Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is my first product review on Amazon. There is a reason for that. This printer is amazing!!! I am a high school physics teacher, and I am involved with the school's science clubs. I bought this printer to learn the ins and outs of 3D printing, and I am happy to report that this printer is an amazing learning tool. I'll try to keep this review as precise as possible. Deciding to buy?: If you are wondering what is the best printer to buy on a lower budget, look no further. Before my purchase, I spent hours looking through every option. The reviews from other customers were integral to my decision. Please take time to read all reviews, because they are accurate. The printer is for people who are comfortable with challenging themselves to learn something new. That is a predominant theme in the reviews which I can confirm. The print quality is good if you spend time to do it right. I highly recommend this printer to any hobbyist, student, or teacher in the field. Print Quality: At first, the prints are not great. That is your job to figure out the best settings for the printer. I do not use the Cura software that came with the printer (not bad software), because I prefer to use Repetier. Messing around with the extrusion speed, fill densities, and printing speed can help you out a lot. I have managed to print moving parts that are of significant structural integrity with a few different trials in the Repetier settings. 5 stars for print quality in a doityourselfer. Assembly: I was concerned about people who comment that the instructions are poor. Yes, the video is fast. Yes, there are no words. Yes, it was stressful. However, the building and tinkering process was quite possibly the most exhilarating part of ordering this product. If you are a visual learner, it is not difficult to rewind and pause at important parts of the video. I learned that the support structures for the z axis movement work best when you leave one side without the vertical support rod. (when both supports are in, it can jam the motor up) It is possible to build this machine single handedly, but it is best to have a friend nearby when installing some of the larger parts. You are all wondering how long it took, right? Well, I spent three days working on the machine for 5 hours. When I realized I had made a mistake, it set me back. That was actually a lot of fun. Spending 15 hours building something that I can use for both fun and instruction is worth it. Software and Motherboard: HIC was kind enough to include everything you need to build and go. The software that comes with is called Cura. It has a nice slicer to make your 3D prints how you like, but I prefer to use Repetier for the manual control of the axes. The motherboard is not a common motherboard (MKS Base v1.2). This is a bit of a speedbump, but if you know how to code with the Arduino software it is completely compatible. MY ONE NEGATIVE COMMENT: The HIC Technology company does NOT include a configuration.h file which is the file that tell the board what to do. I messed around with a config file and rendered the board inoperable. I emailed the company as well as other users who have bought this specific printer. Costomer service was exceptional, and you will be able to troubleshoot problems if you are patient. I had to wait till a Monday to hear from the company... by my standards that is fast when I contact them on Saturday. A kind user of this printer was able to give me a working configuration.h file that I was able to edit to my preference. 4 STARS FOR MOTHERBOARD. The only reason it is not 5 stars is because it is not mainstream and they did not send a configuration file. DO NOT let this ward you away from purchasing this product if you want the best 3D printer for your budget. Future use: This printer is 100% upgrade-able. I have found minor flaws that I would love to design better parts for. An example is the Y axis endstop. This endstop does not actually make contact with the bed. This means that you have to manually stop the bed while homing your printer. I plan on developing a printing a new part that will allow the bed to auto-home. 5 stars for the printers adaptability. By the way, it is possible to install another extruder if you buy the parts. The motherboard has room for that. What can you make?: The bed is a nice large size. My Repetier software thinks the bed is 200x200x170 or so. The printer can indeed make things larger than that. You need only to adjust the configuration, endstops, and software to make a top shelf machine. The printer that my high school has in the Tech department *please forgive me for forgetting the name* costs about $15,000. That being said, I have had students show me their phone case projects as well as other prints, and the prints that come out of this printer are comparable to that. Of course, I do not have all of the swanky features, but you are getting something that can make products that my students think are just as cool as the swanky Tech printer. I have made phone cases, gyroscopes, toys, printer parts, and office supplies already and the list keeps growing. This weekend, I will be designing and printing disks for my physics students to wrap magnet wire around for our basic motor lab. 5 stars for potential/performance. Conclusion: I have given this printer 5, 4, and 5 stars based on my criteria, bringing the Amazon star rating to a 4.67. Please read other helpful reviews before you purchase. Understand that this is a LEARNING TOOL and do not get frustrated. Learning can be stressful, but the reward is ridiculously satisfying. The software/motherboard can use improvement, but you can get the resources you need for free. Print quality is amazing, but remember, that depends on the user. Use the printer to build your skills in 3D. Costomer service is quite alright, so don't fret those scary reviews. If you are looking for a learning tool/workhorse, I personally believe you are at the correct URL. If you are an intelligent, optimistic learner who has a passion for driving the technological and scientific progress of life PLEASE do yourself a favor and treat yourself to this experience. It is difficult for me to put into words the world of opportunities you will open up to yourself *and if you are like me, your students* if you purchase this product. I cannot possibly be happier, and I think this is EASILY the BEST $400 I have ever spent. I sincerely hope this review helps you in your decision.