QIDI MAX3 3D Printer, Max 600mm/s High-Speed FDM Printer, Large Printing Size 12.8×12.8×12.4", Core XY All-Metal Structure, Direct Drive Extruder, Auto Leveling, 65℃ Chamber Heat

Over the last few years I've had some very mixed experiences with cheaper FDM 3D printers, and was looking to move out of that hobbyist/tinkering space I wasn't very fond of. The Prusa MK3S+ seemed like the obvious choice but reviews of this printer caught my attention so I decided to take a chance. I purchased two of these Qidi printers for less than I would have spent on the Prusa, and in my opinion that gamble paid off entirely.The Pros- Ready to print out right of the box:Without any exaggeration, you will be able to start printing within minutes of getting the printer out of the box. The i-Mate S comes very close to household appliance levels of simplicity; the instructions are very clear and easy to follow, nothing with the hardware has to be tightened or tinkered with to get started.- Default settings that just work:Continuing from that easy starting point, the default settings in Qidi's slicer software are perfectly serviceable for getting started with 3D printing. Their slicer also strikes a great balance between beginner friendliness and more advanced usability. Starting off only the most important key settings are presented to the user, with most of the more advanced options being hidden behind an expert menu. As well, if for any reason you aren't keen on using their slicer, the printer is not locked down to it.- Heated bed with magnetic flex plates:The i-Mate S has a sturdy heated bed that is quick to heat up, and uses removable magnetic flex plates (I have seen them referred to as both PC and PEI coated, not entirely sure what they are) that provide excellent adhesion. To the point where the only common complain I have seen regarding this printer is that prints adhere too well. I've never experienced that problem personally, once you level properly and allow the plate to cool down fully, prints should pop right off with little effort.- Hassle free wireless printing:Connect the printer to your wifi network and you can print from any PC in your house with the push of a single button in the slicer software, I've been using wireless printing extensively for the two months I've had the printers and have never had the feature fail on me. (Still a smart idea to check on your prints shortly after they have started)- Heated chamber:Something I've never seen offered on a printer in this price range, included with the printer are magnetic attachments that convert the printer's frame into a heated chamber. (Important to note that you should always leave these parts off when printing PLA) This allows the i-Mate S to print ABS easily, and also allows for the possibility of more exotic filaments like Nylon which will heavily warp if printed outside of a heated chamber. (Though such exotic filaments would also require a different type of nozzle/print head than comes with the printer stock)- Solidly builtA common failing of 3D printers in this price range is lacking build quality, something that isn't a problem at all with the i-Mate S. Underneath the admittedly cheap looking plastic outer covering is a rigid metal frame. Nothing about the printer, its belts, motors, or any other parts feel like they are at risk of coming loose. Everything feels solidly in place, even after months of regular use.- Easy to remove and swap print heads:This is one of the elements that ended up impressing me the most if only for the potential of it, even though it seemed like mostly a gimmick at the time of purchase. The print heads are extremely easy to remove and replace, making the printer very easy to service when problems do arise. This allow opens up the potential for having multiple nozzle types and sizes on hand that can quickly be swapped in as needed for your current project, though that idea is a bit hard to realize at the moment as Qidi are not selling additional print heads just yet.- Absolute best aftermarket support I've ever seen from a 3D printer manufacturer:Another huge plus that shouldn't be understated. I ended up running into a problem with one of the printers I purchased after a few weeks of use, and Qidi's support was a pleasure to deal with. They always responded quickly, worked me though troubleshooting options while providing instructions and video guides at every step of the way, and when the problem turned out to be unfixable on my end I had a replacement part in hand in less than a week. Even after the problem was resolved, Qidi support emailed back a few weeks later to follow up and make sure everything was still working well.The Cons- Build volume:For both the price of the printer and the overall footprint it has, the print volume provided is well bellow average. It is especially lacking in the Z axis, which is normally a good deal higher on other printers.- Manual bed leveling:At this price range stock auto-bed leveling of some kind is starting to become more common. Though I will at least give them that this is the easiest manual bed leveling system I have ever used, and the knobs are really good at staying in place once set.- Hardware modification:Outside of the additional print heads that Qidi offer (Or don't offer at just this moment) the proprietary nature of the design leaves modification options limited. If you are looking for something to heavily tweak over time this isn't a 3D printer for you.- No online community to be found:Unlike Prusa or most Creality printers, Qidi's printers do not seem to have much of an online following or community around them. Though I can't say this is really all that much of a problem, with how good the out of the box experience is, and how good Qidi's own support is. While for example the Ender 3, without its massive community, would become borderline unusable.

Honest review, please read the entire thing if you are interested in getting a decent printer.I bought this as a replacement for the ender 3 printer. With the ender 3, I felt like I was spending more time messing around with it trying to fix issues than actually printing; and when it was printing the prints only worked half the time if I was lucky. If you're reading this review, you're probably researching different printers. The short answer is, if you are ok with the price of this which I would say is in the mid range, then buy it. It was a quick setup since it mostly comes ready to go and connecting it to my wifi was fairly easy after reaching out to tech support. Their instructions in the paper printout that come with it vs their email is different, so if you have questions reach out to them and they respond reasonably quickly considering they are in China and the time zone is different.Of the 50 or so prints I've done so far, only 1 has failed and I think that was because I didn't setup the supports correctly. This is the kind of printer where you click print and you can be confident that if you didnt make any mistakes with the slicing settings, it will come out as expected. One thing I would say though is the prints stick to their magnetic plate very well...too well. If you set the print bed temp above I would say 45C you will not get the print off the plate, or it will be very difficult. It practically glues to the plate above 45-50C. Theres literally instructions on the plate that recommend 50-55C plate temps but if you do that the print will glue to it and you will be a unhappy camper. After the initial leveling, I havent had to level it since and I havent had any issues. I think this is because the build plate is removable so you arent messing around with it and causing micro adjustments.The slicing software it comes with/they recommend is ok, I dont have much to compare it to besides enders version but Im sure it has most features you're looking for. It comes with a little filament but not enough to really do anything, Im not sure why this is such a common question..just buy your own filament.Its pretty heavy compared to the ender 3 but that just means it doesnt shake around and you dont need to stabilize it. If you plan to move the printer around and you do not have much body strength that might be an issue. I dont think this will apply to too many people but I thought I would just bring it up incase it does for you.The print bed size is definitely smaller than more open designs but that hasnt affected what I print that much and if it does I slightly scale down the mode. If you plan to print larger things then maybe look for a different brand. All of the specs are in the description so you can see if it meets your size requirements.Noise levels are good, it obviously makes a little noise while its printing but thats mostly from the print head belt moving back and forth. The steppers seem pretty quiet and the fans dont sound like a jet engine. Its a lot quieter than the ender 3 and you dont need to do any mods to make it like that too. With the ender 3 you print some special fan duct and upgrade the steppers to be quiet. This is just the way you want it right out of the box, no upgrades required. With that being said though, besides their tech support Im not sure how much of a community there is for this printer or if there even are many upgrades. Apparently theres an extruder upgrade so you can print at higher temps but I havent located it yet.Overall I would buy this printer again and I have recommended it to a family member. My only comparison is to the ender 3 so I cant say its the absolute best on the market, but I am really happy with my purchase so far.Update. 1 year later and still going strong. I print about 1-2 times a months so I'm not a heavy user, but I've had to level it only 2 times. Everything is still operating like new, haven't had any issue at all. Print quality is mostly good, sometimes it does layer shift a little but I think that's just from tall skinny unsupported parts.6/26/24: The printer is still going strong. I haven't done any maintenance to it yet which probably isn't a good thing but it goes to show that it's a workhorse.