Flashforge Finder 3 3D Printer with Direct Driver
Flashforge Finder 3 3D Printer with Direct Driver Extruder,Removable Glass Platform and PEI Magnetic Steel Plate Platform,Fully Assembled,Supports Printing TPU 95A/PLA/ABS/HIPS/PETG/PETG PRO
From the brand
3D Printer Filament 1.75mm
| Dimensions: | 49 x 49 x 54 cm; 16.84 Kilograms |
| Manufacture: | Zhejiang Flashforge 3D Technology Co., Ltd. |
| Dimensions: | 49 x 49 x 54 cm; 16.84 Kilograms |
| Origin: | China |
| Reference: | 1 |
This machine is great for the beginner I was printing 20 mins after opening the box. Simple to use and easy to change settings. Great product if your starting out or just casually like to print stuff for fun. Only issue at this price point is the bed is a bit small but it’s big enough for most things.
I bought this for some thing new to play with, not knowing what to expect , it worked straight out the box, only bed levelling and loading the filament and The wi fi connects every time just send your file across and your printing in minutes, The Splicer software works great and easy to use.
As an ex owner of the more familiar ‘tall framed’ 3D printer this cube like machine is reassuringly sturdy, easy to operate, and most of all, tidy. Promoted as an educational/beginners device I feel it’s much under rated and doing itself an injustice. Yes its limited to a print space that’s basically a 14 cm cube, the software is laggy on occasions but functional, input is either USB stick, USB cable or WiFi, so if one should fail you have options left, not that it has. The biggest bonus is the assisted table leveling, it can take a few minutes but once its set it seems to stay ‘balanced’. One other drawback is it’s built in spool holder. Rarely is it mentioned that it only takes Flash Forge Finder branded spools because of their unique size but hanging a normal spool above allows you to use other manufactured PLA’s. The touch screen operation is logical ordered and simple to use. I’m very pleased and would replace with the same should the need arise.
Okay, first things to note, it’s a very simple setup, it’s almost entirely prebuilt for you, the only thing you have to do is remove packaging around the printer and the filament, place the filament into its compartment at the back and unravel it a bit to feed it through the included tube and into the top of the printing mechanism.
From there is basically good to go, you might need to adjust the plate so it’s level but other than that it’s good to go.
I found it works best with the Flashforge print software you can get from their website for free and then just connect to the printer over WiFi.
The print quality is actually much better than I expected.
You will see a lot of people suggest to get some masking tape, you put the tape over the plate so you can pull the 3D printed items off much easier. I’ve found that the included glue stick works fine too and in some cases worked better than the tape as it’s a bit grippier for the beginning.
It’s not very loud and not very big, you won’t be able to print a full size mask/helmet in one piece if that’s your plan. It’s a great first 3D printer!
It seems like it is designed for use by beginners and kids. It only prints with PLA filament. That keeps it simple and avoids the problem of fumes from other types of filament. It looks like it has a contained chamber for printing, but three of the cube frame sides are open (no glass etc). I guess the cube shape is for rigidity.
My workflow is
1. Design model in OpenSCAD by adding/subtracting cuboids and cylinders (free).
2. Export STL from OpenSCAD
3. Import STL in FlashPrint (supplied for free by Flashforge)
4. Send to 3D printer over WiFi
From the price my expectation wasn’t too high although the online reviews were favorable. Set up was very straight forward. From a standing start I was printing out objects within an hour or so. I’m new to the world of 3D printing but I’m now finding that I’m using this far more than my paper printer! It’s very quiet so printing out overnight isn’t a problem. My only slight criticism, as other have mentioned, is that the area to hold the PLA reel isn’t big enough for the usual 1Kg spools. However that’s not a big problem as I just printed out a spool holder that fits on the side. I thoroughly recommend this printer. Get one – you don’t know how much you need this until you have it!
Easy to setup, decent print quality, overall excellent printer.
Instructions don’t tell you how to connect to the Internet or how to wirelessly interact with the printer through a laptop or desktop, but it’s relatively easy for anyone who’s compitent with computing to figure out.
Overall excellent printer for the money! My first 3D printer (although I have used them at uni/college before) I found this was so easy to get going, and done my first print within an hour of unboxing
This is a perfect enty level 3D printer for someone who wishes to get into 3D printing.
I’ve owned a Finder for over 3 years and been very happy with it.
If you are new to 3D printing or wish to get into it then you must be aware that you will need to learn about bed leveling and bed adhishion all of which you can find plenty of videos on youtube, on how to set up your finder.
I recomend purchasing some BuildTak stickers for the platform the blue plate sticker is good but does not last as long. The BuildTak sticker along with pva glue is spot on, you can find videos on it.
One thing you will need to do unfortanly is either print a filliament spool hold or place the printer in a potion you can attach a roller system on a platform above. reason being is the finder can only hold a small thin spool most spools are a 1kg and are to wide for the finder. So recomend going on thingiverse and printing of a spool arm.
Printed very well. Easy to use but needs time to work out how to print. Auto leveling is good. Reads only the Flashprint software, thus, after design (I used Autodesk inventor and saved in STL format), you need to understand how to export, and convert to gx format in Flashprint, then load and move image on the platform for printing. Nozzle warms up in 3 minutes and prints as required.
I can’t fault the quality of printing. The only issue is, the autoloading works well only with filament spool supplied by Flashforge, other brands of filament spool are too big to fit in the autoloading bay so you will have to improvise. That is not much of a problem if you are creative. I simply spooled the filament from the package box running through a hole in the side and a pencil running through the middle of the spool and 2 holes at the center of both sides of the box.
This is not an enclosed device. Altogether a good experience and introduction into 3D printing – 3 weeks post delivery.
Got this for Christmas 2019 for my son. It’s been a good introduction into 3d printing and it’s worked fine ever since and we’ve learned a few tricks along the route as well. Probably will go for a heated bed printer, when this has to be replaced.
Easy to use and set up. This is the first 3D printer I have owned and it exceeded my expectations.
There is a small learning curve but after a couple of test prints you’ll find it is quite an easy printer to use. Don’t expect super amazing results but you can achieve good quality prints for a printer in this price range.
I have tried a couple of filaments. The official FlashForge which are quite good and the BASICFIL PLA, which despite have some poor reviews elsewhere, I found to be good.
The printer has some good features;
Easy leveling
Store prints sent to the printer
Light on printhead
Easy to use software.
I would recommend this printer to any one who wants good results at a reasonable price.
I am a complete beginner in 3D printing, so these are the observations of a novice. The machine was bought to print items for my garden model Railway. I had researched the topic for a while and this machine kept being recommended for beginners. It is indeed easy to set up. You need to download the Flashpint utility which allows you to take files from the internet and configure them for the printer. It seems to be a well built machine, can be operated in the house ( no nasty smells etc) and from my perspective is an idea entry level device. Print resolution is surprisingly good. Providing you print onto a raft, (a setting in print command) adhesion is good. One warning, it uses 0.5kg filament spools, so check before buying new spools, 1kg spools will not fit.
This is my first 3d printer – possibly it’s your first foray into 3d printing as well.
Firstly, I’d like to say – don’t expect miracles. Getting the best out of this printer requires understanding its strengths and its weaknesses, knowing when it is likely to produce good results and when it is likely to fail.
Having said that, it can produce some great objects, often in quite fine detail.
Unfortunately, after 18 months the printer started to behave erratically – switching off part way through a print. I contacted tech support in China via email, and they were VERY responsive, suggesting that the problem was the power supply. I bought a new power supply and the problem was fixed. I’d rather not be buying new components for an 18 month old printer, but at least my printer now worked. Thumbs up to their tech support.
In summary – I do recommend this to anyone new to 3d printing. You can produce both interesting (decorative) and functionally useful objects.
4 stars for the 18 month failure.
Received this printer today and just done my first print on it. I literally plugged the machine in, turned it on, calibrated it and then hit print on a cube model that is already on the machine and WOW. Talk about easy. The cube itself is clean and no issues with it what so ever. Off to make some more models now!
I had this printer in my amazon basket for SO long thinking is it work it?.. IT REALLY IS. Just buy it 🙂 You won’t regret it! I would say that calibration took about half an hour but once that was set up, you’re up and running!
Perfect for the first 3D printer. I have worked with makerbots and ultimately for a while
At work but wanted a smaller easy to use machine at home. This fit that bill perfectly. Print quality is OK – nothing amazing, but great for making little useful things or medium toys / characters.
Set up is simple, levelling the bed works well, with maybe only 2 attempts to get it right. Bed is a good size for small items.
The filament that comes with it is OK – not great. I personally went onto thingiverse and printed a spool holder for better spools. This printer takes a weird sized spool so you have to buy the flash forge ones if you want to slot it in the back. This makes it near but limits choice – so do what I did and print a holder for normal spools!
Overall it’s compact. A bit slow. Not the best quality print – but for just getting into it, and making some little bits and bobs that don’t need to look perfect – it’s great!
This is my first ever 3d printer. I have owned it for 3 months now, so I think it’s about time to review it.
I, like many others have no 3d printing experience, so complete novice. However, after looking at lots of YouTube reviews I decided to buy this and boy I am glad I did.
The print quality is actually very good, but remember it depends on the filament quality, and above all what print settings were used. I use standard quality, with a 0.18mm 1st layer height and speed of 35mm. I know this can make it slow but trust me it’s the best setting.
I have printed lots and lots, almost continuously. Now that I have experience, I plan to upgrade and buy a newer more advanced model but it definitely will be a Flashforge.
My first 3d printer, i cannot design stuff so am reliant on using other peoples designs, which is fine by me.
The printer is a doddle to set up, it is quiet, looks good and performs well.
Some items i have printed have lifted at the extremities, some haven’t. Designs with thick bases tend to lift more than thin designs but it is minor and you can always print on a raft or give it a rim to HELP alleviate the issue. the printer bed is not heated which may help cure the issue but for the money, it’s still not a massive issue.
Ive had different PLA through it and it hasn’t jammed or fouled up once.
For someone who has no idea if they want a 3d printer, i was willing to spend 300, hell i could sell it for 250 tomorrow but as it is i am more than happy with its performance.
You will struggle to find better for the price.
No serious problems. Adhesion to base was an issue after a few prints thaat seems to slick the tray but glue stick seems to work. I would advise to quickly print an external spool holder before the internal small supplied spool runs out to hold larger more economic spools on the outside back.
Software is easy to use and obvious to learn.
“How to unpack and put it together” leaflet is small and feint to read – photocopied it bigger and darker to make easier but thats really my only issue
Print quality on basic is ok but higher settings its amazing, just a lot slower.
Its my first 3D printer and I’m loving it but I can see its printing size becoming an issue in the future but for now as I experiment and play its not a problem.
Having purchased this at Christmas for my two boys of 8 and 9 I set it up early and can say it was straight forward out of the box. Easy to set up with the built in software and was printing within an hour. I found out that the latest version Flashprint would find the machine through wireless on Windows 10 but a little searching on the internet found that early versions on Flashprint was the way forward. You have to manually put in the IP address but that was the only issue. Do not tighten the level knobs too tight for leveling the base on first setup. this can cause issues for this process.
Printing is very good with items found on TinkerCad for testing but I found on the first times of printing I was getting lifting of the edges. There were many topics of this from others on the internet but I found that cleaning and drying the surface then applying the included Invisible purple glue all over and waiting for that to dry/disappear, then applying another layer where it was to print has solved that problem completely. I check the base level each time and can not print large items without any issues whatsoever.
Highly recommend this product for a beginner like myself and my boys. It has not stopped since purchase.
The supplied filament is utter useless, I would bin it and not even bother. Get a decent quality PLA and it will make a huge difference to the quality of your prints. It’s easy to convert this to use 1kg filament spools be printing a hanger that hooks at the back of the printer.
Build quality is excellent and it prints straight out of the box with no setup apart from leveling. The leveling process is very straightforward with guided instructions on the screen.
Print quality is the same as other printers I’ve used that cost 5x the price.
The print speed is really fast, and it does not give up on quality with the speed.
I am amazed at how quiet it is (if i put on cheap ear-bud headphones with no sound playing i have to concentrate to hear it, as it is so quite when running)
From un-boxing to having it up and running was approximately 10 minuets, which included loading the free filament and performing a full bed level.
The first print i did was Benchy(which is included in the pen-drive so no PC was needed to print it) this was a brilliant print, all the circles where perfect, and the arches where clean with no stringing, i was however surprised how well it stuck to the build plate(even without the included glue-stick).
The second print was a small figure, which i put through the included slicing software. I was amazed at how it came out as i forgot to add supports to a 180 degree overhang, so there was a part which was pretty much floating mid air. however it still handled it as it appears to have attempted to just extrude one line of filament to bridge(i stopped that one mid way though to start again this time with supports).
On this new print with the supports i found when running the default print temp of 220c was a little high as there was a lot of stringing (the supports are really easy to add and configure, with the auto add support option in the included software making adding supports a breeze) .
once i lowered the temp i found that the prints where perfect. And updating was also easy. I have to admit i have not put it onto my wifi as i prefer the print from usb drive option.
If you are interested in a 3d printer you won’t go wrong here, though as i mentioned the prints can stick quite well so i may recommend getting a PLASTIC spatula or even some guitar picks to help remove from the bed(which slides out, and appears to be glass with a print-bed sticker on top).
Also the UI on the touch panel is highly intuitive, which honestly is a pleasant surprise. Just a note in the quick-start guide the English starts halfway though so skip to there, and all the tutorial videos on the included flash drive are in Chinese, however some of them do have English subtitles. However honestly it is that easy to set up it is unlikely the videos would be needed.
I wasn’t familiar with Flashforge so I was a bit cagey despite all of the good reviews I’ve seen, however these fears were unfounded – the unit arrived _extremely_ well packaged and was pretty much ready to go out of the box. The machine comes with a 600g spool of filament (but see below), a bunch of tools and a USB stick containing test files, some manuals written in amusingly fractured Engrish and installation packages for their FlashPrint software – Linux users can rejoice because amongst the installation packages are 32-bit and 64-bit .deb files which are Ubuntu/Debian friendly.
Size-wise, consider it to be a cube approximately 18 inches on a side – this means it’ll stow away in a corner quite nicely and the enclosure makes it look rather more presentable than the cheaper DIY jobs. The printer will talk to the outside world via USB or WiFi, the latter being a snap to set up. In operation, it’s quiet … apart from the fan on the extruder unit which seems to run non-stop whilst printing is in progress; I’m hoping it might quieten down a bit in use, but even so it’s bearable – it’s quiet, but not silent.
Now for the gotchas:
– Levelling the print bed can be a real faff, but stick with it. Flashforge seem to be aware of this and have a couple of useful guides on their website.
– Whilst the filament caddy is very handy, it is _not_ big enough to take 1kg spools; 600g is the max – fortunately, some bright sparks on Thingiverse have made an external spool holder for the Finder so if you plan to use larger spools it’s well worth your while printing it out (will take about 6hrs altogether but the result is worth it)
– Since the print bed isn’t heated, you _will_ need tape/glue/whatever to hold large prints down. Fortunately, a purple Pritt stick was supplied(!) although I had to provide my own tape for the print bed.
TL;DR – for a ‘first’ 3D printer this is unbeatable for the price – easy to use, relatively quiet in operation and it won’t blow a hole in your bank balance. Like everything else, it’ll take a few goes to get all the settings dialled in but once you have the results are worth it.
It has had one or two wobbles. We’ve had a couple of prints that left unattended jammed and resulted in a molten mess on the print bed. Fortunately this has caused no lasting damage and have so far been fairly isolated incidents which I would put down to a slight error in levelling the print bed. We’ve found that sometimes a snag in the filament spool can scupper the odd print too, but this isn’t the machines fault. I guess the message here is that not every print is faultless or error free, but by no means are they troublesomely frequent.
My only other observation is that print times can be long. I have no frame of reference from other 3D printers, but its not uncommon for larger more complex prints to take several hours. But for the money I am very happy with what we have. My son uses it regularly and is engaging him a productive way, and I’ve found more uses for it that I originally imagined. I paid 399.99 for this, and note the price has increased significantly at the time of writing. At the original price I recommend unreservedly. Currently I feel its a little steep.
Within and hour of opening the box I was printing. The levelling process took me a little time, but I was to blame. (Make sure you don’t tighten the bolts under the platform too much!)
You get a full roll of PLA filament (mine was white), and that filament goes a hell of a long way! I didn’t want to use any of the prints included on the SD card, but after a quick look on Thingiverse I was sorted.
I did my homework before buying a 3D printer, and as a complete noob to the world of 3D printing, the others seemed a little too complicated. The Flashforge printers seemed to give the best plug & play experience, so I went for this one. I wasn’t disappointed!
It has been said that this printer gives just as good a finish as the printers that cost 1000 upwards, and I can’t argue with that. The finish to all of my pieces has been smooth and clean. In the beginning I had a little issue with cobwebbing on some pieces, but this was from having the printer too hot. The ideal temperature for the PLA I use is 210, the printer has a default 220 setting.
I have two complaints however. The first one was that I received a European plug with mine, so I had to buy a UK plug adapter, and the instructions were in German. I had to set the printer up using online videos, which wasn’t ideal.
The second complaint is that I can’t stop buying PLA filament, as I have a load of projects I want to try!
If you are looking for a high-performing 3D printer on a budget, buy this one. You will not be sorry you did!
This is a great bit of kit. If you’re new to 3D printing, and the idea of ‘build your own kits’ leave you feeling a bit anxious, I would go for this. Printouts are high quality, and the printing software with it is simplicity itself. Unfortunately I’ve had to only give 4 stars, as it arrived with a European plug, and instruction book in German. I spent a year in Germany, so have European to UK adaptors for electronics I bought back, but this could have prevented the ‘plug and play’ for anyone else!
Decided NOT to go for a DIY type of 3D printer and researched ready built ones. I decided on this one as the support appears good from the manufacturer and from the likes of Facebook groups. When it arrived, it was working within half an hour and printed up one of the test items. It’s quiet in operation and appears well built. Control is either from the touch screen or the installed software on the PC. I’m an experienced engineer and nothing phases me much. I use CAD programs a lot but need to learn the 3D creation program which is supplied, but seems a bit basic. Windows 10 comes with a 3D program. All in all, a great 1st 3D printer.
If you’re looking to get into 3D printing without building your own machine and you’d like to start printing straight out of the box, then look no further. I believe that the Flashforge Finder is as close as we will get to a 3D version of desktop paper printers that are so ubiquitous now. Plug it in, send it a print job, remove the print from the printer. For printing existing digital 3D models, it can’t get any simpler.
It really is at the stage where desktop paper printing is now; you can print something out with ease and if you wanted to get into designing your own things, there is a whole world of utilities out there for you to try.
Look around at 3D printer forums for discussions of the Flashforge Finder, you will find nothing but praise for it.
I went for the flashforge finder because of the reviews and the reasonable price for a starter printer and I must say I couldn’t be more happy with it.
Sure it is only designed for PLA and the unheated print bed may be a little small for some but it’s fine for me as it’s easy to print in PLA filament (a good material and bio-degradeable under the right conditions too!) and you can print larger things in parts if needed.
I looked through YouTube prior to purchase for any user tips.
Set up was minimal though and pretty easy and I was doing a test print in no time.
To date I have had only one print slightly raise up from a corner but after that I made sure that the print bed was well cleaned after removing a print and I always level the bed before a new print and use a thin,even spread of the supplied glue stick provided with the printer and have had no other issues to date.
I’ve not used the onboard wi-if as I just connect up to my mac with the cable supplied, load the print project then I can disconnect the mac and carry on using it while I leave the printer doing it’s thing.
I’m really impressed with the print quality although obviously the higher settings will take longer.
( I can just get on with doing something else and periodically check on the print to make sure it’s doing ok.)
I’ve been using thingiverse for prints but want to learn some CAD programs and have a go at creating something myself.
In short, if you want a good easy to use 3D printer for a reasonable price you can’t really go wrong with the finder.
I wanted a printer that was just plug, play and print…. and thats exactly what I received.
I read a few reviews and watched a few youtube videos and decided after a lot of searching on buying the Flashforge Finder and I’m so glad I did.
After initial setup…..and by initial setup I mean taking it out of the box, plugging it in, installing the software and turning it on I was ready to print in about 20 minutes.
Like everything new you will have a learning curve but let me tell you, this printer is completely fool proof and ready to go out of the box!!
Heres a few tips though…..
1. Make sure you level your plate correctly (really easy and takes about 2 minutes) otherwise you may get warped prints.
2. Turn the glass plate over so the plain side is showing (it pops out easy and goes back in even easier, youtube vid is available)
3. Buy blue masking tape (Wilkos has it for 3-4 quid, and it goes a looooooong way) and apply it to the print bed, this negates the need for the included gluestick as I found it left a horrible residue when using the glue, the masking tape keeps the print from warping and it comes off relatively easy leaving no sticky stuff on your print.
I’ve shown my prints to a friend who has built 4 of his own 3D printers and class him as an authority on printing and he is amazed with the quality of my printing…..and astounded with the fact this is an entry level plug and play device.
I couldn’t be anymore pleased with the Flashforge Finder and neither could my 5 year old son who has me printing every toy imaginable for him.
Hope this review was helpful and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask.
Given the previous experience I was a little nervous about spending ‘only’ twice as much but I have been very pleasantly surprised. The setup was very easy, with just a couple of knob turns to make the bed level (menu driven with clear instructions). This model uses USB sticks instead of SD cards (which is good) and also connects via USB cable for direct printing if you want to. I have ‘t used the WiFi.
The software is easy to use, though I’ve noticed the printer doesn’t seem to take any notice of heat settings and always wants to use 220c instead of what’s encoded in the file. Maybe this is something I can change via the front panel but so far it doesn’t seem to have caused any issues.
I’m impressed by the way this model prints using third party filament (the XYZ was tied to using only XYZ filament which was twice the price), though none of the 3rd party filament reels I’ve purchased fit within the case at the back like the one that came with the printer. This hasn’t been a problem since it will still pull filament from an external reel as long as it can turn fairly easily.
If there was any negative points I would says it’s that it has open sides, whereas the XYZ had enclosed plastic sides and a door. If you’re printing large parts over several hours then any external airflow can make the corners start to lift (it happens with all 3D printers without a heated bed) so I’ve ended up placing cardboard against the front and sides when printing larger parts to prevent any drafts.
In terms of feeding filament and general printing it hasn’t missed a beat.
After checking the reviews on this one even though it was twice the price, I decided to go for it and I am so glad I did. This printer is excellent. I set it up in about half an hour and to my delight, the setting up was easy and a delight to use. I was printing my first test print of the USB stick in about 45 minutes and I have been using it every day to print stuff of Thingyverse (if I thought it useful or not!) ever since. If you are a novice like me and want to get printing and am not interested in spending hours setting the thing up, this one works well and is a great choice. I have only had one misprint it the whole time I have had it and I have really enjoyed using it. Don’t mess around with cheaper more fiddly alternatives.
This is a simple printer and it comes with the software in the USB stick, which works quite well. You can use Blender or any other software for the models, then import on the software and print. It’s very simple, and it works on Linux and Mac, too.
I have tried other software solutions and none of them provide a good print, so no point in even trying. I also have purchased lots of colours and they all worked out of the box in the printer. I haven’t tried connecting it via USB because the USB stick that comes with it is *so* simple to use that I don’t really need it, and I get to keep the printer where I actually have space for it.
The print size is great and with included flash print program I can edit any models that are too big for the print bed and simply cut off parts and print them separately , The parts can then be glued together ( industrial super glue works great with pla with a few drops and sticks literally in seconds -available from amazon )
As for reliability I have printed a full sized aliens pulse rifle gun – printer was working 12 hours daily for over a week with no problems at all
All the issues I have had have been my own fault
E.g. Not using enough supports.
The only thing I would change on this printer is the small size pla reel holder as larger rolls are cheaper ( I have used budget rolls and had no issues) . I printed myself a spool holder to go on the desk so not a huge issue.
I’ve used it for a few weeks now nd these are the reasons I think it’s better:
-No filament jamming- I’ve never had a problem with the filament jamming (which I had constantly with the aforementioned printers)
– Good quality build- it seems more robust and well made than the competitors I’ve used.
– Excellent value for money
The only downsides to this model are:
– build plate size is smaller than two of the other printers that I’ve used, which could be an issue depending on what you’re printing.
– you can’t use the nice neat filament holder hidden nicely in the back of the printer (because the filament on these smaller size rolls is ridiculously overpriced.) However if you buy yourself a spool holder you can use any size reel, it just isn’t quite as tidy.
Overall I’d definitely recommend this printer from the budget end of the 3D printer market (and I’d happily swap one for my Makerbot Replicator 2)
Finally, despite the warnings in the most useful video I found on youtube, since I have been printing and I have done a lot, almost constant in the four weeks I have had it, I have not suffered a single filament break (touch wood) but my best tip is to only use proper Pritstick for preparing your printing base, large,e specially flat models will pull up at the edges, I used a lesser glue stick with awful results and even with the proper Pritstick you will get some curvature so make sure you set Flashprint to use raft, a easy to remove base layer for your prints. Happy printing and look out for my models on Thingiverse in the coming months 🙂
Highly recommended, it has been great fun creating things!
I have had the printer for nearly a month now and absolutely love it. I have printed lots of things and the print quality is excellent, It never puts a foot wrong. The built in levelling system is superb and really simple to use. I would highly recommend buying one of these if you are looking for a 3d printer. Support is great, if you have a question send it to Mavis (email address supplied with printer) and you will get a pleasant helpful response overnight.
Buy one, you will not be disappointed.
so I’ve this printer for few months now..
For the price it’s ok , but there’s better ones out there .
Depends what you need it for ..
This hasn’t got a heated bed so the corners will lift up and the finish will not be great.
I was printing some kind of pyramid and the 4 corners lifted up , not great even glue is used .
Best results is when you put cheap masking tape and leave it to stick for few hours then put glue and let dry for half hour ..
As my first printer it’s ok , but I had to make some mods to stop the back from rattling and to accommodate bigger standard reel.
The finish is ok and it comes with its own software .
And the look is great so 4 stars from me
I bought the Flashforge Finder based on the excellent reviews. I can conform that this is a great machine. It is very easy to set-up and my first print was produced without a problem.
I recommend that you use the glue provided on the build-plate and would also suggest building a raft to ensure easy removal of the item from the plate on completion as well as making sure that the object does not move during building.
The quality of the products is excellent. This machine is definitely not quick. Expect objects to take several hours to print. However, for the price you cannot expect something super-fast.
I also recommend that you check out tinkered.com. This is very simple to use software that will allow you to design and build your own objects in a matter of minutes.
If you are new to 3D printing and are a bit nervous about getting into it, I cannot recommend this printer more highly. I am thrilled with it!
The main issue with this printer is the lack of availability of own-brand or third-party filament spools that fit the integrated spool holder. As far as I can see, Flashforge seemed to have discontinued sales of the filament spools themselves, which seems a bit odd given the continued sale of the printer. The only solution seems to be to find old stock in retailers or print your own external spool holder.
Pros;
Incredibly easy to use
Best value for money in its category
Low power consumption using PLA
Obscenely high printing quality
Cons;
If you do not feed the filament through the provided rubber tube and set it correctly, the PLA (at least the provided one) eventually starts to saw through the plastic casing above the spool and extruder as it is unwound. I made this mistake and now have 2 lovely little chunks of plastic missing from my machine although it still works perfectly fine.
The best value for money PLA spools on amazon come in 1kg packages. These spools will not fit in the machine so you have to either re-wind it over the original plastic spool once its depleted or buy/print a new holder. Be warned that the printer will not continue if the sensor in the spool holder cannot detect any material so if you’re feeding it via a separate holder, make sure you have a small amount of filament still sticking out the back.
Super quiet, I can hardly hear the thing and it is much quieter than many of my other printers. The print quality is superb even when using the reels you get with the printer and the software couldn’t be easier to use.
Overall if you are considering buying this don’t hesitate, take it from me you couldn’t find an easier more effective machine to start 3D printing.
Update 250117: This printer has basically been running 24/7 since I got it and not one problem! When all my other printers fail due to various reasons, this is my go to printer which never fails and produces great prints.
If I had one wish for this printer, make it with a heated bed! Flashforge please make a v2, no other changes than just a heated bed and I’ll be buying straight away!
The only problem that I have had so far is in relation to swapping out filament, the provided instructions are not very clear and as a result my first attempt resulted in the filament being well and truly jammed. At this stage I had no option other than to remove and dismantle the entire print head, the good news is that there are some very good videos (including official Flashforge output) showing how this has to be done and it turned out to be relatively straight forward. By the way the solution to swapping out filament is simply, cut the old and feed through the new as you print….easy when you know how.
One last point, the inbuilt cartridge that holds the filament does not accommodate 1 kg spools so I would recommend that one of your first print projects should be to download and print a spool holder.
So overall a superb piece of kit and an excellent way to begin 3D printing