# Specific 3D Printers, Scanners, & Hardware > FlashForge Forum >  Flashforge Creator Pro vs PowerSpec 3d Pro??

## nsarzy

I am currently looking for a 3d printer and originally I was looking at the Flashforge creator pro as it had what I needed, mainly the dual extruder, but just now I came across the Powerspec 3d pro from MicroCenter and it seems to be the same printer but just from a different manufacturer. The price on the powerspec is much less, 799$ according the email from microcenter but I'm not sure if lower price means less of a quality. 

I've read but not sure if it true that the powerspec uses mk 8 extruder vs the mk 9 in the flashforge and the powerspec doesn't accept sailfish or gcode, is this true?

Does anyone have any input on the comparison between them?

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## jfkansas

> I am currently looking for a 3d printer and originally I was looking at the Flashforge creator pro as it had what I needed, mainly the dual extruder, but just now I came across the Powerspec 3d pro from MicroCenter and it seems to be the same printer but just from a different manufacturer. The price on the powerspec is much less, 799$ according the email from microcenter but I'm not sure if lower price means less of a quality. 
> 
> I've read but not sure if it true that the powerspec uses mk 8 extruder vs the mk 9 in the flashforge and the powerspec doesn't accept sailfish or gcode, is this true?
> 
> Does anyone have any input on the comparison between them?


It is still made by FlashForge. The only main difference is it has be reported the power supply isn't as strong as the Creator Pro. The power supply can be upgraded for far less than the difference between 799 and 1349 though.

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## jdg56

I have the PowerSpec, and I cannot find a single bit of difference between it and the Flashforge. All the little add-on doo-dads for the FF Pro work fine in my PS Pro. If it is not an old unit, it also comes with sailfish already installed, as far a I can tell. I think the primary difference is the paper sticker on the front that says PowerSpec.

I've been in this forum, treating the PowerSpec printers as just another Flashforge, and have not had a single bit of different behaviour.

I guess I'm waiting for that single bit of difference to come bite me in the butt, but I'm not very worried about it.  :Smile: 

The PowerSpec doesn't come with the free starter rolls of filament.

Cheers,

John

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## jdg56

> It is still made by FlashForge. The only main difference is it has be reported the power supply isn't as strong as the Creator Pro. The power supply can be upgraded for far less than the difference between 799 and 1349 though.


I'd be interested to compare the model number of the power supply against the FF Pro. I haven't turned mine over yet to look. What's the model number of the PS in the FF Pro? I know (from troubleshooting my dear departed PS Creator X) that it's a 24V low-profile PSU that comes in a few different amperage ratings, but I don't remembe what that one used.

Cheers,

John

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## Bassna

Not sure spec-wise, but Flashforge support is worth the price difference alone in my opinion.

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## nsarzy

Thanks! I think I'm going with the powerspec pro. And I'm assuming since the powerspec supposed uses MK8 extruders, I could buy the flashforge upgrade kit and use that since they're basically the same, right?


 I guess I could also print the upgrade but just need to find what type of spring is needed.

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## Geoff

> Thanks! I think I'm going with the powerspec pro. And I'm assuming since the powerspec supposed uses MK8 extruders, I could buy the flashforge upgrade kit and use that since they're basically the same, right?
> 
> 
>  I guess I could also print the upgrade but just need to find what type of spring is needed.


Nothing wrong with Mk8 extruders, I still run one side of my original FF with a MK8 and the other side an MK9. They do flex filament much better than the mk9.

You know what I did when my spring sprung out and got lost? I used the spring from a retractable ball point pen. I just needed to cut the length down so when it was compressed it did not flop in half.  Yep.. it provided enough push to grip the filament and I haven't changed it since. The spring ends sit in cavities, as long as the spring fits in there its cool. Most of my repairs have been made from using parts around the house... old laser copier rods (which happen to be 8mm and the perfect length for a flashforge X gantry...)

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## curious aardvark

Now that's a useful tip :-) 

Far as I know the powerspec is a flashforge.

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## catalyst

> Now that's a useful tip :-) 
> 
> Far as I know the powerspec is a flashforge.


I have owned the PowerSpec for 2 days now. Its been printing pretty much non-stop without issue. I bought the Dremel (Rebadged Dreamer) but that will be going back since it prints PLA only. So far I like it. I just don't understand ReplicatorG enough to really push this. It was easy with the Dremel's LOW/Standard/High Settings. lol. I also haven't figured out how to use the dual extruders, yet either. :-)

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## ssayer

My Powerspec has worked without issue so far (knock on wood). Seriously, once you really take a look at it, there just aren't that many components and every one of them can be easily found and bought if needed.

The only thing I've yet to add, and will, is an active cooling fan for printing thin/wispy PLA (which IMHO is needed with any of these printers). It'll happen...  :Wink: 

as to RepG, I used the older version of Makerbot, until I bit the bullet and bought S3D...

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## nsarzy

This is kinda off topic but still deals with the powerspec/flashforge but given the smallest layer height of 100 micron is it possible to produce an even thinner layer height if the bed is precisely calibrated and some changes are done in whatever slicer I use? I'm not looking for Ulitmaker's layer height but just something lower than 100 microns like 80 or maybe even 50.

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## jfkansas

I think you can input a lower value than .1mm, whether you like the results or not is a different story...  The mechanics of the printer may not be up to the task of printing at that height. The nozzle builds up quite a bit of pressure and the lower height you go the more pressure is built up and it is more difficult for the stepper to push filament. Think of a garden hose and put your hand flat over the end at 1", then try at .5", then at .25. It gets more and more difficult, and the water squirts out further to the sides. At some point the stepper teeth are gonna start slipping and eating into the filament. 

I print almost everything at .2mm and the quality is pretty good. If there are a bunch of small features I will go to .1mm, but this is rare.

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## ajperez

> Not sure spec-wise, but Flashforge support is worth the price difference alone in my opinion.


So, the Powerspec offers no support whatsoever? What about warranty? Flashforge's 3 mo. sounds pretty short as it is. I was kind of getting ready to pull the trigger on a Creator Pro (most likely) but am in no rush so I will look into the PS.

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## jdg56

I think that PowerSpec is the 'house brand' of the MicroCenter chain of technology stores. My original PS 3D-X came with a 180 day warranty. When the mainboard crisped itself after 90 days, they honored the warranty with no questions asked. As a matter of fact, since they didn't have that printer in stock, they let me do a warranty credit and a fresh purchase of a 3D Pro printer. I actually saved money, and bought the 2 year replacement plan with some of the difference in price.

MicroCenter treated me very well in support. They don't know much about the printers from a technology standpoint, but then, we have this forum for that.  :Smile: 

Cheers,

John

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## nsarzy

> So, the Powerspec offers no support whatsoever? What about warranty? Flashforge's 3 mo. sounds pretty short as it is. I was kind of getting ready to pull the trigger on a Creator Pro (most likely) but am in no rush so I will look into the PS.


The powerspec has a 180 day warranty so 6 months. But I should add today I just bought the Powerspec 3d pro from microcenter for $800 and let me say, AMAZING DEAL. It's the exact same thing as the flashforge creator pro. I highly recommend it. Once I got it out of the box within an hour I was printing. The bed was practically leveled and I just had to install the extruders and enclosure. Spent most of the hour trying to avoid using ReplicatorG but I had to anyway. Now I'm setting up slic3r and cura. Definitely look into the Powerspec. There's honestly no reason to spend $1300 on a flashforge when you can get the same things for $800

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## desertstriker8

Sayer have you had any issues with the bracket in the back right of the machine that holds one of the motors? Iv only seen a few people say that theirs has broken over time and I'm curious if it's a week point that can be upgraded or replaced  :Smile: .  Sorry to hijack the thread I can find out how to pm you while on my phones mobile version of this site

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## curious aardvark

I'm amazed at the truly crap warranties you get in the states. 
Over here in the uk it's 12 month minimum on all new electrical goods and in europe it's 3 years. 
The fact that you can still sell brand new stuff in the states with a 30 or 60 day warranty is ridiculous. 

Anyway as to software. makerware 2.4 is pretty good software. I've never yet used the high, medium or low quality settings as they just don't set the right settings. 
Simplify 3d is good. But lacks decent dual extrusion support and the infill has no lateral strength - so is no good for parts that take stress. 
It does have some very good aspects - But for the forseeable future I'll be using makerware alongside s3d. And setting up each print with my own settings :-) 

It's like microwaves - brilliant gadgets, as long as you never use any of the built in programs :-)
Learn the machines capabilities and then use it properly :-)

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## ajperez

_It's like microwaves - brilliant gadgets, as long as you never use any of the built in programs :-)
Learn the machines capabilities and then use it properly :-)_

Wow! Thank you, great info you guys, I am so glad I did not get a Flashforge yet; might swing by a MicroCenter to check out the Powerspec options. 
And I just loved the quote above from curious aadvark. Sounds like good advice!

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## catalyst

I picked up Simplify3D for my powerspec, but I can't seem to get it to work properly. The prints come out 10x better with ReplicatorG, and I'm not sure why. I've tried using the guides and changing the settings, but I just can't seem to find a satisfactory setting in S3D. I really kind of wish I hadn't spent the $140 on it. I was thinking the custom supports feature would be great, but I find myself not using it, because it doesn't print the supports exactly as pictured. I haven't tried makerware yet - does it work well with the powerspec printers?

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## jfkansas

> I picked up Simplify3D for my powerspec, but I can't seem to get it to work properly. The prints come out 10x better with ReplicatorG, and I'm not sure why. I've tried using the guides and changing the settings, but I just can't seem to find a satisfactory setting in S3D. I really kind of wish I hadn't spent the $140 on it. I was thinking the custom supports feature would be great, but I find myself not using it, because it doesn't print the supports exactly as pictured. I haven't tried makerware yet - does it work well with the powerspec printers?


Post some pics. Know that the filament density is opposite from repg. The supports don't print in the grid shown, that is just where a support is going to be built. The "Prepare to Print" preview will show the exact support that will be printed.

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## Joinc

Hi All,

I use an Ultimaker 2 at work along with a very high end Stratasys.  I purchased a PowerSpec Pro for home after reading this post (and others).  I did get the great $799 sale price at Microcenter.  The machine gave me much troubles with PLA, which in the end was due mostly to the lack of cooling fan, once I started printing ABS I fell in love with this machine.  I upgraded the fan using http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:537918 this one fit best with the PowerSpec Pro trapezoid shaped x-slide.  This is the only way to print PLA and it works awesome with ABS too.

I had been using Cura for artistic models and slic3r for mechanical parts, but after reading this article http://www.3duniverse.org/2014/01/05.../#comment-6403 and updating the g-code posts I find that slic3r gives very good quality prints.  This is due to slic3r allowing me to set extrusion width as a percent of layer thickness.  Setting some values to 100% or less forces the extruder to extrude smaller widths than the 0.4mm nozzle which leads to smooth surfaces.

Regards,

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## russr

Hi folks

Great forum - lots of great info for me (the newbie!).

I just purchased the PowerSpec 3DPro - great price, and used the extra discount to buy 1yr extended warranty.

Here's my problem (had to be one, right?!)
While assembling the machine, I could not fit the filament guide tubes into the holes in the print head.  I took the tubes back to Micro Center, and tried fitting them in their floor model... they DID fit (though much more tightly than the tube they had installed in  their machine).  The sales guy let me swap out their tube for one of mine.  The older tube does fit in my print-head, but it is a tight squeeze, and I really don't want to exert too much pressure while inserting it.

My question is: Should I take the printer back, or try remove a bit of outer-wall thickness of the tubes, or what?

Thanks!

       russ

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## nmcafee

I can help.  Reach out to me at 214-659-3003.  have used the powerspec for a full year and an Airwolf 5.5 for another two.  Be happy to see what we can do.






> Hi folks
> 
> Great forum - lots of great info for me (the newbie!).
> 
> I just purchased the PowerSpec 3DPro - great price, and used the extra discount to buy 1yr extended warranty.
> 
> Here's my problem (had to be one, right?!)
> While assembling the machine, I could not fit the filament guide tubes into the holes in the print head.  I took the tubes back to Micro Center, and tried fitting them in their floor model... they DID fit (though much more tightly than the tube they had installed in  their machine).  The sales guy let me swap out their tube for one of mine.  The older tube does fit in my print-head, but it is a tight squeeze, and I really don't want to exert too much pressure while inserting it.
> 
> ...

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## curious aardvark

personally I'd probably sand the holes in the top of the printhead a bit till the tubing was a decent fit.

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## jfkansas

> personally I'd probably sand the holes in the top of the printhead a bit till the tubing was a decent fit.


Ya I don't know what the big deal is about it, maybe drill or ream out a bit is all.

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## curious aardvark

if it's anything like mine, it's just a perspex block with 2 holes drilled in it. 
Some rough sanding cloth rolled into a tube would do the job pretty quickly.

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## Nick Rocco

I have been considering the PowerSpec Pro along with a Da Vinci 1.0 and a Wanhao Duplicator I3 for my first printer.  The PowerSpec is about $300 more than the other options.  Is the PowerSpec worth the extra money?  The PowerSpec shows a "Positioning Precision" but non of the other unuts publish this info.  Is the PowerSpec more accurate that the Da Vinci and Wanhao?

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## nmcafee

I have a Powerspec, DaVinci XYZ 1.1 and Airwolf 5.5.  The Powerspec blows the other two away.  Using a two headed printer can be a pain because even when leveled the second head often knocks the print off the bed.  I ended up taking one of the nozzles off my Powerspec and use it as a single headed printer.  It is much faster than the XYZ and much better detail than the Airwolf.  I haven't actually turned on the other two printers in months.

Buy the Powerspec, print in ABS.  Fantastic deal.

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## Bassna

I actually was debating between the Powerspec and the CTC 3D Pro. I ended up ordering the CTC 3D Pro today off Ebay. New, with free shipping, for $450 bucks. I just couldn't see a reason to spend another $350 on the powerspec.

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