand started to rise again! 🤔
@@MadeWithLayers Yes, that is a real pain on these kind of printers. I have (had) a couple of those printers, from earlier runs but of course with the same name and numbers on them. Both were earthed well over the PSU and did not have this issue with the bad bedcable like yours have but much better flexible sleeving. Did have more issues with the ribbon-cable (boards) though and other electronics-problems. Actually, one is in parts and used for other printers and the other has been changed for a lot, including electronics, extra 24V heated bed (external Power-supply) for the full bedsize and such to make it a very well working 3d printer with a .8 nozzle. .8 works really well including PETG, it has an extra-capacity-hotend heater (stock) and can run well with a 1.2 mm nozzle as well but then the speed needs to be lower because of the clone-extruder. So, it might be a nice starting-printer to build on further yourself. but not too well when stock like you mention. Thanks for the review, keep them coming please.
You really didn't say anything good about this machine... They used proper connectors for the switch, hotend, etc, not just bare wires They used protective prints where the wires are run through the extrusion They used good springs so the bed doesn't need constant tramming The frame is made from 2040 or bigger extrusion The power outage recovery works The filament sensor sorta works(it's just a micro switch variant) The print quality is absolutely insane once tuned a little bit The hot glue ensures no connectors get loose(this can be seen in prebuilt PC's) It has silent drivers It has "direct drive" and It's great for tpu It comes as a 2 piece, easy to assemble kit Id also like to add some side comments It's ptfe lined, that means pretty much pla only. The unevenly heated bed isn't that much of a problem. If you do upgrade the hotend and print high temp stuff you then also need to worry about the ribbon cables being in an enclosure Elmer's Glue stick works wonders with this bed texture The bed being 300x300 is amazing for lots of little pieces. I still believe that your points of failure are valid, just you didn't talk about it's successes.
Yea seems like he wasn't excited about the printer from the start, all the positives you list are why I got this over many other printers with similar features at higher prices. I haven't run tons of prints on it but after the simple assembly and basic bed leveling its been printing like a champ. Also I dont see the power cable issues Toms unit has but that will be good to watch out for.
I get the thing about hot glue "securing" connectors, but it is an absolute pain in the a** to get it off if you want to f.ex. update the TFT firmware (which I have done on the Artillery Genius). So ihmo it is a tradeoff that's not really worth it, but it probably saves them some support time.
The TH3D review pointed out the grounding issue with the AC bed, and Tim gave feedback about the issue and Artillery said they would talk to the engineers about it. 18 months later and still not fixed.
I owned my Sidewinder for 3 months and started getting MINTEMP errors that were killing the prints in the middle of printing. I am not new to 3D printing, and knew exactly what it was. There was a break in the cable to the thermistor on the bed. I contacted Artillery and they sent a new bed heater and insulation pad. I have installed it and am back printing again, but one thing I plan on doing is removing the coated sleve that is on the bed heater and replacing it with some PET braided sleve which has MUCH better flex. The replacement heater came with the same stiff sleve that the original one had and has the similar kinks in it in a few places. My guess is because of the coating that is on it. If they had just made it with more flexible PET sleve it would have been much better from the get go.
@3D Print Wrangler watch Tom's unboxing video ( ruclips.net/video/7hcjsZRBuws/видео.html ) the link will start at around 15:10. He talks about the heat bed cable. You can see the type of sleve he has on it and how the cable is kinking. This is the style that I have and that I think the majority of the people have. You can see that it is a coated braided sleve. IMO it is the coating that kills the braid. This is why I say that the PET braid would be better.
Hot glue isnt a bad thing, as it can make sure plugs dont become undone in transit - but it shouldn't be the primary connection method of mismatch plugs...like wtf they cost almost nil (the plugs)
Exactly what I thought too. Crowned with that dodgy forged "certificate". Some people might get a nasty wake up after insurance company refuses to cover fire damage caused by non-certified machine. Even worse, they often jeopardize other people (e.g. neighbors,etc...), not just themselves...
I'm glad you delved into the electrical issues. Many small RUclipsrs Ohh'd and Ahh'd over this printer.... Sometimes I wonder if they are scared they won't get more free stuff if they point out obvious problems?
I've got an older version of this machine and an issue that I've come across after using it for a while is that the knock-off extruder and hotend makes it extremely difficult to to maintenance on. It's such a complicated assembly that clearing up a clog, or swapping out the included heat break for an all metal one, or replacing the tension arm (which is prone to breaking), is an ordeal every time. I actually really like using the machine when it works, but working on it is terrible.
I didn't realize that the hardware this was copying had the same issues. I still find it frustrating but maybe less of that can be laid at Artillery's feet than I thought
Mhh, I got this printer in late 2019 and was really happy with it's performance so far. It also printed 24/7 without any major problems during the faceshield printing time. The first mod I did was to print a strain-relief for the Heated-bed-wire. I also had some issues with the bedsurface and glas itself! PLA sticks to the bed like it's glued to it, but PETG doesn't sticks to it at all! I also broke it once while removing a bigger print, some of the glassurface chiped off during that! The costumer support was really nice and quick tho and directly send me a new glasbed from a warehouse in Germany and explained how to remove and reapply the silicon heater. But I imidiatly swapped it out with an aftermarket removable powdercoated springsteel PEI buildsurface, which works perfect with all of my materials till this day. 👍 The next mod I'll do is to stabilize the Z Axis with some carbon or steelrods (would recommend that) cause the Z Axis wobbles quiet a bit while printing bigger prints! And yeah, I'll fix the risky wiring as soon as possible. 😬 Thank you for that in depht Video Thomas! 👍
I too have a mid/late 2019 model, and I too printed strain reliefs for the bed cable, and also for the ribbon cables. No problems with those so far. I've been a lot happier with this machine than with a Creality CR-10 S Pro that I had for a while.
Had mine since April, never had any issues with it. Bed heater sitting well glued, 240v cables shows no marks of wear, and I have been printing any size with different types of filament. I have always been happy with the result. I totally recommend this printer.
I'd second this, but I still consider my X1 a "learning project". When I got it, I was expecting to improve it - hobby is hobby... But for 375 Eur, I was not expecting an original prusa with larger volume. Since May, I have about 10 rolls down the extruder... Problems: - uneven bed -> changed to aluminium bed - kinked cable -> exchanged all bed cables for longer ones and modified the construction, so if cannot knick any more - tracks and a flexible support outside - Suddenly heavy underextrusion -> mechanics were ok... final solution: updated Slicer. That's it Sofar, I have heavily modified it (2 Firmware updates, checked all electronics out of the box, braces to stabilize the Z-Frame, aluminium bed, Flex-Plate... Best tuning result for me: Firmware update with 3x3 Mesh leveling. ABL will be next. A friend's Genius also got similarly updated and the printing quality is great. Honestly, I love the quiet and that I can print really acceptable at speeds over 80mm/s, but if I look into the total expenses, I could have bought a Prusa. I' do not regret it, as I was expecting what I got. @Tom, thanks for the great review, I'll use the weekend and check it out again :)
You will not see wear on the bed heater cable. The wire will break inside of its jacket. This can cause a high resistance area, which could rapidly heat up and burn. My bed heater wire broke, thankfully no sparks or apparent burning, but from the outside the cable looked completely fine. I figured it out with a continuity tester.
I bought into the hype a few months ago, and even without seeing your video I was immediately made aware of the AC bed heater issues, as mine arrived with a loose corner and a quick google search pulled up many cable chain designs for the cabling. On the inside there was indeed a lot of hot glue but on my v4 unit most of them were terminated properly, except for 2 dupont to ribbon cable headers like you mentioned. Those I had to fix on my own. I was not aware that there was a live, uninsulated header on the socket, so I'll have to go fix that at some point. I will say that in day to day use there's nothing I dislike about it, as moving from one fire hazard to another, this is a massive leg up over the Anet A8 (then turned AM8) I used to own in terms of what I can print and the quality I'm getting out of it. I'd added BLTouch functionality and I really do like how easy to mod and improve the design is, though I wish they'd improve upon the internals.
@@allcrafter3747 Huh, I've been using Cura without much issue at all - PLA, PETG, and ABS. I've been using Angus' profile imported into Cura (I think) with a few acceleration tweaks and it's worked wonderfully.
I was having end stop issues with this printer. I tried a great many things to fix it , but literally the only thing I can think that fixed it was smacking it with the palm of my hand in a rage, and it worked fine since.
Thomas can you itemize specific wiring fixes that a well versed user might do to remedy the safety issues in wiring? I have two Genius models and most issues are identical. Thank You
I have it. Its been a very good. The only thing I did after a year is change to an all metal hotend and and thermal paste for heatblock for the extruder. Extruder might be a cheap knockoff but it works and the silicon sock seems to keep the hotend temp constant. After a year, bed needs glue stick for PLA good sticking; plan to upgrade to magnetic plate. Thermal run away works fine when the temp prob crashed. Compared to ender where mod after mod is needed to get working; this prints right out of the box. Teaching Tech has put a great video for upgrading the board, but mine works so well, I will hold off till I need to do some major maintenance.
You are totaly right. "Bedshakers" are for smal sizes (up to 18by18 cm² on bowden systems, up to 23by23 with direct extruders) there the x-axis+extruder has more weight than the bed. The big bedshakers beginning with the CR10, simply scaling up an engeneering solution for smal printers, are a bad idea in an engeneering sense. But to be fair: much more affordable than a cube design. And If you only need big size from time to time, even a chiron can be a good deal. Simply print slow (even If a print takes two weeks than). But I also would not reccomend coreXY due to the long belts (bending) and mostly being bowden. Best in my opinion is double crossing (carbon) rods and an Orbiter Extruder. Also with big size it might be better to move the xy-gentry up and down (like on a Voron), not the buildplate. A 30by30 buildplate should be made of at least 9 mm milled casted aluminium to be perfectly flat. The xy-gentry will weight less...
@@oleurgast730 For the extruder I remember seeing a "remote direct drive extruder", think it was called Zesty or something like that. The idea was to have the motor on the frame but the extruder gears near the nozzle and transfer the movement via a bendable rod. Might make sense the various box style printers. Personally I don't need to print that big and I'm happy with my Prusa MK3S.
@@VorpalGun yes, the zesty nimble is an interesting option. But the Orbiter with Nema14 with 120g (feeder+stepper; hotend and fans to be added) is more precise. It seems the better choise. I got one last week and will try it about Xmas. Most of my prints I make on my mk3s (and some Clones I build). But my hobby is tinkering on 3d printers - and on the mk3s is not much to do ;-)
I'm printing with this machine since a year or so. I must say, that I did some improvements like frame stiffing struts and a BLtouch, but overall this printer is very reliable, which is the most important benefit of this machine for me. I mostly print RC planes with thin/single wall parts, which are a challenge for every printer, but this one handles it pretty well. But yes, Thomas is right. There are some things to mention about the electronics and he did. One of the first things I did was to swap the Y-carrige cables to some decent silicone ones with a strain-relief and remove some of the couting of the case in order to ensure a decent grounding. You have to be aware of those issues, and then they are easy to improve, but I must agree with Thomas. Using this printer as it's getting shipped, is bloody dangerous and I would't recommend this one to someone who just wants a plug and play printer.
Damn, I must have been lucky then. Mine is grounded (maybe a screw impaled the coating?) and there are no kinks in the heated bed wire (it rolls like it should). I have a great time with it and for the 330$ that I paid it's a bargain! But I also went forth and removed all the hot glue and fixed the wiring... So your statement is correct: Only get the machine when you are willing to fix a few things and you know what you are doing. Great review!
Thanks for the honest review. I almost bought that printer, too. But at the moment I have an early version from 2019 lent from a friend who couldn't get it to print. The mechanics and design choices on this printer are not that great as expected. Interesting is that the 2019 version has a different sleeve for the bed cables. It has a rubber texture and does not kink but bend in a perfect loop, as you mentioned. So they actually downgraded during the versions. One point which shook me was that they have not yet added a strain relief yet. This is a very cheap addition and very important as you pointet out. How can you not ad that in +1 year time? It all leaves me questioning if this is not even a coincidence. I see a good chance that certain things have not been improved or downgraded to cut cost to improve margin. Would not be the first time that someone would do that in an "early?" product life cycle. All carried by good reviews and a supper hardcore user base which are willing to defend these printers. I see no point in 2020 to buy a machine which I have to fix / or improve before I even start printing. Those were the good old times.. but I don't miss them ;-D Looking forward to your mysteries!
FYI! Cura 4.8 has the X1 in there printer list so you can ignore repetier and go straight to Cura with preset profiles created by 3d nexus. You nailed the rest Thomas greetings from Belgium.
Try to laminate with the same parameters but creating a custom printer profile, you will see that the printing time is drastically reduced. There is something wrong with the 3D Nexus print profiles that makes the prints too long.
The CE seal is bought by self-certification and by filling in a couple of forms. By no means does it guarantee an electrical product to be infallible: no certified "CE engineer" will check your product before you are granted the seal. It's only useful for your insurance should you indeed experience a fire. I'm an electrical engineer so I checked all the things you pointed out and except for the bed cable they're fine. You're making a bigger deal out of this than it is. With this printer you need to do a little bit of DIY. I also replaced the idler handle for a aluminum one and replaced the inner tube with a Capricorn PTFE tube. And I added a BL Touch. The total cost of the upgrades was about 50 euros and I paid 375 for the printer on Aliexpress. The bed adhesion never gave me any issues since I use Dimafix but I plan on adding a WhamBam plate like on my other printers.
All the mentioned mains related electrical issues are major issues. Every single one of them will lead to fail conformity tests. But as you mentioned, CE is self-certification and no actual test is required to declare conformity.
@@mururoa7024 would you give your family to work on 220V mains power connected device without proper ground protection? Are you serious with your comments? Sure people with no technical knowledge should go poking around 220V with pointy metal sticks. You should be awarded for Darwin awards.
@@valent_t I'm not sure if you understood what I wrote. As I said in my previous comment, I'm an electrical engineer so please spare me the lecture. I specialize in power electronics and automation. I've tested everything on this machine and it's fine, even the SSR is according to specs. The easy fix on the mains I was referring to is to replace the rubber sleeve with a cable chain. You can buy a cable chain or you can print one. This is not electrical work, and in fact you don't even need to open the machine at all. You just need to not be clumsy.
We are aware of the issues brought up recently, and are working to correct them. Some of the things Tom mentions have already been addressed as the model he has is an older revision. We will follow up and let you know, and thank Tom for the honest review. Good or bad these things all help us improve.
Then please tell us how to figure out the latest "Revision". AFAIK he has the "V4" because of the reset button beside the TFT. That is the newest Revision i know of, by watching almost every YT Video available on this printer. When i buy at a reseller right now, it seems to be a blackjack game, which development level i get, without knowing how to figure out, what Revision they are selling to me or having laying around in a warehouse.
Having owned an Artillery Genius since Feb 2019, the printer has been near flawless. I designed a cable minder and a split blower shroud specifically for the Genius. I download a clip for the z-axis which took much of the z-vibration out. My printer is in a cabinet so I load the filament through a shelf above. The smaller bed seems to heat more evenly and I use a 2mm glass plate. I use OctoPrint to control the printer except for filament load/unload. I am a long time subscriber to Thomas and I have to say that he was more harsh than needed... he likes to fiddle... I don't.
4 года назад
I second this. Also, got links for the above mentioned mods? :)
Thats crazy, I have used mine for maybe 4 months and I got an error with the heated bed, likely due to either bed cable that moves in the back, or the motherboard. Many people also have this issue. Thats how I know how to fix it.... But unfortunately for me I didnt begin using my printer immediately after I bought it so its out of warranty.
Whoa, mind blown 🤯 I've got 3 of these v4 printers. I absolutely love them. They've got great reviews from most other RUclipsrs like, Maker'sMuse, 3DPN, TeachingTech, and their Facebook group is awesome with support. I've done basic user repairs, even converted the printhead assembly to print 3mm pla. Besides user errors, I've never run into an issue. I'm not doubting your knowledge, I've been watching your videos for 3 years and I rely on skilled people such as yourself. My question, what can we users do to make printers safer?
That is also something I came across and bought the SW like a year ago. Other youtubers even mentioned, that their units are grounded. Just checked my SW bed cable and it is way more flexible than Tom's. There was a change in v4 to another kind of nozzle and maybe other parts were downgraded, too.
First of all you could easily ground the frame of the printer, that would be a great start. The cabling for the bed can be replaced with silicone wire that bends better, or at least figure out a way to make the cables flex around the whole cable instead of certain points, perhaps with a cable chain. Replacing connectors with proper ones would be a possibility but if they're make good contact and are secured with hot glue, I wouldn't start messing with it. It's super sloppy but it's not going to set your house on fire.
There is one step you should do on every printer with AC bed: Use a residual current circuit breaker. There are cables available there these protection is integrated. The problem with maybe causing fire due to the heatbed cable is not solved by this. The best in my opinion is to let it be changed to a cable like used on an iron. Be aware in some contrys working with AC is not allowed without formal certificarion (beeing an electrican or electro engeneer). For example in Germany it is a high risk you take: If you do modifications on AC, you be responsible 30 years. In civil law, as you did something illegal, you have to proof you did everything alright if someone get hurt (there was just auch a decission on a German court). Also in the EU the importeur is count as "manufacturer". So not only risk customs keeps the product - If you sell it after a few years (or even gift it to someone) you be responsible as producer. No way to avoid it, No way arround - exept dissassembling it and sell the parts (exept for the AC parts). By the way: Any kit you assemble also makes you "manufacturer". So do not give it away... There is obviously a reason Tom made a teardown of a functional printer he does not use anymore. He also lives in Germany...
What I'd do to my specific unit is to replace the entire heated bed assembly - glass with no heatspreader is a poor choice to start with. I'd also look into replacing or at least reworking the internal cabling and electronics. Keep in mind that apparently other X1 units are built differently (that is, better or worse) in the spots I found.
Owned one for 6 months, printed brilliantly and just had the hotend get REALLY hot (wouldn't stop heating up) could have started a fire. Guessing something significant has given up the ghost. No one who has reviewed this machine before (I watched tens of videos before buying) has mentioned anything about the slightly dubious electronics. Thank you for the video.
I had to open mine up to repair it and I must say the electronics are wired quite mickey mouse. The cables are crimped inside and no heat shrink used. Also they hot glued all the cables to the motherboard. Very suspect.
I use the Sidewinder x1 now for 2 years with a few upgrades like an aluminium heatbed and now an BL sensor using the waggster method. It‘s amazing, i love it! I grounded a couple parts to make is safer tho
Finally an honest review! I owned this printer for a month before returning and it gave me nothing but grief. The extruder is very unreliable, I never achieved consistent layers after a full month of tinkering. The AC bed was flickering my lights. Nothing was square and tons of loose parts.
I have a ender 3 v2 and it's hopeless. Have been trying to fix it non stop for 2 weeks. Levelling is impossible, bltouch doesn't work, have had a million bed crashes etc. Is this a better printer?
@@Prusa3D But please speed up design of the planed big size printer... I by the way prefer the mk3 over the mk3s. The problems with old filament sensor were only caused by PET-G being reflective, so inside the sensors chamber was to much irritating light. The old sensor work great after printing the printhead from non-reflective Greentec pro filament.. So I do not like the downgrade from mk3 to mk3s...
wtf, ender 3 is one of the best printers in 3d printer history. You understand what you are saying? I mean, Prusa is good, but you cant just be racist.
@@Wraith-KryptosCalm down. Ender 3 is good for the price and Creality seems to be one of the better Chinese brands. But it have had its share of issues from time to time as well, depending on the batch, contracted manufactures etc (for example: there was some issue with some Creality machine having bad connectors for a batch a few years ago, don't remeber if it was Ender or not. And I have heard of quite a few Ender 3 being delivered with warped beds). And that is the issue with many of these import machines, including the Artilliery: quality varies and you don't quite know what you will get.
Certaintly I saw this review after a lot of other mostly positive reviews, which in contrary to you said that the wiring is on the better side of things (and many other aspects that you critisised) and I already bought it. Should I return it as long as it is in prestine condition (not yet unpacked) or is it usable? And are there any upgrade parts that iron out the mentioned issues without braking the bank?
I just want to get started with 3D printing and want a affordable, reliable, and user friendly printer. Any suggestions? I’m thinking the Prusa Mini or Sidewinder X1
Artillery has changed the supplier / type of heater for the bed in the newer version. I have the older silicon heater on my V4 and there the cable rolls very smoothly, even without strain relief for cable support.
Same here, my cable looks like it is made from a different material as well , I wonder if they use a different cable for the 120volt vs 220volt printers
This is reason why I like Tom's reviews. He covers every smallest of detail that most other reviewers misses out. I hope you will keep making many more reviews and videos in general
Lordy be, I did have myself some woes with the X1. The small thermistor that is held in place on the side of the volcano block burns to a crisp after a month. You are left with the metal casing still in the hole and the end that is encased in what looks like glass is just a black mess. I ended up drilling a hole right through and put in a regular sized 100k thermistor. Temps are far more stable. Then, all of a sudden the extruder motor stopped working. Turns out the ribbon cable burnt out a pin in the plug that sits on the breakout board on the side of the extruder. The board that was there was black. The replacement we had at work was blue and marked as V1.5. Plugged in the new ribbon cable and breakout board and then found that as soon as the hot end tried to heat up, something was shorting and causing the system to reboot. After much poking around with a multimeter it appears the new board has the lower 4 pins for the heater cartridge + and the next four pins for -. However the breakout board that sits over the top of the X axis motor has the wiring set to the lower 5 pins for + and the next 3 pins for -. Pin 5 (from the bottom) was shorting with pin 6 when plugged into this replacement V1.5 board. So I had to disconnect pin 5 on the socket. Why for the life of me would they have 5 / 3 and not 4 /4 to carry the current through that ribbon cable??? Either way it is working again after doing my head in. As for the V slot wheels, not a fan as they are clearly wearing down and getting loose every few weeks. Must be a simple way to attach a linear bearing on the X and Y axis that bolts directly on the V slot? Had no idea the heat bed was 240v?? Might rethink running this thing unattended now.
I'm watching this after I sort of wanted it, but yet i went with the Prusa mk3s kit....i am so happy i went with Prusa. Prior to this, i have zero experience with 3d printing.... but after building and using the mk3s, I'm very happy with my decision. I spaced the build out over a few days and it came out perfect. I'm very happy with my Mk3s and have ordered more parts / prusament since my original purchase. For being on the other side of the world, (to me) the shipping is very fast too. Very responsive customer service....and IMO, well worth the extra USD. A++
Artillery sidewinder x1 vs mingda d3 pro vs creality cr 10 v3? Which of the three printers would you prefer? Or what other direct drive printer would you prefer? Why is that? Thanks in advance for your answer.
Interesting info. I've had an X1 for almost a year now that was listed as a V4. My cables and hotend are different than yours. I've hardly had an issue with mine through hundreds of hours of prints and it's my go to for any large parts that need to be strong.
I have a X1 and absolutely love it! The only issue is the heated bed. A $2 bit of sleeving will fix this wires breakings. Only thing I wish Tom did was talk about the positives. Because there is alot of them!!
I think its important to have both. One allows people to get really excited about 3D printing becoming cheap (and grow the community), the other one forces companies to -fix their sh*t- improve stuff.
I've checked the ground on mine and found the whole frame and box cover perfectly grounded... Don't know how you proceed to check it, but using an ohmmeter clearly shows that job is done well on that safety critical point. I agree it's not the case on the bed wires kinks...
Ohmmeter is fine, 0 Ω would be perfect, but up to 5 Ω is acceptable IMO. But did you check the bed mounting as well (the blue X-formed Plate)? Should be isolated (higher resistance), because of the plastic rollers and no PE/grounding cable running to it. Maybe when you are correcting your kinks in the bed wires, you can add a PE-cable to the blue X-shaped bed plate directly taken from the PE connector at the power supply.
I have an Artillery X1 since 2 years. I replaced heat bed with warranty (out of order), ribbon X twice, pcb direct drive, direct drive, and replace plastic piece of direct drive by metallic, and my USB A connector is out of order too, so I'm using only sd card reader. But I'm always happy with my purchase because I'm a handyman and I accept that mechanical or electronic parts wear out and break down. And I can repair or replace it with low price. If you afraid to let your printer alone when it print, keep it in your eyes and buy a fire extinguisher.
I’m not a “professional” that needs to produce flawless prints to sell but. I’ve had no issues at all with my X1 I got 6 months ago, but I also take really good care of it and always maintain it so it’s in top notch order. The only thing I’ve changed is an external spool holder and I also added a magnetic bed with a flexible sheet on top. I have a FFCP and I use this more because it prints faster, better PLA and PETG printing, the FFCP is only better for printing exotic filaments. All these reviews remind me of critical car reviews, there is always some imperfection in something that requires tinkering to make it better than what the manufacturer produces. Yes it’s a cheaper printer but for less you get quite a good deal in my eyes.
It's not just some "imperfections". Not following CE compliance rules and non existing safety standards with mains voltage handling/wiring are a sure way to get your machine banned from the market, at least in europe. I am pretty sure that the FCC logo for the US market is protected by laws too, and you can't just slap that on your product and think nobody will get back to you at some point. Maybe you just don't care about safety and certifications right now, and thats fine. I just hope nobody gets hurt, or killed, once that machine shows it's true evil potential...
As an owner of V3 I must say that I agree with all you said. What is worth mentioning, is that due to its flawed design the bed warps, and it warps hard. You can do the heatcycle procedure to straighten it, but this will help you several times, after which the bed will warp beyond the point it is usable. Had my bed replaced twice under warranty from Artillery, the second bed coming with dent in the middle straight from the factory. Currently I am unable to use my printer without abl. Adding abl is a completely different story, and as the bed warping problem is very well known I can't understand why this printer comes with no abl system. If I were to choose my fist printer again, I would not go with this one, rather choosing either a Prusa MK3 clone or Creality Ender.
So actually... What 3D printer would You suggest to buy under 500$ mark? I am looking for almost-built or fully-build out-of-the-box 3D printer, I will use it with most common materials such as PETG, PLA and HIPS. I previously bought Tevo Tarantula, however after assembling it I couldn't get it to work, so I ended up with useless crap. What are Your suggestions? Is the X1 that bad? Thanks a lot for all the answers.
Hi Thomas great review, Just a couple of points for you about the bed. From what I can see in the video there are 3 wires going to the bed, Two red and one black, tracing them back in to the case it looks like both reds are for the power and the black for the temperature sensor. But if the black is just for the sensor why have they used what looks like 10 amp rated cable also the 2 reds look like 10 Amps. From what I have read the bed draws about 1 amp max at 220 volts so all 3 wires could be made thinner so putting much less stress on the bed joint.
Have this printer, for a bout a year now and its the ONLY one I havent had to hassle with constantly like my Ender 3, E3 Pro and Prusa MK3. I have one issue where the extruder nuked itself and my bed has warped over time but its still my most reliable printer.
Great review Tom! I hope manufacturers are paying attention. I get the feeling some of these printers are made with "store brand" parts where the quality varies with whoever is supplying them with the cheapest parts(and labor) that week.
I decided not to get the X1 but the Artillery Genius. I have to say that the connection of the 220V to the hot bed is much better than shown here. The lengh of the cable is perfect and its secured better. I still just put a cable chain on it to give it some little extra stability and even wear. But one day the cable will break eventually... lets hope the fuse works then :D . The inside of the Genius looks rather similar its actually clean in my opinion just the overusage of hot glue is annoying. If you want to modify it someday you will have fun getting it off somehow or rip the cables. Its a good printer but nothing special in my opinion.. Just paid 220€ so its alright. It gave me some headache the first day tho... the printer was randomly getting crazy until I have find the culprit... the interconnection from the mainfram and the small PCI-E connector. The flat cable was bend too much and the connection wasnt proper so while printing the extruder started to rattle like crazy in the X direction... That wasnt a good solution in my opinion. It all looks neat... but who needs a neat looking printer rather than a reliable one... so Genius and X1 are okay... but they shouldnt have tradet looks for quality or rather stability and functionality. I ripped all the fancy blue covers off right away. Unnecessary weight on the Z axis and the X axis (the extruder) is stupid.
I'm a 60yo with a PhD in Electrical Engineering, and after seeing this video review I can safely say that Thomas Sanladerer does NOT know what he is talking about. The machine is 100% grounded. I've run every test in the book and the X1 passes every test with flying colors. After this review I've lost all confidence on Thomas Sanladerer and everything he has to say about anything.
Thomas, I’m brand new to 3D printing. I love it and I’m fully committed to learning this hobby. Let me start my story by explaining my limited experiences in 3D printing. My first printer was the Artillery Sidewinder which I purchased from Amazon for $430.00 US dollars. I wanted the option to print a larger prints once I understood the process. I had my share of problems early on. I had the loose wheels, a bad 20 pin cable and I pulled pins on the board next to the extruder. Absolutely there could be improvements from the factory. However, I purchased new replacement parts on eBay from Friendly Hobby’s in Las Vegas for less than $20 bucks. They were absolutely great in helping me trouble shoot. Artillery did also warranty the original parts as well. While my Artillery was down I purchased a Creality Ender 3 Pro. FYI, for $159 bucks on Amazon Prime Day. I loved it and from my first print. My very first print via the Cura Slicer came out perfect. Shortly afterwards I received my parts from Las Vegas and I resumed printing on my Artillery printer. I have watched countless hours of RUclips videos on how to tune printers. Since I resumed printing I must say that the Artillery is doing a much better job than the Ender 3. It’s much quieter and so much more reliable. I attempted to run ABS on the Ender 3 and it failed miserable. I melted the filament feeder tube and clogged the hot end. Some how the extruder e-step went haywire and that caused me 2 days of trouble shooting to figure out what the hell happened. It went from perfect prints to under extruding by 60%. I disassembled the hot end and recalibrated the e-step after trouble shooting the under extruding problem. I tried the same build on the Artillery Sidewinder and hit a home run on the first print. I love printing PETG on my Artillery. ABS is still troublesome. But, no clogging or under extruding concerns. I actually have changed my opinion of the Artillery Sidewinder. I really need to update my survey on Amazon. FYI, I have ordered a dual extruder gear and a Capricorn tube for the Ender 3. FYI, I love both of these machines and chalk my issues up to lack of experience.
eesh ive had one of these for a year D: Gonna have to take a closer look at things now... Thanks for the heads up. Oh one thing to add, out the box the parking and run out code is broken. It would park the head, and then power down the motors after about a minute. So you can easily loose tracking on where the print is. So when it resumes its lost. Anyway really need to take a good look in the box again make sure its safe...
Ok, I was looking really hard at the X1 as my first 3d printer, but after hearing about safety concerns I'm more than worried. Can you recommend a good, safe 3d printer in this price range?
@@mynameis______392 Do you know of one that uses a direct drive extruder? I really like the materials versatility that gives. I have a few items I'd like to print that would use flexible materials.
I appreciate your review, but fine it lacking in that you dis it over the electronics. I just got my sidewinder X1 a few days ago, and noticed that it is 110V heated bed. You can also get one as listed on their website in 220V. I have a background in electronic repair, and own several 3D printers from several different companies. I have purchased and sent back many printers after ordering them after extensive reviews both video and written. I have found that all reviews need to be taken with a grain of salt, as some are given after being sent a new printer without charge, or have been paid to give a review. It is for this reason that I believe little on what people put on their channels, with a few exceptions. I did enjoy your condor, and respect your views. I feel like my father taught me, if I want to drive a vehicle, I first have to know how to repair it, if I want to own my own house, I need to learn how to fix minor issues. I spent 2 years in mechanic school and have learned how to repair vehicles and trouble shoot problems. I spend 2 years learning how to repair and troubleshoot computers. I spent years building houses with my father, learning everything in the trade, not only from him but from others as well. If you want true plug and play then spend the money to get good quality machines. If you want to tinker and get a kit and put it together (how many still remember the heath kits for computers, the sinclair or many other kits that where sold). All of the printers will require some type of tweaking, and repair by you, the company is not going to send a service tech out to work on it ( I am however seriously looking at doing just this, as I am starting to see a need, but are people willing to pay to the cost? In closing, I will just say that the verdict is still out, I am in the honeymoon period with the printer, it shall either work out and stay or be sent back. I have zero patience for machines that don't work out of the box and have sent many a printer back through Amazon that failed the 25 day test.
Hi Thomas. After some bad experience withe geeetech I3, Anet A8 and ender 3 Pro, what's your choice between prusa mini + and X1 (no matter size of printing area). Thanks for your great job !!!
I got this printer before I knew about these issues. It's my daily driver and so far so good but in a way I kind of wish I had gotten something else...
@@BlatantlySwedishPGN I'm pretty sure you underestimate your abilities here. Sure, it takes a substantial amount of research to do those fixes correctly, but you can definitely do it with the help of the internet. Get a friend over for a weekend when tinkering with the device to make sure 4 eyes are watching for mistakes along the way and it will be fine.
@@MarkusRessel I don't think I know anyone who'd be able to help me. However, the main cable bending is easily fixable by 3d printing braces that keep it folding smooth. This is common for basically all printers of this style and considering this being a huge concern it shouldn't be hard to find on Thingiverse or other sites.
Thomas, thanks had thought about this printer and the post of it being a CR10s should be. I wish these companies sold the bases and frames or allowed customization from the factory. Not going to happen so will start from ground zero and build my own. Enjoy your reviews, commentary and how to in the 3D printing world, thanks.
I do like my X1, I printed stabilizers, new nozzle, better lever and extruder gear, it does worry me sometimes but for the size and price point and direct extruder I can’t ask for more, is there a way they can fix this and send us new components to avoid a fire hazard, also I’d like to see you doing improvements to this printer, there’s a big following and I’d hate getting rid of it
Have a V4. The flex cable issues are atrocious - flex cable boards replaced and still having issues. Hard to update the machines firmware - always needs a disassembly to unplug the TFT. Because of the flex cable, I’m unable to hook up a BLTouch right now... idler arm breaks every now and so - requires a metal one. Great when it works - prints come out nicely too... horrible when it’s down.
I have the Artillery genius, I really like it but wanted to upgrade the heatsink to a genuine e3d titanium one.. well my printer does not have a threaded heatsink (the early models had a threaded one) but locks the heatbrake with 2 small hex lock bolts... Then I ordered a titan aero heatsink which has a threaded heatbrake mount, only to discover that the Artillery heatsink is like 1cm longer where the heatbrake hole is located... So after installing the aero heatsink my nozzle would not touch the bed before the part cooling duct and the carridge wheel behind the nozzle... So if anyone is trying to upgrade his extruder with a better heatbrake... Buy one which fits in place of the original... Sry for bad English
I got my SWX1 as a first printer and I'm happy with it. You will never have a perfect printer at this price range. Anyway, I'm not even sure a perfect printer exists ... There are issues, yes but they are easy to fix and Artillery support seems to be very good (I haven't needed it for now).
I have had many problems with the heated bed wires. Over time the thermister wires break. I was able to repair the wires, and that lasted for a couple of weeks and then they broke again.
That's like saying: The year is 2020. Cars are *still* being shipped with manual transmissions I prefer having the control over my tramming than compensating for it.
YES! If I can choose I will use these. Happy to have sold the one with ABL today and use the ones without it. I removed ABL on one of my other printers and made it manual. Just don't like it and not that beneficial if you have a good straight level bed and set it up right. Okay, takes a bit more effort once but now never have to do it again or wait for some autolevel that even makes 'mistakes' on perpose to account for small differences. By the way, I'm happy that they sell shoes still too and not just cars.
@@elvinhaak You just dont like ABL?????? What horrible experience did you have to come to that conclusion?? Its an upgrade across the board. To correct your analogy its more like you want a steam powered car when we have gasoline cars.
@@BeefIngot Well, it is of course personal but like I wrote it is much easier to work with for me because I only have to set the printer up once without needing to do the correction in the print and do and spend time to recalibrate the auto-level. Still, when the bed is not well levelled, the walls are not at the same 90% angle and the parts are 'deformed' to the shape of the bed. If you want to reduce that by getting a perfect trimmed bed, then you really don't need that automatic leveling system that takes time, effort and extra complicity that also adds another part to the printer that can fail and give problems (both in firmware as in hardware). After all, ABL is only an electronic compensation for an error that is along the axes (X/Y) of the printer. Since it is 'kind of compensated', you don't notice the errors if they happen so fast yourself and your prints get worse and worse when the bed is for example slowly getting off-level Then also what I dislike is the extra movements on the Z for this compensation, also making noise. And finally: a nice flat top-surface is suddenly also not flat anymore but contains the steps that are made in Z-direction to compensate for the faults on the bed. That could of course depend on firmware because that can be made so that only the first layers would make a compensation for a wrong trimmed bed but sofar I have not seen that. With a well build printer this is all not needed, walls get 90 degree angles, no extra compensation and the top is nice and flat. Some of those will of course also depend of what you are printing. I print mostly functional parts (where a printer like this is very well for, better then for little puppets) and they have those flat surfaces and need to have straight walls. If they don't have it at printing-time, it needs repairing after the printing, resulting in a lot of extra work like sanding them down. What are your reasons to explicity want ABL?
@@elvinhaak Its so weird... all of your complaints. What ABL are you using, its not what the rest of us have. Noise on the z motors? Not with silent drivers. Surface artifacts?! What? That's not how it works. its not making extra layers, its compensation within a layer for the print beds unevenness. You hate having to relevel all the time?! Thats literally _the_ benefit of ABL. That you don't have to level because once you've set the Z offset, you never have to level again, because it will automatically do it for you, guaranteeing even first layers every time. All of your complaints are just kinda bizzare honestly. It's like you've never used ABL before or have a really bad version of it on a printer with weird firmware.
The extruder is about as bad as a titan clone can be. That's just a print quality problem. But the bed heater wiring is a bad fail. Mine did break and burnt out the wire in the middle of the cord, and it didn't even kink like Thomas shows. Thankfully no sparks. It actually prints PLA pretty well without heating the bed. The heater cartridge connector on the hot end breakout board is also prone to burn out. As are the cloned TMC2100 stepper motor drivers.
OK, so I was about to invest in my first 3D printer and the Sidewinder X2 is my preference up until seeing this review, albeit a previous version. As far as you're aware, does the X2 resolve these criticisms ? And is it CE marked as in 'European conformity' now ? 🇬🇧
Thank you for your honest review, the points you mentioned in the video will be reviewed by our engineers.
Can you also publish a guide for 4v owners on how to fix any identified issues? Thanks.
To be fair, Artillery and pretty good with communication with their customers.
Engineers 🤣🤣
Wow... I kind of feel cheated. So many 3D print hobbyists on RUclips were very very positive. I've had the machine (V4) since June - and got it exactly because I'm not an electrician. Pretty much plug-and-play, it seemed. Now I'm kind of scared of turning it on TBH. Yeah... I feel cheated.
@@ryzdavis Yea, This was my first printer which I purchased over a year ago. I do not have these problems and it prints great. If you spend a few minutes on their facebook page, you can learn what to do quickly, like printing strain relief guides and other things. I have been to a lot of 3D printer facebook pages and it seems all 3d printers have many issues that you will sometimes have to print extra pieces to correct and the X1 seemed to have the least amount of issues. (they do have a legit ribbon issue but I also read up on that ahead of time and corrected my ribbon so it would not come out of its socket and short), No problems after a year of use.
Can you please now test Artillery Sidewinder X2 to see have they corrected all these flaws in the new version?
Straightforward and honest!!! Too many "Reviewers", "Experts" or whatever, with affiliate links in the description trying to sell you things.. And that's why I've watched your i3 clone Dolly series and built my own machines (well, with my own mods) that, I can honestly say, beat any Ender3 (I don't really know why so many people consider this pile of aluminium as a benchmark) or whatever clone in terms of quality, and believe it or not, with Mega/Ramps combos. Nice one Tom!!! Danke!!!!
The "CE vs 'China Export'" difference is actually an urban legend and not correct. There is no official certifying organization for Comformité European. It's all a self-certifying program where the company itself produces declarations of conformity and puts the mark on their own product to certify it complies with EU regulations. In the end, it's always the person/company importing the product into the EU which is responsible for the compliance, regardless of how the CE marking was put on the product.
You are completely right. Tom should pin this
Yes, the ce is pretty much just a declaration that the manufacturer or seller claims it fulfills the ce criteria. If a product has a ce marking on it but doesn't meet the criteria then the maximum penalty is three months in jail and a £5,000 fine for the director of the offending company. If they get caught. The real kicker is that the product may not be sold in eu after that. If they get caught. Also the sellers have a legal responsibility to ensure that all relevant goods they sell have appropriate CE marking. In the UK, the penalty for supplying non-compliant products is imprisonment or a fine. If they get caught.
So I wouldn't say it is meaningless. If you trust the product maker enough to buy their product then you can trust the ce marking as well and assume they have done the work to meet the criteria. The ce marking does have its issues when chinese companies can get around a lot of the penalties and checks by just selling hardware to the eu area from china. And with world wide ordering and shipping of consumer devices the ce becomes hard to enforce.
@@erwinlommer197
If you see the incorrect CE marking then it’s a good indicator that the manufacturer hasn’t even looked at the requirements for CE.
Chinese manufacturers often copy everything on a product. I used to work for a company that made fan heaters (amongst many electrical items), and some reps came back from China with fake heaters complete with the company logo on the knock-off switches because they assumed it was some form of safety declaration. (Spoiler: they were very unsafe indeed.)
You can download the CE logo from the European site, going true it myself it's one of the first things mentioned. Like Thomas shows there is only 1 correct logo and all others are considerd fake Chinese stamps. Tells the story about how much they care🤔
@@ryzdavis The existence of an "early" printer with the same name and markings is itself an issue. Phantom revisions are common in chinese printers and are a terrible practice for consumer safety and the reliability of received products. If it is true that there is a newer v4 it would only reinforce that artillery has no issues changing aspects mid-production without alerting the public. While I agree that might make some complaints invalid, I don't think it would affect the final recommendation status.
Interesting timing. The X1 was my first 3D printer. I got it 6 months ago, and then got two more 4 months ago (all v4). I switched them all to .6mm nozzles.
The power wires for the bed heater on all three broke within the last week. All three were at the kink you showed closest to where it meets the back of the case. I figured out there were issues when all three were showing thermal runout errors for the bed.
I just replaced the bed heaters on all three and I added strain support to keep the wires where they meet the bed heater far more stable, and to keep the entire length of power/thermistor wires from kinking and instead bending with a reasonable radius.
Then I went and added the same support to the two Genius printers I recently picked up.
Thank you for all of your great videos and information, especially when it may ruffle a feather or two!
@@iBert0 - I found a design I liked on Thingiverse. Just go to that site and search for "sidewinder strain relief". You'll have several options to choose from. I suggest also adding a cable chain or something similar. For me, since I was already pulling the print somewhat apart in order to replace the bed heater, I ran a piece of filament inside the cable sleeve along side the power and thermistor cables. I don't know how long this solution will last, but so far so good.
I'd love to see your thoughts on the X2 now that it's finally out. At first glance it appears Artillery have addressed most of your concerns, but a deep dive review would be great!
Man... I wish this had come out 11mo ago... I saw all the great reviews and got one. It worked great all year until around a month ago when I decided to run my first real big print.
The printer started to burn while I was eating lunch. If I hadn't smelled the smoke my house probably would've burned down.
For some reason the extruder stopped moving on top of the print and the heater cutoff sensor did not work, so it started burning the PLA and the heatblock had started slipping.
I contacted Artillery mentioning the problem and all they said is they would send a new motherboard and heater. Theh didn't attempt to diagnose the issue at all. I told them I'd rather get a replacement since we don't know where the failure is and thankfully I still had 1 month left on the warranty, but they only would send the parts (without any concern for my ability to actually fix the machine). Now its been weeks since they were supposed to send the parts. I'm out a printer for the Christmas gifts and fixes around my house and I just don't know if I can ever trust this machine to run any job longer than 1h.
If you could make a YT series on how to fix these issues I think it would be not only super useful. But you may even save some lives out there for the people that unfortunately didn't get to your review in time...
Thanks a lot for the honest review! Love your work.
PS. The moment I assembled the printer I put dabs of hot glue on the ribbon cables. They're still going strong, so im sire that wasn't the issue..
Same here.. I saw All the great Reviews.. but Mine is pure pain .. good to know that this Thing is a timebomb
For example extrem Z-Wobble after 150 mm build hight. The Partcoolingfan is doing a extrem anoing Sound during printing. The printbed was absoluty Not flat and my prints didnt Stick Well to the printsurface. The Firmware is so Bad adjusted (for example so linear advaced enabled) the time in Spend in this printer to fix all the Problems i Had is to much for 400 €.
I own 3 printers and this Thing was Out of the Box the worst one.
(Sorry for my bad english)
@3D Print Wrangler I can operate a 3D printer and have successfully done so. I've owned a Monoprice Maker Select v2 for almost 5 years, maintained it, upgraded it, and know it inside and out. It just is not available for me at the moment. When I said they sent parts "without any concern about my ability" it doesn't mean I dont have the ability. I asked for documentation and all they said was "mark the cables". I know I can figure out how to replace the motherboard, but what I want is to figure out the actual root of the problem so I can have peace of mind and avoid it in the future. I'm sure that I could figure it out, however the faster the better because I don't have as much time as I used to these days. I sent them pictures and a detailed description of the issue. They didn't ask for pictures of the motherboard, log files, or any sort of diagnostics on my end. It's taking weeks to get the parts and we don't even know if this will actually solve the problem since the new motherboard may have the same issue. I asked them if this was a known issue that they had solved in the new motherboard and did not get an answer. So yeah... its ok to send parts for a year old machine if you're going to work with the consumer, but if you're not going to solve the issue and aren't willing to at least gove some details so it can be prevented, then I dont think its unreasonable to ask for a replacement.
This printer was my first upgrade. The maker select was sold and and marketed as something you would tinker with. The X1 was sold as something that was pretty much good to go with all these safety features, so the expectations are different. Then of course you use the machine for almost a year and trust the safety features will hold while you eat your lunch in your own house 2h into a print. Of course it wouldn't likely have burnt my house down because I take precautions like running it only when I'm home and checking the octoprint every so often, and I have a fire extinguisher on hand, but the fact that it wash starting to burn means that there was a very real risk if I hadn't taken those precautions like many people would.
I would never leave ANY 3D printer made in China in a room working while no one is around to keep an eye on it..well, that goes for any electronics made in China. I even unplug my printer from the wall when It completes printing and I'm done with it. Glad you caught it in time.
@3D Print Wrangler Mabye you could use some of the arguments if the printer was a kit, and even then I would think some of your points would still be a long bow to draw.
They are sending out dangerous products and putting it on the user to fix them if there are issues to boot.
As for no other manufacturer would replace - Im pretty sure my Aldi would (where I got mine) but then again they aren't about to burn my house down either.
Another happy X1 user. Bought about 1 year ago as a first 3d printer.
It arrived via BangGood missing 2 spool holder screws and has a very slightly warped bed. The heater cable is kink free.
I've twiddled some screws, moved the spool holder off the machine, added a sock to the heater block and a flexible Creality build surface (I'm too impatient to wait for the bed to cool and the extra layer helps with the slight bed warp but does need a higher initial bed temperature).
It gets a few 10's of hours use a month and is proving to be accurate and reliable. The process is so much more enjoyable since I've been able to stop worrying about alignment and 'the first layer' - at least for a given filament.
Cons:
Z does need extra bracing if printing tall.
Maximum acceleration and speed settings are optimistic.
Notes:
I've removed the plastic Z coupler thingies.
With the Z belt removed, a tip I've seen mentioned elsewhere, the weight of the head can back drive the Z screws.
My left Z screw shows slight miss-alignment, I'm in the 'if it works don't fix it stage' so will investigate someday.
Could you do a follow-up video on how to fix these issues?
follow-up... take it apart and use the parts to make a well designed strong printer yourself...
@3D Print Wrangler Really??? I have (had) 2 of them. Yes, more then the 400 you mean even, almost 500 here. Also have helped 'restoring to work' a couple of others here in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Yes, better then Creality in many regards in electrical problems, but 'no indicents'? Maybe not reported in for example the States and since here in Europe we are mainly responsible for our own stuff we have to fix it ourselves or throw them away.
Also I have been following the forums and did a review of these printers myself.
Some are earthed, some are not, bed-heaters coming loose from the buildplate: plenty. Shortconnects in the bedheater-cables: here in contacts near me: twice. Luckily we have very strict rules in Europe for the electrical systems so no-one was killed for as far as I know and no house burned down because of this.
Other issues like melting ribbon cables: quite normal after a while. Just need to replace them regularly or change the system and or the subboards.
'Burning PSU'? I had two and some others have had more.
But many problems can also be related to we in Europe have between 230 and 240 Volt as an official voltage and have different beds and settings on the PSU's.
I have seen and have had in my hands all mayor versions from start to the beginning of this year. Since Corona-virus makes it almost impossible to visit other people and limits my time more, so there might be yet another change after the start of this year that makes them better but still have messages every time about electrical problems with this modells. Yes, in my experience better then Creality but still many issues.
I threw all of my Crealities away, only used in parts and one of my modified sidewinders (other PSU, extra 24 V. bed with PSU, other cabling to the nozzle-heater, stabilizers) is running nicely here mostly every day.
Yes, it was a strange feeling and smell a good year ago when the PSU of one decided to melt and make special noises, actually the second original PSU from Evnovo that was. Also needed new stepperdrivers, new mainboard later because of other faults in those parts.
That's interesting, most other reviews I've seen on this printer were all positive.
And those weren't small channels!
Yup, but they didn't go in-depth with the electrical connections. Given the printer's ability to produce good prints, the large area, and relatively low price it's still really good in my opinion. Even the electrical part is better than a lot of random Chinese printers out there, like my previous delta lol
Other youtubers mentioned that their units were grounded and there are even some vids showing this. I am not saying Thomas is wrong. Envovo likes to iterate on their printers without saying anything about it, and there could have been some downgrades in quality.
@@NullNamos I did measure resistance to ground on the unboxing livestream - it doesn't make contact on mine. They are trying to ground the frame through the powder coating, which sometimes works, sometimes doesn't, but it's definitely not the proper way to do things.
@Lucas Abdala @ManikWeet The other reviews may very well have been accurate for the units they received - but it looks like Evnovo are constantly making changes to the printer, some for better, some for worse. That, in itself, is an issue because you never know what you're going to get.
Considering some of the poor design choices that were made on the X1 I received, it's got me questioning Evnovo's general approach to quality control and reliability testing.
@@MadeWithLayers yeah that's kinda suspicious 😬 They also made a video about quality control issues and demonstrated their quality controll, but I guess they haven't really learned from those complaints as demand started to rise again! 🤔
@@MadeWithLayers Yes, that is a real pain on these kind of printers. I have (had) a couple of those printers, from earlier runs but of course with the same name and numbers on them. Both were earthed well over the PSU and did not have this issue with the bad bedcable like yours have but much better flexible sleeving. Did have more issues with the ribbon-cable (boards) though and other electronics-problems.
Actually, one is in parts and used for other printers and the other has been changed for a lot, including electronics, extra 24V heated bed (external Power-supply) for the full bedsize and such to make it a very well working 3d printer with a .8 nozzle.
.8 works really well including PETG, it has an extra-capacity-hotend heater (stock) and can run well with a 1.2 mm nozzle as well but then the speed needs to be lower because of the clone-extruder. So, it might be a nice starting-printer to build on further yourself. but not too well when stock like you mention.
Thanks for the review, keep them coming please.
You really didn't say anything good about this machine...
They used proper connectors for the switch, hotend, etc, not just bare wires
They used protective prints where the wires are run through the extrusion
They used good springs so the bed doesn't need constant tramming
The frame is made from 2040 or bigger extrusion
The power outage recovery works
The filament sensor sorta works(it's just a micro switch variant)
The print quality is absolutely insane once tuned a little bit
The hot glue ensures no connectors get loose(this can be seen in prebuilt PC's)
It has silent drivers
It has "direct drive" and It's great for tpu
It comes as a 2 piece, easy to assemble kit
Id also like to add some side comments
It's ptfe lined, that means pretty much pla only. The unevenly heated bed isn't that much of a problem. If you do upgrade the hotend and print high temp stuff you then also need to worry about the ribbon cables being in an enclosure
Elmer's Glue stick works wonders with this bed texture
The bed being 300x300 is amazing for lots of little pieces.
I still believe that your points of failure are valid, just you didn't talk about it's successes.
Yea seems like he wasn't excited about the printer from the start, all the positives you list are why I got this over many other printers with similar features at higher prices. I haven't run tons of prints on it but after the simple assembly and basic bed leveling its been printing like a champ. Also I dont see the power cable issues Toms unit has but that will be good to watch out for.
@@Zayllyaz for the bed to cable connection there is a strain relief part on thingiverse, I highly recommend printing it if you haven't.
I get the thing about hot glue "securing" connectors, but it is an absolute pain in the a** to get it off if you want to f.ex. update the TFT firmware (which I have done on the Artillery Genius). So ihmo it is a tradeoff that's not really worth it, but it probably saves them some support time.
You should make a video of you fixing all of the flaws on this printer. They have sold enough to suggest that video will be pretty popular.
Yes plz!! I just bought one from Amazon and this video causes me so much anxiety. I feel so bad about myself for missing this video before hand.
The TH3D review pointed out the grounding issue with the AC bed, and Tim gave feedback about the issue and Artillery said they would talk to the engineers about it. 18 months later and still not fixed.
I owned my Sidewinder for 3 months and started getting MINTEMP errors that were killing the prints in the middle of printing. I am not new to 3D printing, and knew exactly what it was. There was a break in the cable to the thermistor on the bed. I contacted Artillery and they sent a new bed heater and insulation pad. I have installed it and am back printing again, but one thing I plan on doing is removing the coated sleve that is on the bed heater and replacing it with some PET braided sleve which has MUCH better flex. The replacement heater came with the same stiff sleve that the original one had and has the similar kinks in it in a few places. My guess is because of the coating that is on it. If they had just made it with more flexible PET sleve it would have been much better from the get go.
@3D Print Wrangler watch Tom's unboxing video ( ruclips.net/video/7hcjsZRBuws/видео.html ) the link will start at around 15:10. He talks about the heat bed cable. You can see the type of sleve he has on it and how the cable is kinking. This is the style that I have and that I think the majority of the people have. You can see that it is a coated braided sleve. IMO it is the coating that kills the braid. This is why I say that the PET braid would be better.
PLEASE make a video on fixing and upgrading this machine, currently have a print running at the moment and can't say I'm too happy about it now ahah
I wonder if the new X2 has fixed any of these issues ?
Tom, I love the fact that you never sugarcoat anything! Keep up the great work Sir!
"Held together with hot glue and positive thoughts"
That describes my bedroom...
Hot glue isnt a bad thing, as it can make sure plugs dont become undone in transit - but it shouldn't be the primary connection method of mismatch plugs...like wtf they cost almost nil (the plugs)
Exactly what I thought too.
Crowned with that dodgy forged "certificate".
Some people might get a nasty wake up after insurance company refuses to cover fire damage caused by non-certified machine. Even worse, they often jeopardize other people (e.g. neighbors,etc...), not just themselves...
I'm glad you delved into the electrical issues. Many small RUclipsrs Ohh'd and Ahh'd over this printer.... Sometimes I wonder if they are scared they won't get more free stuff if they point out obvious problems?
I've got an older version of this machine and an issue that I've come across after using it for a while is that the knock-off extruder and hotend makes it extremely difficult to to maintenance on. It's such a complicated assembly that clearing up a clog, or swapping out the included heat break for an all metal one, or replacing the tension arm (which is prone to breaking), is an ordeal every time. I actually really like using the machine when it works, but working on it is terrible.
I didn't realize that the hardware this was copying had the same issues. I still find it frustrating but maybe less of that can be laid at Artillery's feet than I thought
Mhh, I got this printer in late 2019 and was really happy with it's performance so far. It also printed 24/7 without any major problems during the faceshield printing time. The first mod I did was to print a strain-relief for the Heated-bed-wire. I also had some issues with the bedsurface and glas itself! PLA sticks to the bed like it's glued to it, but PETG doesn't sticks to it at all! I also broke it once while removing a bigger print, some of the glassurface chiped off during that! The costumer support was really nice and quick tho and directly send me a new glasbed from a warehouse in Germany and explained how to remove and reapply the silicon heater. But I imidiatly swapped it out with an aftermarket removable powdercoated springsteel PEI buildsurface, which works perfect with all of my materials till this day. 👍 The next mod I'll do is to stabilize the Z Axis with some carbon or steelrods (would recommend that) cause the Z Axis wobbles quiet a bit while printing bigger prints! And yeah, I'll fix the risky wiring as soon as possible. 😬 Thank you for that in depht Video Thomas! 👍
Can you send me a link for the pei Building plate you used?
I too have a mid/late 2019 model, and I too printed strain reliefs for the bed cable, and also for the ribbon cables. No problems with those so far. I've been a lot happier with this machine than with a Creality CR-10 S Pro that I had for a while.
I'm also interested in the PEI build plate.
Yes please post the link for the pei build plate
Yes please post
Had mine since April, never had any issues with it. Bed heater sitting well glued, 240v cables shows no marks of wear, and I have been printing any size with different types of filament. I have always been happy with the result. I totally recommend this printer.
I'd second this, but I still consider my X1 a "learning project". When I got it, I was expecting to improve it - hobby is hobby... But for 375 Eur, I was not expecting an original prusa with larger volume.
Since May, I have about 10 rolls down the extruder...
Problems:
- uneven bed -> changed to aluminium bed
- kinked cable -> exchanged all bed cables for longer ones and modified the construction, so if cannot knick any more - tracks and a flexible support outside
- Suddenly heavy underextrusion -> mechanics were ok... final solution: updated Slicer.
That's it
Sofar, I have heavily modified it (2 Firmware updates, checked all electronics out of the box, braces to stabilize the Z-Frame, aluminium bed, Flex-Plate...
Best tuning result for me: Firmware update with 3x3 Mesh leveling. ABL will be next.
A friend's Genius also got similarly updated and the printing quality is great.
Honestly, I love the quiet and that I can print really acceptable at speeds over 80mm/s, but if I look into the total expenses, I could have bought a Prusa.
I' do not regret it, as I was expecting what I got.
@Tom, thanks for the great review, I'll use the weekend and check it out again :)
You will not see wear on the bed heater cable. The wire will break inside of its jacket. This can cause a high resistance area, which could rapidly heat up and burn.
My bed heater wire broke, thankfully no sparks or apparent burning, but from the outside the cable looked completely fine. I figured it out with a continuity tester.
Shill detected
sidewinder x2 has been released. anyone know if they fixed the safety issues?
They are fixed.
I bought into the hype a few months ago, and even without seeing your video I was immediately made aware of the AC bed heater issues, as mine arrived with a loose corner and a quick google search pulled up many cable chain designs for the cabling. On the inside there was indeed a lot of hot glue but on my v4 unit most of them were terminated properly, except for 2 dupont to ribbon cable headers like you mentioned. Those I had to fix on my own. I was not aware that there was a live, uninsulated header on the socket, so I'll have to go fix that at some point.
I will say that in day to day use there's nothing I dislike about it, as moving from one fire hazard to another, this is a massive leg up over the Anet A8 (then turned AM8) I used to own in terms of what I can print and the quality I'm getting out of it. I'd added BLTouch functionality and I really do like how easy to mod and improve the design is, though I wish they'd improve upon the internals.
Works fine for me too! But only with Prusa slicer. Cura creates wierd small layer shifts. Have it since last year Christmas.
@@allcrafter3747 Huh, I've been using Cura without much issue at all - PLA, PETG, and ABS. I've been using Angus' profile imported into Cura (I think) with a few acceleration tweaks and it's worked wonderfully.
@@alekz0987 Gonna try this profile
I was having end stop issues with this printer. I tried a great many things to fix it , but literally the only thing I can think that fixed it was smacking it with the palm of my hand in a rage, and it worked fine since.
Thomas can you itemize specific wiring fixes that a well versed user might do to remedy the safety issues in wiring? I have two Genius models and most issues are identical. Thank You
I have it. Its been a very good. The only thing I did after a year is change to an all metal hotend and and thermal paste for heatblock for the extruder. Extruder might be a cheap knockoff but it works and the silicon sock seems to keep the hotend temp constant. After a year, bed needs glue stick for PLA good sticking; plan to upgrade to magnetic plate. Thermal run away works fine when the temp prob crashed. Compared to ender where mod after mod is needed to get working; this prints right out of the box. Teaching Tech has put a great video for upgrading the board, but mine works so well, I will hold off till I need to do some major maintenance.
Same here
For this size of machine, wouldn't corexy make more sense? So the heavy bed and large printed object won't have to be moved around? (apart from in z)
You are totaly right. "Bedshakers" are for smal sizes (up to 18by18 cm² on bowden systems, up to 23by23 with direct extruders) there the x-axis+extruder has more weight than the bed.
The big bedshakers beginning with the CR10, simply scaling up an engeneering solution for smal printers, are a bad idea in an engeneering sense. But to be fair: much more affordable than a cube design. And If you only need big size from time to time, even a chiron can be a good deal. Simply print slow (even If a print takes two weeks than).
But I also would not reccomend coreXY due to the long belts (bending) and mostly being bowden. Best in my opinion is double crossing (carbon) rods and an Orbiter Extruder.
Also with big size it might be better to move the xy-gentry up and down (like on a Voron), not the buildplate. A 30by30 buildplate should be made of at least 9 mm milled casted aluminium to be perfectly flat. The xy-gentry will weight less...
@@oleurgast730 For the extruder I remember seeing a "remote direct drive extruder", think it was called Zesty or something like that. The idea was to have the motor on the frame but the extruder gears near the nozzle and transfer the movement via a bendable rod. Might make sense the various box style printers.
Personally I don't need to print that big and I'm happy with my Prusa MK3S.
@@VorpalGun yes, the zesty nimble is an interesting option. But the Orbiter with Nema14 with 120g (feeder+stepper; hotend and fans to be added) is more precise. It seems the better choise. I got one last week and will try it about Xmas.
Most of my prints I make on my mk3s (and some Clones I build). But my hobby is tinkering on 3d printers - and on the mk3s is not much to do ;-)
I'm printing with this machine since a year or so. I must say, that I did some improvements like frame stiffing struts and a BLtouch, but overall this printer is very reliable, which is the most important benefit of this machine for me. I mostly print RC planes with thin/single wall parts, which are a challenge for every printer, but this one handles it pretty well.
But yes, Thomas is right. There are some things to mention about the electronics and he did. One of the first things I did was to swap the Y-carrige cables to some decent silicone ones with a strain-relief and remove some of the couting of the case in order to ensure a decent grounding.
You have to be aware of those issues, and then they are easy to improve, but I must agree with Thomas. Using this printer as it's getting shipped, is bloody dangerous and I would't recommend this one to someone who just wants a plug and play printer.
Damn, I must have been lucky then. Mine is grounded (maybe a screw impaled the coating?) and there are no kinks in the heated bed wire (it rolls like it should). I have a great time with it and for the 330$ that I paid it's a bargain! But I also went forth and removed all the hot glue and fixed the wiring... So your statement is correct: Only get the machine when you are willing to fix a few things and you know what you are doing.
Great review!
Thanks for the honest review. I almost bought that printer, too. But at the moment I have an early version from 2019 lent from a friend who couldn't get it to print. The mechanics and design choices on this printer are not that great as expected. Interesting is that the 2019 version has a different sleeve for the bed cables. It has a rubber texture and does not kink but bend in a perfect loop, as you mentioned. So they actually downgraded during the versions. One point which shook me was that they have not yet added a strain relief yet. This is a very cheap addition and very important as you pointet out. How can you not ad that in +1 year time?
It all leaves me questioning if this is not even a coincidence. I see a good chance that certain things have not been improved or downgraded to cut cost to improve margin. Would not be the first time that someone would do that in an "early?" product life cycle. All carried by good reviews and a supper hardcore user base which are willing to defend these printers.
I see no point in 2020 to buy a machine which I have to fix / or improve before I even start printing. Those were the good old times.. but I don't miss them ;-D
Looking forward to your mysteries!
FYI! Cura 4.8 has the X1 in there printer list so you can ignore repetier and go straight to Cura with preset profiles created by 3d nexus. You nailed the rest Thomas greetings from Belgium.
Also if you would like to see some more in depth i got 2 vids from the X1 if you like
@@NoizieWorks link please would love to check it out. I have the SX1 v4 and so far so good
Try to laminate with the same parameters but creating a custom printer profile, you will see that the printing time is drastically reduced. There is something wrong with the 3D Nexus print profiles that makes the prints too long.
The CE seal is bought by self-certification and by filling in a couple of forms. By no means does it guarantee an electrical product to be infallible: no certified "CE engineer" will check your product before you are granted the seal. It's only useful for your insurance should you indeed experience a fire.
I'm an electrical engineer so I checked all the things you pointed out and except for the bed cable they're fine. You're making a bigger deal out of this than it is.
With this printer you need to do a little bit of DIY.
I also replaced the idler handle for a aluminum one and replaced the inner tube with a Capricorn PTFE tube. And I added a BL Touch. The total cost of the upgrades was about 50 euros and I paid 375 for the printer on Aliexpress.
The bed adhesion never gave me any issues since I use Dimafix but I plan on adding a WhamBam plate like on my other printers.
All the mentioned mains related electrical issues are major issues. Every single one of them will lead to fail conformity tests. But as you mentioned, CE is self-certification and no actual test is required to declare conformity.
@@fkiesel9442 Fortunately the mains issue is extremely easy to fix without requiring any technical knowledge.
@@mururoa7024 would you give your family to work on 220V mains power connected device without proper ground protection? Are you serious with your comments? Sure people with no technical knowledge should go poking around 220V with pointy metal sticks. You should be awarded for Darwin awards.
@@valent_t I'm not sure if you understood what I wrote. As I said in my previous comment, I'm an electrical engineer so please spare me the lecture. I specialize in power electronics and automation. I've tested everything on this machine and it's fine, even the SSR is according to specs. The easy fix on the mains I was referring to is to replace the rubber sleeve with a cable chain. You can buy a cable chain or you can print one. This is not electrical work, and in fact you don't even need to open the machine at all. You just need to not be clumsy.
@@mururoa7024 how about the grounding?
We are aware of the issues brought up recently, and are working to correct them.
Some of the things Tom mentions have already been addressed as the model he has is an older revision.
We will follow up and let you know, and thank Tom for the honest review. Good or bad these things all help us improve.
Then please tell us how to figure out the latest "Revision".
AFAIK he has the "V4" because of the reset button beside the TFT.
That is the newest Revision i know of, by watching almost every YT Video available on this printer.
When i buy at a reseller right now, it seems to be a blackjack game, which development level i get,
without knowing how to figure out, what Revision they are selling to me or having laying around in a warehouse.
Would be great if you could put out a formal response on what you've done or provide Tom with a production updated machine for review?
Having owned an Artillery Genius since Feb 2019, the printer has been near flawless. I designed a cable minder and a split blower shroud specifically for the Genius. I download a clip for the z-axis which took much of the z-vibration out. My printer is in a cabinet so I load the filament through a shelf above. The smaller bed seems to heat more evenly and I use a 2mm glass plate. I use OctoPrint to control the printer except for filament load/unload. I am a long time subscriber to Thomas and I have to say that he was more harsh than needed... he likes to fiddle... I don't.
I second this. Also, got links for the above mentioned mods? :)
If the artillery is not recommended, what is another sub $500 printer that would be recommended over it?
I have mine since they first came out (3 or 4 years). Use it daily and still haven't replaced a part. Absolutely reliable for me and love it.
Thats crazy, I have used mine for maybe 4 months and I got an error with the heated bed, likely due to either bed cable that moves in the back, or the motherboard. Many people also have this issue. Thats how I know how to fix it.... But unfortunately for me I didnt begin using my printer immediately after I bought it so its out of warranty.
Whoa, mind blown 🤯 I've got 3 of these v4 printers. I absolutely love them. They've got great reviews from most other RUclipsrs like, Maker'sMuse, 3DPN, TeachingTech, and their Facebook group is awesome with support. I've done basic user repairs, even converted the printhead assembly to print 3mm pla. Besides user errors, I've never run into an issue. I'm not doubting your knowledge, I've been watching your videos for 3 years and I rely on skilled people such as yourself. My question, what can we users do to make printers safer?
That is also something I came across and bought the SW like a year ago. Other youtubers even mentioned, that their units are grounded.
Just checked my SW bed cable and it is way more flexible than Tom's. There was a change in v4 to another kind of nozzle and maybe other parts were downgraded, too.
First of all you could easily ground the frame of the printer, that would be a great start. The cabling for the bed can be replaced with silicone wire that bends better, or at least figure out a way to make the cables flex around the whole cable instead of certain points, perhaps with a cable chain. Replacing connectors with proper ones would be a possibility but if they're make good contact and are secured with hot glue, I wouldn't start messing with it. It's super sloppy but it's not going to set your house on fire.
There is one step you should do on every printer with AC bed: Use a residual current circuit breaker. There are cables available there these protection is integrated.
The problem with maybe causing fire due to the heatbed cable is not solved by this. The best in my opinion is to let it be changed to a cable like used on an iron.
Be aware in some contrys working with AC is not allowed without formal certificarion (beeing an electrican or electro engeneer). For example in Germany it is a high risk you take: If you do modifications on AC, you be responsible 30 years. In civil law, as you did something illegal, you have to proof you did everything alright if someone get hurt (there was just auch a decission on a German court).
Also in the EU the importeur is count as "manufacturer". So not only risk customs keeps the product - If you sell it after a few years (or even gift it to someone) you be responsible as producer. No way to avoid it, No way arround - exept dissassembling it and sell the parts (exept for the AC parts).
By the way: Any kit you assemble also makes you "manufacturer". So do not give it away... There is obviously a reason Tom made a teardown of a functional printer he does not use anymore. He also lives in Germany...
What I'd do to my specific unit is to replace the entire heated bed assembly - glass with no heatspreader is a poor choice to start with. I'd also look into replacing or at least reworking the internal cabling and electronics.
Keep in mind that apparently other X1 units are built differently (that is, better or worse) in the spots I found.
The V4 is the newest version.
Owned one for 6 months, printed brilliantly and just had the hotend get REALLY hot (wouldn't stop heating up) could have started a fire. Guessing something significant has given up the ghost. No one who has reviewed this machine before (I watched tens of videos before buying) has mentioned anything about the slightly dubious electronics. Thank you for the video.
I had to open mine up to repair it and I must say the electronics are wired quite mickey mouse. The cables are crimped inside and no heat shrink used. Also they hot glued all the cables to the motherboard. Very suspect.
I use the Sidewinder x1 now for 2 years with a few upgrades like an aluminium heatbed and now an BL sensor using the waggster method. It‘s amazing, i love it! I grounded a couple parts to make is safer tho
Finally an honest review! I owned this printer for a month before returning and it gave me nothing but grief. The extruder is very unreliable, I never achieved consistent layers after a full month of tinkering. The AC bed was flickering my lights. Nothing was square and tons of loose parts.
I have a ender 3 v2 and it's hopeless. Have been trying to fix it non stop for 2 weeks. Levelling is impossible, bltouch doesn't work, have had a million bed crashes etc.
Is this a better printer?
This sort of issues with import Chinese printers is why I'm so glad I got a Prusa MK3S instead.
Thank you ❤️
@@Prusa3D But please speed up design of the planed big size printer...
I by the way prefer the mk3 over the mk3s. The problems with old filament sensor were only caused by PET-G being reflective, so inside the sensors chamber was to much irritating light. The old sensor work great after printing the printhead from non-reflective Greentec pro filament..
So I do not like the downgrade from mk3 to mk3s...
wtf, ender 3 is one of the best printers in 3d printer history. You understand what you are saying? I mean, Prusa is good, but you cant just be racist.
@@Wraith-KryptosCalm down. Ender 3 is good for the price and Creality seems to be one of the better Chinese brands. But it have had its share of issues from time to time as well, depending on the batch, contracted manufactures etc (for example: there was some issue with some Creality machine having bad connectors for a batch a few years ago, don't remeber if it was Ender or not. And I have heard of quite a few Ender 3 being delivered with warped beds). And that is the issue with many of these import machines, including the Artilliery: quality varies and you don't quite know what you will get.
@@Wraith-Kryptos Its fiddly and cheap. Its popular for its super low cost. The Prusa or Lulzbot are superior. I have owned all 3.
Certaintly I saw this review after a lot of other mostly positive reviews, which in contrary to you said that the wiring is on the better side of things (and many other aspects that you critisised) and I already bought it.
Should I return it as long as it is in prestine condition (not yet unpacked) or is it usable? And are there any upgrade parts that iron out the mentioned issues without braking the bank?
Could you make a video showing how to fix some of these problems if we already have this printer?
what printer do you recommend in this size category?
I've had this printer for a while and have had no issues, I might have to take a look.
I just want to get started with 3D printing and want a affordable, reliable, and user friendly printer. Any suggestions? I’m thinking the Prusa Mini or Sidewinder X1
I don't have the issue with the heated bed cable. That's rolling completely smoothly
Artillery has changed the supplier / type of heater for the bed in the newer version. I have the older silicon heater on my V4 and there the cable rolls very smoothly, even without strain relief for cable support.
@@billereses4935 Not sure but I might have V3. Maybe that's why it's good for me.
Same here, my cable looks like it is made from a different material as well , I wonder if they use a different cable for the 120volt vs 220volt printers
@@Zayllyaz but I also have 220v.
Could you do a updated review of the prusa MK3?
This is reason why I like Tom's reviews. He covers every smallest of detail that most other reviewers misses out. I hope you will keep making many more reviews and videos in general
Lordy be, I did have myself some woes with the X1. The small thermistor that is held in place on the side of the volcano block burns to a crisp after a month. You are left with the metal casing still in the hole and the end that is encased in what looks like glass is just a black mess. I ended up drilling a hole right through and put in a regular sized 100k thermistor. Temps are far more stable. Then, all of a sudden the extruder motor stopped working. Turns out the ribbon cable burnt out a pin in the plug that sits on the breakout board on the side of the extruder. The board that was there was black. The replacement we had at work was blue and marked as V1.5. Plugged in the new ribbon cable and breakout board and then found that as soon as the hot end tried to heat up, something was shorting and causing the system to reboot. After much poking around with a multimeter it appears the new board has the lower 4 pins for the heater cartridge + and the next four pins for -. However the breakout board that sits over the top of the X axis motor has the wiring set to the lower 5 pins for + and the next 3 pins for -. Pin 5 (from the bottom) was shorting with pin 6 when plugged into this replacement V1.5 board. So I had to disconnect pin 5 on the socket. Why for the life of me would they have 5 / 3 and not 4 /4 to carry the current through that ribbon cable??? Either way it is working again after doing my head in.
As for the V slot wheels, not a fan as they are clearly wearing down and getting loose every few weeks. Must be a simple way to attach a linear bearing on the X and Y axis that bolts directly on the V slot?
Had no idea the heat bed was 240v?? Might rethink running this thing unattended now.
I'm watching this after I sort of wanted it, but yet i went with the Prusa mk3s kit....i am so happy i went with Prusa. Prior to this, i have zero experience with 3d printing.... but after building and using the mk3s, I'm very happy with my decision. I spaced the build out over a few days and it came out perfect. I'm very happy with my Mk3s and have ordered more parts / prusament since my original purchase. For being on the other side of the world, (to me) the shipping is very fast too. Very responsive customer service....and IMO, well worth the extra USD. A++
Artillery sidewinder x1 vs mingda d3 pro vs creality cr 10 v3? Which of the three printers would you prefer? Or what other direct drive printer would you prefer? Why is that? Thanks in advance for your answer.
Interesting info. I've had an X1 for almost a year now that was listed as a V4. My cables and hotend are different than yours. I've hardly had an issue with mine through hundreds of hours of prints and it's my go to for any large parts that need to be strong.
Linus Tech Tips level of segue to your sponsor :D
I have a X1 and absolutely love it! The only issue is the heated bed. A $2 bit of sleeving will fix this wires breakings. Only thing I wish Tom did was talk about the positives. Because there is alot of them!!
Amen! I'm sick of so called Teaching Tech's 15 minute commercials
Welcome back Tom! Your integrity is appreciated !!!
I felt like that also.
I think its important to have both. One allows people to get really excited about 3D printing becoming cheap (and grow the community), the other one forces companies to -fix their sh*t- improve stuff.
I've checked the ground on mine and found the whole frame and box cover perfectly grounded... Don't know how you proceed to check it, but using an ohmmeter clearly shows that job is done well on that safety critical point. I agree it's not the case on the bed wires kinks...
Ohmmeter is fine, 0 Ω would be perfect, but up to 5 Ω is acceptable IMO.
But did you check the bed mounting as well (the blue X-formed Plate)? Should be isolated (higher resistance), because of the plastic rollers and no PE/grounding cable running to it.
Maybe when you are correcting your kinks in the bed wires, you can add a PE-cable to the blue X-shaped bed plate directly taken from the PE connector at the power supply.
Ever since I used your tutorial on how to assemble the Printrbot Simple Metal, I've loved your honesty and your content
I have an Artillery X1 since 2 years. I replaced heat bed with warranty (out of order), ribbon X twice, pcb direct drive, direct drive, and replace plastic piece of direct drive by metallic, and my USB A connector is out of order too, so I'm using only sd card reader.
But I'm always happy with my purchase because I'm a handyman and I accept that mechanical or electronic parts wear out and break down.
And I can repair or replace it with low price.
If you afraid to let your printer alone when it print, keep it in your eyes and buy a fire extinguisher.
And don't put your fingers inside the printer or the power supply if you don't know exactly what you are doing.
I’m not a “professional” that needs to produce flawless prints to sell but. I’ve had no issues at all with my X1 I got 6 months ago, but I also take really good care of it and always maintain it so it’s in top notch order. The only thing I’ve changed is an external spool holder and I also added a magnetic bed with a flexible sheet on top. I have a FFCP and I use this more because it prints faster, better PLA and PETG printing, the FFCP is only better for printing exotic filaments. All these reviews remind me of critical car reviews, there is always some imperfection in something that requires tinkering to make it better than what the manufacturer produces. Yes it’s a cheaper printer but for less you get quite a good deal in my eyes.
It's not just some "imperfections". Not following CE compliance rules and non existing safety standards with mains voltage handling/wiring are a sure way to get your machine banned from the market, at least in europe. I am pretty sure that the FCC logo for the US market is protected by laws too, and you can't just slap that on your product and think nobody will get back to you at some point. Maybe you just don't care about safety and certifications right now, and thats fine. I just hope nobody gets hurt, or killed, once that machine shows it's true evil potential...
You have really not payed attention to this video if that's your opinion...
If you had to decide between the Ender5 Plus and Artillery Sidewinder which would you pick for first time user?
What alternative to the X1 would you recommend??? CR-10?
As an owner of V3 I must say that I agree with all you said. What is worth mentioning, is that due to its flawed design the bed warps, and it warps hard. You can do the heatcycle procedure to straighten it, but this will help you several times, after which the bed will warp beyond the point it is usable. Had my bed replaced twice under warranty from Artillery, the second bed coming with dent in the middle straight from the factory. Currently I am unable to use my printer without abl. Adding abl is a completely different story, and as the bed warping problem is very well known I can't understand why this printer comes with no abl system. If I were to choose my fist printer again, I would not go with this one, rather choosing either a Prusa MK3 clone or Creality Ender.
So here is a review that I WISH had been around BEFORE I bought my X1...
So what can I do to fix the electrical issues with this printer??
I am planning to buy my first 3D printer. I first watched Ender 3 v2.
Which printer would you recommend for a beginner?
So actually... What 3D printer would You suggest to buy under 500$ mark? I am looking for almost-built or fully-build out-of-the-box 3D printer, I will use it with most common materials such as PETG, PLA and HIPS. I previously bought Tevo Tarantula, however after assembling it I couldn't get it to work, so I ended up with useless crap. What are Your suggestions? Is the X1 that bad? Thanks a lot for all the answers.
Hi Thomas great review, Just a couple of points for you about the bed. From what I can see in the video there are 3 wires going to the bed, Two red and one black, tracing them back in to the case it looks like both reds are for the power and the black for the temperature sensor. But if the black is just for the sensor why have they used what looks like 10 amp rated cable also the 2 reds look like 10 Amps. From what I have read the bed draws about 1 amp max at 220 volts so all 3 wires could be made thinner so putting much less stress on the bed joint.
Can you recommend a 3D printer with a 16 or 32 bit board ?
Have this printer, for a bout a year now and its the ONLY one I havent had to hassle with constantly like my Ender 3, E3 Pro and Prusa MK3. I have one issue where the extruder nuked itself and my bed has warped over time but its still my most reliable printer.
So what I should buy ? In the same range price of this printer?
Great review Tom! I hope manufacturers are paying attention. I get the feeling some of these printers are made with "store brand" parts where the quality varies with whoever is supplying them with the cheapest parts(and labor) that week.
my Sidewinder x1 is 110V and not the 220V, Does that mean mine wont catch on fire?
No it won't catch on fire but it will take you to parralel reality.
I decided not to get the X1 but the Artillery Genius. I have to say that the connection of the 220V to the hot bed is much better than shown here. The lengh of the cable is perfect and its secured better. I still just put a cable chain on it to give it some little extra stability and even wear. But one day the cable will break eventually... lets hope the fuse works then :D . The inside of the Genius looks rather similar its actually clean in my opinion just the overusage of hot glue is annoying. If you want to modify it someday you will have fun getting it off somehow or rip the cables. Its a good printer but nothing special in my opinion.. Just paid 220€ so its alright. It gave me some headache the first day tho... the printer was randomly getting crazy until I have find the culprit... the interconnection from the mainfram and the small PCI-E connector. The flat cable was bend too much and the connection wasnt proper so while printing the extruder started to rattle like crazy in the X direction... That wasnt a good solution in my opinion. It all looks neat... but who needs a neat looking printer rather than a reliable one... so Genius and X1 are okay... but they shouldnt have tradet looks for quality or rather stability and functionality. I ripped all the fancy blue covers off right away. Unnecessary weight on the Z axis and the X axis (the extruder) is stupid.
I'm a 60yo with a PhD in Electrical Engineering, and after seeing this video review I can safely say that Thomas Sanladerer does NOT know what he is talking about. The machine is 100% grounded. I've run every test in the book and the X1 passes every test with flying colors. After this review I've lost all confidence on Thomas Sanladerer and everything he has to say about anything.
Any recommendation for a current 300x300mm printer? Should be in the range around 400-600€.
Thomas, I’m brand new to 3D printing. I love it and I’m fully committed to learning this hobby. Let me start my story by explaining my limited experiences in 3D printing. My first printer was the Artillery Sidewinder which I purchased from Amazon for $430.00 US dollars. I wanted the option to print a larger prints once I understood the process. I had my share of problems early on. I had the loose wheels, a bad 20 pin cable and I pulled pins on the board next to the extruder. Absolutely there could be improvements from the factory. However, I purchased new replacement parts on eBay from Friendly Hobby’s in Las Vegas for less than $20 bucks. They were absolutely great in helping me trouble shoot. Artillery did also warranty the original parts as well. While my Artillery was down I purchased a Creality Ender 3 Pro. FYI, for $159 bucks on Amazon Prime Day. I loved it and from my first print. My very first print via the Cura Slicer came out perfect. Shortly afterwards I received my parts from Las Vegas and I resumed printing on my Artillery printer. I have watched countless hours of RUclips videos on how to tune printers. Since I resumed printing I must say that the Artillery is doing a much better job than the Ender 3. It’s much quieter and so much more reliable. I attempted to run ABS on the Ender 3 and it failed miserable. I melted the filament feeder tube and clogged the hot end. Some how the extruder e-step went haywire and that caused me 2 days of trouble shooting to figure out what the hell happened. It went from perfect prints to under extruding by 60%. I disassembled the hot end and recalibrated the e-step after trouble shooting the under extruding problem. I tried the same build on the Artillery Sidewinder and hit a home run on the first print. I love printing PETG on my Artillery. ABS is still troublesome. But, no clogging or under extruding concerns. I actually have changed my opinion of the Artillery Sidewinder. I really need to update my survey on Amazon. FYI, I have ordered a dual extruder gear and a Capricorn tube for the Ender 3. FYI, I love both of these machines and chalk my issues up to lack of experience.
eesh ive had one of these for a year D: Gonna have to take a closer look at things now... Thanks for the heads up. Oh one thing to add, out the box the parking and run out code is broken. It would park the head, and then power down the motors after about a minute. So you can easily loose tracking on where the print is. So when it resumes its lost.
Anyway really need to take a good look in the box again make sure its safe...
Directly heated bed from mains with no regulatory compliance approvals?
No. Just... No.
Thanks for giving this an honest review.
Cheers,
Ok, I was looking really hard at the X1 as my first 3d printer, but after hearing about safety concerns I'm more than worried. Can you recommend a good, safe 3d printer in this price range?
I’d get an Ender 3 v2 or one of the cr10
@@mynameis______392 Do you know of one that uses a direct drive extruder? I really like the materials versatility that gives. I have a few items I'd like to print that would use flexible materials.
Are u planning for creality 10 smart (bowden extruder) vs artillery x1 (direct drive) ? I am so filled with mixed feelings.
Thanks for digging into this!
I bought mine Sidewinder x1 v4 on 11 of november 2020 and it has totally difrennt, one part heatsink and cura profile on usb drive.
I appreciate your review, but fine it lacking in that you dis it over the electronics. I just got my sidewinder X1 a few days ago, and noticed that it is 110V heated bed. You can also get one as listed on their website in 220V. I have a background in electronic repair, and own several 3D printers from several different companies. I have purchased and sent back many printers after ordering them after extensive reviews both video and written.
I have found that all reviews need to be taken with a grain of salt, as some are given after being sent a new printer without charge, or have been paid to give a review. It is for this reason that I believe little on what people put on their channels, with a few exceptions. I did enjoy your condor, and respect your views. I feel like my father taught me, if I want to drive a vehicle, I first have to know how to repair it, if I want to own my own house, I need to learn how to fix minor issues. I spent 2 years in mechanic school and have learned how to repair vehicles and trouble shoot problems. I spend 2 years learning how to repair and troubleshoot computers. I spent years building houses with my father, learning everything in the trade, not only from him but from others as well.
If you want true plug and play then spend the money to get good quality machines. If you want to tinker and get a kit and put it together (how many still remember the heath kits for computers, the sinclair or many other kits that where sold).
All of the printers will require some type of tweaking, and repair by you, the company is not going to send a service tech out to work on it ( I am however seriously looking at doing just this, as I am starting to see a need, but are people willing to pay to the cost?
In closing, I will just say that the verdict is still out, I am in the honeymoon period with the printer, it shall either work out and stay or be sent back. I have zero patience for machines that don't work out of the box and have sent many a printer back through Amazon that failed the 25 day test.
Jesus arent you a special snoflake huh? Next time write your will and testament too.
Hi Thomas. After some bad experience withe geeetech I3, Anet A8 and ender 3 Pro, what's your choice between prusa mini + and X1 (no matter size of printing area).
Thanks for your great job !!!
I got this printer before I knew about these issues.
It's my daily driver and so far so good but in a way I kind of wish I had gotten something else...
Well, now you know what to fix.
@@Kalvinjj I've known about these issues for a little while now but it's nothing I can fix.
@@BlatantlySwedishPGN I'm pretty sure you underestimate your abilities here. Sure, it takes a substantial amount of research to do those fixes correctly, but you can definitely do it with the help of the internet. Get a friend over for a weekend when tinkering with the device to make sure 4 eyes are watching for mistakes along the way and it will be fine.
@@MarkusRessel I don't think I know anyone who'd be able to help me.
However, the main cable bending is easily fixable by 3d printing braces that keep it folding smooth.
This is common for basically all printers of this style and considering this being a huge concern it shouldn't be hard to find on Thingiverse or other sites.
i find it strange you need someone to tell you problems about a product you have in your hands.
Thomas, thanks had thought about this printer and the post of it being a CR10s should be. I wish these companies sold the bases and frames or allowed customization from the factory. Not going to happen so will start from ground zero and build my own. Enjoy your reviews, commentary and how to in the 3D printing world, thanks.
I just ordered one. Now I'm having second doubts. What printer would you or other people in the chat recommend? I was thinking of a Prusa.
It's a good printer. Just need mods ;)
request a video to cover the 2020 best and worst 3d printers? or a roundup ? or top 5 ?
I do like my X1, I printed stabilizers, new nozzle, better lever and extruder gear, it does worry me sometimes but for the size and price point and direct extruder I can’t ask for more, is there a way they can fix this and send us new components to avoid a fire hazard, also I’d like to see you doing improvements to this printer, there’s a big following and I’d hate getting rid of it
Have a V4. The flex cable issues are atrocious - flex cable boards replaced and still having issues. Hard to update the machines firmware - always needs a disassembly to unplug the TFT. Because of the flex cable, I’m unable to hook up a BLTouch right now... idler arm breaks every now and so - requires a metal one.
Great when it works - prints come out nicely too... horrible when it’s down.
So what is the best 3d printer under $500 that you have used/tested?
I have the Artillery genius, I really like it but wanted to upgrade the heatsink to a genuine e3d titanium one.. well my printer does not have a threaded heatsink (the early models had a threaded one) but locks the heatbrake with 2 small hex lock bolts... Then I ordered a titan aero heatsink which has a threaded heatbrake mount, only to discover that the Artillery heatsink is like 1cm longer where the heatbrake hole is located... So after installing the aero heatsink my nozzle would not touch the bed before the part cooling duct and the carridge wheel behind the nozzle... So if anyone is trying to upgrade his extruder with a better heatbrake... Buy one which fits in place of the original...
Sry for bad English
recommend a good starter printer in the same price range . i was looking at the sidewinder , but now i'm even more unsure what to buy
I got my SWX1 as a first printer and I'm happy with it. You will never have a perfect printer at this price range. Anyway, I'm not even sure a perfect printer exists ... There are issues, yes but they are easy to fix and Artillery support seems to be very good (I haven't needed it for now).
I have had many problems with the heated bed wires. Over time the thermister wires break. I was able to repair the wires, and that lasted for a couple of weeks and then they broke again.
The year is 2020.
3d Printers are _still_ being shipped without ABL
That's like saying:
The year is 2020.
Cars are *still* being shipped with manual transmissions
I prefer having the control over my tramming than compensating for it.
YES! If I can choose I will use these. Happy to have sold the one with ABL today and use the ones without it.
I removed ABL on one of my other printers and made it manual. Just don't like it and not that beneficial if you have a good straight level bed and set it up right. Okay, takes a bit more effort once but now never have to do it again or wait for some autolevel that even makes 'mistakes' on perpose to account for small differences.
By the way, I'm happy that they sell shoes still too and not just cars.
@@elvinhaak You just dont like ABL??????
What horrible experience did you have to come to that conclusion??
Its an upgrade across the board.
To correct your analogy its more like you want a steam powered car when we have gasoline cars.
@@BeefIngot Well, it is of course personal but like I wrote it is much easier to work with for me because I only have to set the printer up once without needing to do the correction in the print and do and spend time to recalibrate the auto-level.
Still, when the bed is not well levelled, the walls are not at the same 90% angle and the parts are 'deformed' to the shape of the bed.
If you want to reduce that by getting a perfect trimmed bed, then you really don't need that automatic leveling system that takes time, effort and extra complicity that also adds another part to the printer that can fail and give problems (both in firmware as in hardware).
After all, ABL is only an electronic compensation for an error that is along the axes (X/Y) of the printer.
Since it is 'kind of compensated', you don't notice the errors if they happen so fast yourself and your prints get worse and worse when the bed is for example slowly getting off-level
Then also what I dislike is the extra movements on the Z for this compensation, also making noise.
And finally: a nice flat top-surface is suddenly also not flat anymore but contains the steps that are made in Z-direction to compensate for the faults on the bed. That could of course depend on firmware because that can be made so that only the first layers would make a compensation for a wrong trimmed bed but sofar I have not seen that.
With a well build printer this is all not needed, walls get 90 degree angles, no extra compensation and the top is nice and flat.
Some of those will of course also depend of what you are printing. I print mostly functional parts (where a printer like this is very well for, better then for little puppets) and they have those flat surfaces and need to have straight walls. If they don't have it at printing-time, it needs repairing after the printing, resulting in a lot of extra work like sanding them down.
What are your reasons to explicity want ABL?
@@elvinhaak Its so weird... all of your complaints.
What ABL are you using, its not what the rest of us have.
Noise on the z motors? Not with silent drivers.
Surface artifacts?! What? That's not how it works. its not making extra layers, its compensation within a layer for the print beds unevenness.
You hate having to relevel all the time?! Thats literally _the_ benefit of ABL. That you don't have to level because once you've set the Z offset, you never have to level again, because it will automatically do it for you, guaranteeing even first layers every time.
All of your complaints are just kinda bizzare honestly. It's like you've never used ABL before or have a really bad version of it on a printer with weird firmware.
hi, answer please
what you think about the two tree bluer plus?
after this review I'm thinking about it
The extruder is about as bad as a titan clone can be. That's just a print quality problem. But the bed heater wiring is a bad fail. Mine did break and burnt out the wire in the middle of the cord, and it didn't even kink like Thomas shows.
Thankfully no sparks. It actually prints PLA pretty well without heating the bed.
The heater cartridge connector on the hot end breakout board is also prone to burn out. As are the cloned TMC2100 stepper motor drivers.
OK, so I was about to invest in my first 3D printer and the Sidewinder X2 is my preference up until seeing this review, albeit a previous version. As far as you're aware, does the X2 resolve these criticisms ? And is it CE marked as in 'European conformity' now ? 🇬🇧