Good video. For the down sides: -The most annoying downside is the door not being easy removable. I fixed this with a saw, a drill and a rod on the next day after I got the printer. -I replaced the reverse bowden by a longer one (a transperent with 3mm inside diameter) and also moved the runout sensor to the side. You do not want to fiddle on the back side if changing filament midprint. - I often got filament stuck on unload. The display even tells to pull the filament manually on unload for this reason - so it is a known issue. However, the reason is quite simple: In the last line of the M603 in printer.cfg the filament is retracted fast for 80mm. The filament tip is not fully solid when it reaches the gears, gets flattened, to wide to leave the feeder and scrumbled inside the feeder. So I simply changed the last line to two: G1 E-20 F800 G1 E-60 F200 Now the fast unload aplys only while the filament leaves the meltzone, but slows down afterward to a quarter of the speed so the tip has enough time to get solid again before being grabbed by the gears.
OMG - i know right? Sorry for the response 9mos later, but that effing door! Seems so obvious it should be removable lol. Love the printer otherwise though.
Hi Ken. How many hours do you have so far with chamber heater at 50-60c? I'm having to replace my X-Y steppers after about 1000 hrs. The stepper mfg told me the steppers are rated at 50c continuous usage but once you get to 55 & 60 they will start to degrade. Something to look into. Love your channel Ken!
I don’t have 0:02 nearly the 1,000 hours on my X Max 3 as you do. Your information about needing to replace your steppers after 1,000 hours is very helpful to know. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with the X Max 3.
Yes, I overlooked mentioning the Ethernet port option. Thanks for mentioning that. What brand fan did you use to replace the stock fan for the motherboard?
I like the fact that the QIDI X-MAX-3 doesn't have auto updates. Once it is running properly with your prints you can keep it stable until your next project without worrying about settings changing etc. I agree with the camera and memory upgrades though and I haven't tried to change my hot end yet since that does look annoying. I built all my previous printers from kits and they were all more expensive than this one so I am very happy with it - the prints are fantastic. I also added a side dryer/holder for the filament so I don't need to reach around to the back. Since I use the slicer with a network connection to the printer from my laptop, I rarely need to use the USB drive up-top. The Z-axis leveling is a non - issue I only needed to do it at the initial setup. IE once. One thing I will say worried me was that if you forget to replace the coated flexible build plate before starting the next print the head will crash into the bed since the detector must sense the steel flexplate and not the aluminum heated bed. Fortunately since the bed is aluminum, no damage was done to the nozzle (I have forgotten twice, second time managed to kill the power before crash) Maybe the addition of a big red stop button would help there. Good review, the lazy susan is a great idea.
You make several good points and I agree with your assessment. I’ll just mention that they addressed several things with their launch of their Q1 Pro and they made even more improvements with their recently launched Plus 4 so I really like the direction they are going. Thank you very much for taking the time to provide your experience with the X Max 3.
Thanks for your videos! If you had to spend your own money, what printer would you buy? The QIDI or Bambu? I'm in the process to replace my 10+ old SeeMeCNC Rostock II. You have both printers and you seem very honest guy, so I trust you.
Hi Tony, In my case, I bought my Bambu Lab X1C and Qidi Tech reached out to me and sent me the X-Max 3 free of charge for my evaluation. For your case, it depends on what is important to you regarding the size of the print volume, heated chamber, cost, etc. In my situation having used both printers, if I needed to buy another printer between the two I would lean toward the Bambu Lab X1C (or the P1S). The Bambu Lab printers are a bit more user-friendly, and better out-of-the box experience. The QIDI Tech is a better value for a larger print volume if the bulky size and a bit less user-friendly aspects aren't an important aspect to you.. I wish you all the best in your decision. I hope this helps. -Ken
Thank you very much for your honesty. I'm also leaning towards Bambu, but their technical support has bad reputation! I hope that my printer will work without any problems!
Again a great video. Still as I am a Bambu Fanboy I am still convinced that the Bambulab especially with the AMS, internal camera, automatic bed leveling, flow control and especially the regular and easy to perform firmware updates is the better printer. But of course it is more expensive and I clearly have a bias here. Nevertheless good test video special thanks for having the size measures also in metric not only in imperial. One annotation - if you could also have added the weight in kilogram and not only pounds would be the cherry on the cake. Looking forward to your next video!
The Qidi's do have automatic bed levelling though, unless of course you meant automatic Z offset. The thing about the Z offset though is that it's dependent upon the distance between the sense of the bed-plate origin, and the nozzle. Neither change from print to print though (unless you change the nozzle/hotend), so really it is a set once and forget thing. The X-Plus 3 is Qidi's mid-range printer, and it has a 280x280x270mm build volume, has all the same features as the X-Max 3, and it can be picked up for $599. Qidi have released firmware updates about every 4 weeks since release. One thing that the Qidi does have, that the X1C doesn't, is offline firmware updates. This is actually important for some. The Qidi's also have wired ethernet, which wasn't mentioned in the video. Hmm, wired ethernet and a heated chamber, all for $599 in the X-Plus 3. How much does the X1E cost again? The camera can be whatever you want, you're not limited to just the manufacturer's camera. If you have a spare USB camera kicking about already, you can just plug that in. Being Klipper based, you can fairly easily add on an ERCF from Fysetc for $138, which effectively gives you a 6-color AMS system. Admittedly it's not automatically integrated, and you'll need to perform some setup. It's true though that BambuLab do offer a complete integrated package for those who don't want to stuff about setting it all up, and that is worth a fair bit in itself in terms of saving your own time. The point I'm trying to get at here is that every point you raised can be, or already is, addressed. It's just a matter of which path you want to go, and having multiple choices is always great for the marketplace overall.
@@stew675 it depends on yourt use case. If you need bigger volume, and a heated chamber for various prints, then you go wiht the QIDI. The bambu is a great printer, especially for people new to 3d printing. I have been with 3d printing for over 7 years,. I level the z offset once, on my other printers, and have not had to relevl them since.
I understand your point about Bambu😊. Sure, I will make sure I include metric as well in my future videos. Thanks for the suggestion and for your feedback.
Thanks for the great video mate. Im torn between bambu and xmax. I want to print ABS and other stronger materials. How is the X1C at printing those vs XMAX
Hey, can we get those lazy suzan plans/parts list? Looks like something I could saw pretty easily, if I just know the dimensions and turning piece. And wonderful review. The X-Max 3 is now my top contender for a printer upgrade! (I have a VERY old CR10 that I've optimized, but I want to print large ABS/ASA armor pieces for my son and myself with less warping & drama)
I just ordered this printer based on your review, thank you for such an informative video Have you done the video on the lazy Susan yet? I'd like to get that done ASAP. Do you have a parts list that you used for the locking knobs in the lazy susan? Thanks again!
I'm sorry for my delayed reply. I lost track of your request, but I was able to dig up the hardware I used. I purchased the parts from McMaster-Carr. Turntable: 12.8" diameter round turntable, P/N 18635A52. Steel Knurled Knob, 1/4"-20 threads, 1.75" long, P/N 6079K15. I cut two 24" x 24" x .75" pieces of plywood and mounted the turntable and threaded inserts to the plywood. I hope this helps.
Other questions for future reviews of this or other printers: cost/availability of repair parts direct or bowden style extruder (in this case it appears to be direct) extruder design, for example if you do manage to run the extruder out of filament is that easy to recover from or do you have to disassemble the extruder to get the remainder out (I'm looking at you Titan Aero)? nozzle types/sizes available and compatibility with standard designs (is this one E3D Volcano style as it appears?) you started to cover this, but what's involved to change nozzle sizes - is this easy or will you end up changing nozzles/hot ends for repair only? Since this runs klipper/fluidd how easily can you access the Linux machine and install OS and package updates as well as custom klipper plugins? Is the Moonraker API exposed? Is the built in update manager available at all? Since klipper/fluidd are open source, are any configuration changes/customizations the manufacturer made readily available so you are able to reproduce the stock firmware of the machine from the original sources? klipper, fluidd, and moonraker are under very active development and they tend to just have development updates and not official releases, if you are only able to upload via download bundles from the manufacturer how frequent are those updates and how much do they lag the current versions of those programs? If you are only supposed to update via manufacturer bundles how long does the manufacturer guarantee they will keep providing updates? what kinds of bed sheets are available? How relatively expensive are they? Does it have any power fail print recovery function and if so does it actually work? There are a lot of hot ends out these days and competition among them over max flow rate: what is the claimed flow rate for the hot end in this printer?
worst thing i can say about this printer is that it can never detect that material has ended, it always get's stuck on roll. I heard that some people just put material on top with diy printed holders
Looks like they're using an inductive sensor for bed leveling - that's why the z offset can't be automatic, an inductive sensor senses the metal of the bed not the top surface.
@@ristinnovations Inductive sensors are starting to get a bit dated, the new hotness is eddy current sensors like the Beacon which also need manual adjustment but are way faster and more accurate. Since the X-Max has a heated chamber a more fair comparison might be to the Bambu new X1E which is $1000 more than the X1C. If we're still comparing the X-Max to the X1C I would note that for that $300 difference the X-Max doesn't have any AMS like capability which is a major difference. The Fluidd interface they are using is the same one I'm using for my Voron - it is quite capable of fast over the air updates so there's some work to be done there. I would also think that having the filament spool in the back would be awkward for a lot of print farms.
True and I get what you mean for sure. However, he's been pretty clear on all the faults and flaws, including a quality control problem in the power supply of the unit he was sent. Despite Qidi providing him the printer free of charge, he's been reasonably critical in a way that I find trustworthy. It's certainly made me second guess my considerations of this printer with everything he outlined.
If the parts is better on this printer then the qidi x-max then this can be an option. But I have hard to think. I would stay away from qidi until they do what they supposed to do. Had so many strange problems with my x-max and when I saw you had problems from the start.... I just feel...not buying this printer. It's very annoying when they add things you can buy and install after... And for that I think you had to update the firmware? That didn't work super good on my x-max unfortunately. I hope bambu-lab made a better printer. Bambu-lab might be bad option also if it requires to send to their repair shop when broken. Last time I checked they didn't have all parts for it on their website.
I haven’t seen the heat plate temperature variation that you mention. In the video I do point out the positives about both printers so it’s up to the person which parameters are important to them in order to choose what is best for them. Thanks for the comment
The X CF Pro is still better, more heavy, MGN linear rails with wipers as standard cleans abrasive dust that sets on motion components, no idiotic klipper cartesian printer that also allow compensation for dimensional accuracy unlike xorexy
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
Good video.
For the down sides:
-The most annoying downside is the door not being easy removable. I fixed this with a saw, a drill and a rod on the next day after I got the printer.
-I replaced the reverse bowden by a longer one (a transperent with 3mm inside diameter) and also moved the runout sensor to the side. You do not want to fiddle on the back side if changing filament midprint.
- I often got filament stuck on unload. The display even tells to pull the filament manually on unload for this reason - so it is a known issue. However, the reason is quite simple: In the last line of the M603 in printer.cfg the filament is retracted fast for 80mm. The filament tip is not fully solid when it reaches the gears, gets flattened, to wide to leave the feeder and scrumbled inside the feeder. So I simply changed the last line to two:
G1 E-20 F800
G1 E-60 F200
Now the fast unload aplys only while the filament leaves the meltzone, but slows down afterward to a quarter of the speed so the tip has enough time to get solid again before being grabbed by the gears.
Thank you very much for the detailed comment.
OMG - i know right? Sorry for the response 9mos later, but that effing door! Seems so obvious it should be removable lol. Love the printer otherwise though.
Hi Ken. How many hours do you have so far with chamber heater at 50-60c?
I'm having to replace my X-Y steppers after about 1000 hrs.
The stepper mfg told me the steppers are rated at 50c continuous usage but once you get to 55 & 60 they will start to degrade. Something to look into. Love your channel Ken!
I don’t have 0:02 nearly the 1,000 hours on my X Max 3 as you do. Your information about needing to replace your steppers after 1,000 hours is very helpful to know. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with the X Max 3.
There is also ethernet port in the back of the printer. I changed out the fan in the back motherbnoard fan with a quieter one a
s well.
Yes, I overlooked mentioning the Ethernet port option. Thanks for mentioning that. What brand fan did you use to replace the stock fan for the motherboard?
I like the fact that the QIDI X-MAX-3 doesn't have auto updates. Once it is running properly with your prints you can keep it stable until your next project without worrying about settings changing etc. I agree with the camera and memory upgrades though and I haven't tried to change my hot end yet since that does look annoying. I built all my previous printers from kits and they were all more expensive than this one so I am very happy with it - the prints are fantastic. I also added a side dryer/holder for the filament so I don't need to reach around to the back. Since I use the slicer with a network connection to the printer from my laptop, I rarely need to use the USB drive up-top. The Z-axis leveling is a non - issue I only needed to do it at the initial setup. IE once. One thing I will say worried me was that if you forget to replace the coated flexible build plate before starting the next print the head will crash into the bed since the detector must sense the steel flexplate and not the aluminum heated bed. Fortunately since the bed is aluminum, no damage was done to the nozzle (I have forgotten twice, second time managed to kill the power before crash) Maybe the addition of a big red stop button would help there. Good review, the lazy susan is a great idea.
You make several good points and I agree with your assessment. I’ll just mention that they addressed several things with their launch of their Q1 Pro and they made even more improvements with their recently launched Plus 4 so I really like the direction they are going. Thank you very much for taking the time to provide your experience with the X Max 3.
Excellent video!
Thank you very much for your positive feedback 😊
Thanks for your videos! If you had to spend your own money, what printer would you buy? The QIDI or Bambu? I'm in the process to replace my 10+ old SeeMeCNC Rostock II. You have both printers and you seem very honest guy, so I trust you.
Hi Tony, In my case, I bought my Bambu Lab X1C and Qidi Tech reached out to me and sent me the X-Max 3 free of charge for my evaluation. For your case, it depends on what is important to you regarding the size of the print volume, heated chamber, cost, etc. In my situation having used both printers, if I needed to buy another printer between the two I would lean toward the Bambu Lab X1C (or the P1S). The Bambu Lab printers are a bit more user-friendly, and better out-of-the box experience. The QIDI Tech is a better value for a larger print volume if the bulky size and a bit less user-friendly aspects aren't an important aspect to you.. I wish you all the best in your decision. I hope this helps. -Ken
Thank you very much for your honesty. I'm also leaning towards Bambu, but their technical support has bad reputation!
I hope that my printer will work without any problems!
Again a great video.
Still as I am a Bambu Fanboy I am still convinced that the Bambulab especially with the AMS, internal camera, automatic bed leveling, flow control and especially the regular and easy to perform firmware updates is the better printer. But of course it is more expensive and I clearly have a bias here.
Nevertheless good test video special thanks for having the size measures also in metric not only in imperial.
One annotation - if you could also have added the weight in kilogram and not only pounds would be the cherry on the cake.
Looking forward to your next video!
The Qidi's do have automatic bed levelling though, unless of course you meant automatic Z offset. The thing about the Z offset though is that it's dependent upon the distance between the sense of the bed-plate origin, and the nozzle. Neither change from print to print though (unless you change the nozzle/hotend), so really it is a set once and forget thing.
The X-Plus 3 is Qidi's mid-range printer, and it has a 280x280x270mm build volume, has all the same features as the X-Max 3, and it can be picked up for $599.
Qidi have released firmware updates about every 4 weeks since release. One thing that the Qidi does have, that the X1C doesn't, is offline firmware updates. This is actually important for some.
The Qidi's also have wired ethernet, which wasn't mentioned in the video. Hmm, wired ethernet and a heated chamber, all for $599 in the X-Plus 3. How much does the X1E cost again?
The camera can be whatever you want, you're not limited to just the manufacturer's camera. If you have a spare USB camera kicking about already, you can just plug that in.
Being Klipper based, you can fairly easily add on an ERCF from Fysetc for $138, which effectively gives you a 6-color AMS system. Admittedly it's not automatically integrated, and you'll need to perform some setup.
It's true though that BambuLab do offer a complete integrated package for those who don't want to stuff about setting it all up, and that is worth a fair bit in itself in terms of saving your own time. The point I'm trying to get at here is that every point you raised can be, or already is, addressed. It's just a matter of which path you want to go, and having multiple choices is always great for the marketplace overall.
@@stew675 it depends on yourt use case. If you need bigger volume, and a heated chamber for various prints, then you go wiht the QIDI. The bambu is a great printer, especially for people new to 3d printing. I have been with 3d printing for over 7 years,. I level the z offset once, on my other printers, and have not had to relevl them since.
Look up this video shows x1c print head wobble on 2 month printer, maybe your has this too "Bambu Lab X1C | Проблемы | Качество печати | Бэнчи"
I understand your point about Bambu😊. Sure, I will make sure I include metric as well in my future videos. Thanks for the suggestion and for your feedback.
The bambu has the worst privacy of any printer, it's a game changer for anyone with any remotely professional aspirations
Thanks for the great video mate. Im torn between bambu and xmax. I want to print ABS and other stronger materials. How is the X1C at printing those vs XMAX
I have found both the X1C and the XMax do well with ABS. For consistent quality I give edge to the X1C. Thanks for your comment!
@@ristinnovations Thanks for the reply mate i appreciate the information and experience
The X1 carbon does not have a heated chamber though.
I do not use the filement holder in the back.. I use a dry box next to the printer and have bowden tubing from the drybox to the
runout sensor.
Your setup is definitely better in my opinion. Thanks for your comment.
Hey, can we get those lazy suzan plans/parts list?
Looks like something I could saw pretty easily, if I just know the dimensions and turning piece.
And wonderful review. The X-Max 3 is now my top contender for a printer upgrade!
(I have a VERY old CR10 that I've optimized, but I want to print large ABS/ASA armor pieces for my son and myself with less warping & drama)
The dimensions of the plywood are 2’ x 2’. The lazy Suzan part is from McMaster Carr, P/N 18635A52. Thanks for your comment!
@@ristinnovations You're welcome. Thanks for replying!
I prefer the Bambu UX by far
I just ordered this printer based on your review, thank you for such an informative video
Have you done the video on the lazy Susan yet? I'd like to get that done ASAP. Do you have a parts list that you used for the locking knobs in the lazy susan?
Thanks again!
I'm sorry for my delayed reply. I lost track of your request, but I was able to dig up the hardware I used. I purchased the parts from McMaster-Carr. Turntable: 12.8" diameter round turntable, P/N 18635A52. Steel Knurled Knob, 1/4"-20 threads, 1.75" long, P/N 6079K15. I cut two 24" x 24" x .75" pieces of plywood and mounted the turntable and threaded inserts to the plywood. I hope this helps.
Why the captions at the bottom of the screen? It’s distracting.
Other questions for future reviews of this or other printers:
cost/availability of repair parts
direct or bowden style extruder (in this case it appears to be direct)
extruder design, for example if you do manage to run the extruder out of filament is that easy to recover from or do you have to disassemble the extruder to get the remainder out (I'm looking at you Titan Aero)?
nozzle types/sizes available and compatibility with standard designs (is this one E3D Volcano style as it appears?)
you started to cover this, but what's involved to change nozzle sizes - is this easy or will you end up changing nozzles/hot ends for repair only?
Since this runs klipper/fluidd how easily can you access the Linux machine and install OS and package updates as well as custom klipper plugins? Is the Moonraker API exposed? Is the built in update manager available at all?
Since klipper/fluidd are open source, are any configuration changes/customizations the manufacturer made readily available so you are able to reproduce the stock firmware of the machine from the original sources?
klipper, fluidd, and moonraker are under very active development and they tend to just have development updates and not official releases, if you are only able to upload via download bundles from the manufacturer how frequent are those updates and how much do they lag the current versions of those programs? If you are only supposed to update via manufacturer bundles how long does the manufacturer guarantee they will keep providing updates?
what kinds of bed sheets are available? How relatively expensive are they?
Does it have any power fail print recovery function and if so does it actually work?
There are a lot of hot ends out these days and competition among them over max flow rate: what is the claimed flow rate for the hot end in this printer?
Thanks Steve for all the valuable insight and suggestions!
worst thing i can say about this printer is that it can never detect that material has ended, it always get's stuck on roll. I heard that some people just put material on top with diy printed holders
Looks like they're using an inductive sensor for bed leveling - that's why the z offset can't be automatic, an inductive sensor senses the metal of the bed not the top surface.
Thanks for the feedback Steve.
@@ristinnovations Inductive sensors are starting to get a bit dated, the new hotness is eddy current sensors like the Beacon which also need manual adjustment but are way faster and more accurate. Since the X-Max has a heated chamber a more fair comparison might be to the Bambu new X1E which is $1000 more than the X1C. If we're still comparing the X-Max to the X1C I would note that for that $300 difference the X-Max doesn't have any AMS like capability which is a major difference. The Fluidd interface they are using is the same one I'm using for my Voron - it is quite capable of fast over the air updates so there's some work to be done there. I would also think that having the filament spool in the back would be awkward for a lot of print farms.
Creality K2 multi colour, 350 cube, enclosed out in a few Months
It would be nice to state the tech data in metrics too. It is annoying to recalculate it....
581 Quigley Isle
Copy the firmware files on USB drive and stick it to the machine to update - cumbersome?
What is this world turning into!?
I wanna find a non sponsored video
True and I get what you mean for sure. However, he's been pretty clear on all the faults and flaws, including a quality control problem in the power supply of the unit he was sent. Despite Qidi providing him the printer free of charge, he's been reasonably critical in a way that I find trustworthy. It's certainly made me second guess my considerations of this printer with everything he outlined.
If the parts is better on this printer then the qidi x-max then this can be an option. But I have hard to think. I would stay away from qidi until they do what they supposed to do. Had so many strange problems with my x-max and when I saw you had problems from the start.... I just feel...not buying this printer. It's very annoying when they add things you can buy and install after... And for that I think you had to update the firmware? That didn't work super good on my x-max unfortunately. I hope bambu-lab made a better printer. Bambu-lab might be bad option also if it requires to send to their repair shop when broken. Last time I checked they didn't have all parts for it on their website.
264 Linnea Mews
No its not better then the Bambu. It lacks for ex Z kalibration and the heatplates temp varies all over the bed
I haven’t seen the heat plate temperature variation that you mention. In the video I do point out the positives about both printers so it’s up to the person which parameters are important to them in order to choose what is best for them. Thanks for the comment
Not being able to turn CC off killed this for me. I hate subtitles. They are distracting. Use the CC feature of youtube.
It's not that bad lol.
@@ratedmark4704 tell me you don't have ADHD without telling me you don't have ADHD.
@@SovaKlrsounds like you got a lot more problems than that 😂
@@SovaKlrI have ADHD and I'm fine with it lol it's a personal preference grow up
@@soaringspoon grow up? suggesting to use the built in CC feature is childish?
The X CF Pro is still better, more heavy, MGN linear rails with wipers as standard cleans abrasive dust that sets on motion components, no idiotic klipper cartesian printer that also allow compensation for dimensional accuracy unlike xorexy
That’s good to know about the X CF Pro. Thanks for your comment.
would a pro not be the ability to print a print without connecting to the communist cloud?
6177 Herminio Fields