Printerbot Plus

[Sebastian Finke]

Printerbot Plus

... does anyone own one?

I am considering this as a future purchase but would like some user feedback.

[LambdaFF]

Sure, what do you want to know ? Mine is a dual head. I like it a lot.

The heating of the bed up to 60°C is quite fast. I got it to 80°C without issue once just to check but I never did it again since I don't use ABS. The initial design didn't have the insulation under the bed. They sent it to me and it was standard on all the ones sold post may 2015. For PLA I didn't notice any difference...
This insulation and the new bottom plate that has a cooling vent are probably good for the electronics longevity, I installed them when they sent it to me. Overall felt nice to be looked after but since I don't do ABS the change was not immediately noticeable. The bottom plate also became standard in may 2015.

I managed to clog one hot end like a big boy by shifting from PET to PLA without purging it at 240°C first. But it was the only time and I unclogged it just as fast with a metal brush strand. Reliable.

The extruder never slipped yet but I decided to upgrade to the new geared one. I twice had an issue with small filament spools that have a small inner diameter : the filament was so twisted it bent out from under the bearing pushing the filament on the hobbed gear. I think the problem lies with the spool.

2 weeks after purchase (jan 2015) I had an issue with the auto levelling. It was due to a poor choice of harness routing by PBOT. I received a free new sensor and free a new part to re-route and "voila". This is standard on the ones sold after may 2015. Didn't stop me from printing in the meantime. Never happened again.

I bought the LCD add on, I wouldn't go without now.

For PLA, I just put a desk fan in front and it prints real well. For PET, I do just the opposite and it prints real well too. ;-)

I use it with S3D, but Printrbot is preparing a browser slicer.... tried it, seemed to work but it's not for you Sebastian : the aim is user friendliness not full access to parameters.

Since it was my 1st printer, I didn't jump right in straight to long prints but now I do a 25 hours + print most weekends without thinking about it.

All in all I love it, but then, I only own and use this model so ... I may be biased.

[Sebastian Finke]

How is the positional accuracy? Are the printed parts on size, round, etc ? What about layer height? The site says it can do 0.005mm. Have you done anything that fine? Does the HPB actually go as high as 100°? You say you'vegone as high as 80° so...

Lastly, is it quiet? My FFCX is very noisy...

I like it. It looks quite rugged and like it can be easily enclosed and upgraded.

[Sebastian Finke]

How is the positional accuracy? Are the printed parts on size, round, etc ? What about layer height? The site says it can do 0.005mm. Have you done anything that fine? Does the HPB actually go as high as 100°? You say you'vegone as high as 80° so...

Lastly, is it quiet? My FFCX is very noisy...

I like it. It looks quite rugged and like it can be easily enclosed and upgraded.

[curious aardvark]

you sure you don't mean 0.05 layer height ?

0.005 puts you into sla territory.

My knp claims 0.05 - but who has that kind of time to try it out ;-)

[Christina Jackson]

The Printrbot Printer is great! Never had a problem with it and the quality prints are great! A successful and satisfied customer here!

[Sebastian Finke]

you sure you don't mean 0.05 layer height ?

0.005 puts you into sla territory.

My knp claims 0.05 - but who has that kind of time to try it out ;-)

Oops. You're right.

[LambdaFF]

How is the positional accuracy? Are the printed parts on size, round, etc ? What about layer height? The site says it can do 0.005mm. Have you done anything that fine? Does the HPB actually go as high as 100°? You say you'vegone as high as 80° so...
Lastly, is it quiet? My FFCX is very noisy...
I like it. It looks quite rugged and like it can be easily enclosed and upgraded.

I haven't tried to measure the positioning accuracy. However and more to the point, I can tell you the repeatability is excellent : I have printed vertical rods / screws with excellent results. See the Spanner Hands vice photo for instance.

Tried it last night : yes it went to 100°C degrees. I can't say how homogeneous that was.

My usual layer settings are 0,1mm ; 0,15mm or 0,2mm. I haven't tried 0,05mm : never needed so far. I read somewhere on the PB twitter someone does it. Probably doable, but excruciatingly slow.

Is it quiet... as I said I don't have another one so I can't compare. It was certainly much better with some lube. The double hotend fans for the dual do make some noise, but it's a normal level, not out of control. I can have a conversation next to it without shouting, but I wouldn't stay in the same room for a 20 hours print.