Turnigy Fabrikator Imprimante 3D (US Plug)

• Overall
• Quality
• Value

Customer Rated

Jan 04, 2016

I picked this up during the Black Friday sale for about 1/2 price. The build was straight forward and only took a couple of hours. After spending some time on alignment I fired it up and tried a few test prints. Quality was decent, but the extruder needed some calibration to tweak the factory settings. Now it prints great with both PLA and PET filament. Frankly, the quality, functionality, and performance are much more than I expected to get for about $200. I have now gone through about 2.5kg of filament without any significant issues.

• Overall
• Quality
• Value

Customer Rated

Dec 29, 2015

This was my first 3D printer but it was well worth it. I like the fact that it was a DIY printer and assembly was straight forward and the online videos were nice touch but not needed. The only thing that help me was when printing with Cura that you set the proper filament size as you get really bad print if you don't. Bed leveling is a pain but that's with most printers. I like the fact that it used a controller that has been used on a number of 3d printers making modifications and understanding a little simpler. It would have been nice to have a parts list as I feel that once the print head goes I will have issues trying to replace it. I think this is the last of this printer as I think I have printer 179 of 200 and there will be no more. No spare parts are listed for this unit except the controller is available from many sources as this is common to many 3d printers. Great unit and a great printer to get into 3d printing. I am learning a lot.

• Overall
• Quality
• Value

Customer Rated

Dec 29, 2015

I have to say I am absolutely blown away at this printer. I picked it up for $220 shipped on the cyber week deals ( There was no way I could pass this up). I had it assembled in about 10 hours. The manual did a fairly good job for the assembly procedure - I did watch a few of the build it series videos on youtube direct from Hobbyking and that cleared up any issues with the build process. If you stick to the correct build process outlined in the manual and videos you should have no issues out of the gate.

I have been using it for a few weeks now with both PLA and ABS (Hatchbox brand from Amazon) and it is working flawlessly. The printing resolution for such a cheap (cost wise) printer amazes me...not to mention the features that even a lot of the more expensive printers don't have.

There were a few things that I feel could eventually be improved - Such as adding lights - I added a small white LED strip and it lights up the print bed really well. I would have also personally like to see the acrylic frame painted or something - while the transparent frame is initially cool - it screams DIY vs finished product. I would also like to see doors for the front and side so that they can be closed when printing certain materials to prevent drafts from flowing through.

All in all I would have to honestly say this was my best hobby related purchase of 2015.

• Overall
• Quality
• Value

Customer Rated

Dec 19, 2015

I got this on Black Friday.
Arrived in its amazing packaging, in perfect condition.
I carefully assembled it over the course of 3 evenings. I followed the manual and the videos (which are great).
Dont be naive and think that this is a "turn key" process...3D printing is a bit of an art that deals with temperature and flow, coupled with good machine alignment.
Read the manual, carefully connect and route your cables. The sensor inputs matter a great deal. Eliminate noise in the motor cables as much as possible.. be tidy..
I am having a blast with this thing and I am planing to press the resolution higher by using a .02 nozzle.. if it works.. well.. i will be supper happy.. if it doesn't.. it is just fine how well it works.

MEGA HINT; MEASURE THE AVERAGE WIDTH OF THE FILAMENT YOU USE. Enter the proper value on the software you use to slice...
Tram all bearings.. level the plate.. home-position will need to be adjusted depending on the resolution you use.. keep an eye on it.
Good luck with the learning curve.

• Overall
• Quality
• Value

Customer Rated

Dec 10, 2015

I bought this printer recently during HK's Cyber Sale, and I'm extremely pleased with the purchase. The materials, component dimensions, assembly process, and setup are all excellent. I watched all of the assembly and tip videos on YouTube, used the whole manual during assembly, and took extra time to make sure everything was aligned as best as possible. My first test prints, a few holiday cookie cutters from Thingiverse, printed perfectly. I really think Hobbyking did a great job pulling this kit together and made it easy for someone to get started in 3D printing. I have no reservations recommending this product to anyone.

• Overall
• Quality
• Value

Customer Rated

Dec 09, 2015

I got mine during the cybersale, so it was an incredible value. The instruction manual is written in clear English, not translated like some products I have purchased from China. The only thing I need the video for was plugging in the motors since the manual is in black and white. There weren't enough zip-ties in my kit, but there were some stick on wire clips that I could have used if I had noticed them instead of following the instructions.

My first print failed because one of the fans didn't have a good connection and the edges of the print curled up. I was using PLA and hairspray on the bed. It seems to be working perfectly now.

The unit has been running for seven hours with no problems from any of the components.

I highly recommend this kit.

• Overall
• Quality
• Value

Customer Rated

Dec 07, 2015

I was able to get this on sale for $219.99!! All I can say is WOW!! What a great deal! It took about 6hrs to put it together and get it running. The kit was very complete and everything looks to be of very good quality. I was actually very impressed with everything from the packaging, instructions, on-line videos, fit and finish of the parts and it work great too!! The only thing that took some extra fiddling was getting the gap between the bed and print head just right. I found they needed to be a little closer together than what the instructions indicated. After that I was printing with great results!! I honestly couldn't be happier with my purchase!! Thanks Hobby King!!

• Overall
• Quality
• Value

Customer Rated

Nov 26, 2015

I am definitely the kind of person who's opinion is directly affected by price. The fact that I have bought 5 of these and my 1st has hundreds of hours of easy printing without fail, makes the $400 tag almost unbelievable. But believe it! Probably the best $ I've ever spent. I love this printer more every day. Recommend 100pcnt.
Now I'm kinda scared to buy a bigger printer in fear it will suck in comparison and price value.

• Overall
• Quality
• Value

Customer Rated

Sep 19, 2015

I bought an early one at 314.30 and was impressed with the packaging and how fast it was to assemble. Problem was, it didn't work. The instructions are excellent up to the point that you turn it on, then it gets fuzzy. Turns out my problem was that four of the motor controllers were faulty. I bought five on EBay at $10 total. Yes, they are that cheap. Once they were adjusted, this printer worked extremely well. Its been printing for a couple weeks now and I'm getting the tuning better and better using Reptier and Cura. This printer has many great features, uses components that are easily available and is worth 3X what I paid. Yes, I had issues but the price outweighs it. 5 stars.

• Overall
• Quality
• Value

Customer Rated

Aug 21, 2015

anyone else notice that there is only one magnet limit switch actuator on the print bed and 2 sets of holes. because of this oversight the lower limit switch can not be triggered. There is not enough adjustment in the lower limit switch to be triggered by just one actuator a second actuator installed in the second set of holes would solve this problem.