3D Systems Cube 3D Printer Review
3D Systems Cube 3D printer
"The Cube 3 is one of the most feature-rich printers you can get for less than $ 1,000, but its hit-or-miss performance can be frustrating."
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About simplified user experience
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Double extruder
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Self-calibrating
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Wi-Fi connectivity
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Closed design
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Under $ 1,000
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Buggy, frustrating software
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Advanced user controls are missing
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Expensive proprietary filament cartridges
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Loud operation
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Unheated bed occasionally causes misprints
As with beer, steaks, and roofers, you get what you pay for when it comes to 3D printing. Fancy features come at a price, and if you want to have two extruders and touch screens on your printer, for example, you'll have to spend a lot of money – unless you buy a Cube 3. This printer was developed by 3D Systems and offers a range of highs -End features for under $ 1,000.
It almost seems too good to be true, so we got our hands on one and put it to the test.
Features and specifications
For a printer with such a low price, the Cube 3 offers some incredible specs. In addition to a neat, completely closed design, the printer is equipped with two extruders, a maximum resolution of 70 micrometers, Wi-Fi connectivity and an integrated touchscreen for navigation. You'll find it hard to find some of these things on a $ 3,000 printer. So if you see them on a printer that costs less than $ 1,000, you'll see a unicorn riding a centaur.
Setup and configuration
3D Systems designed the Cube 3 to be user-friendly, and nothing makes this clearer than the ridiculously simple setup process. The machine is ready for use almost immediately, and once you start it up, it does almost everything for you – including calibration and leveling of the build plate. All you have to do is tap a few buttons on the device's built-in touchscreen display and you're done.
BIll Roberson / Digital Trends
BIll Roberson / Digital Trends
The hardest part of the whole process is likely to be entering your WiFi password so you can connect the Cube 3 to your home network. To do this, you have to scroll through the alphabet to find and enter every number / letter / symbol. It's a bit annoying for sure, but it's not that difficult in the big scheme of things either. Entering the password is the most difficult part of the entire setup process? That says something.
Construction quality and design
Many 3D printers do not try to hide the fact that they are 3D printers, but the Cube 3 does, and we appreciate it. Instead of leaving all belts, motors and gears visible for everyone, 3D Systems stowed everything in a neat plastic housing and gave the machine a clean, smooth and inviting appearance. If you value aesthetics, this printer should definitely be on your radar.
If we had to summarize the printing performance of Cube 3 in one word, that word would probably be "meh".
This is also not a problem in the processing quality department. The plastic case feels a little thin and fragile at certain points, but the printer is fairly sturdy and well built overall. I had to move it between the DT office and my house a couple of times, and each time I just put my hand through the opening and carried the thing around on my forearm. Everything about the printer is closed and secure, so I didn't have to worry about damaging it – even if I had to take it with me on the bus one day.
3D Systems also included a number of other small design features that make the Cube 3 great to use, such as a waste collection system, a removable build plate, and a rapidly changing filament system. But some of them are mixed blessings.
Take the filament spool system, for example. Cube 3 PLA is supplied in these small, pre-packed spools that are attached to the sides of the machine and snap into the extruder (printhead) with a simple turn. This makes filament insertion a breeze, but it also means that you can't use cartridges made by someone other than 3D Systems, which is a little annoying. It is exactly the same problem you encounter with 2D printers: once you buy the device, it only works with a certain type of ridiculously overpriced ink cartridge. Your average PLA or ABS spool costs around $ 30, but these fancy (and admittedly practical) spool cartridges from 3D Systems cost you $ 49 per pop.
Another double-edged design feature is the magnetically attached construction board of the printer. The absence of clips makes the plate very easy to remove, which makes prying your finished objects off the plate a little easier. The downside, however, is that it's not heated and isn't quite as safe as if it were cut off. We had a couple of printing problems (more on that in a moment) with the Cube, and as far as we can tell, they were caused either by the building board moving on its magnetic armature so easily or by the filament not adhering properly to the unheated board. This didn't happen with every press, but it happened often enough that it was remarkable.
Last but not least, there is network connectivity. Cube 3 can connect to your computer via WiFi. That's great. Depending on the complexity of the object you want to send, this can take a few minutes to a few hours. With more complex models, it takes ages to transfer them to the printer over WiFi, and many basic models take a few more minutes. Wireless connectivity is great, but annoyingly slow most of the time.
All in all, I would say that while the Cube 3's design is far from perfect, its pros and cons definitely outweigh the disadvantages.
User interface and software
With just a touchscreen and a single button, navigation on the Cube's user interface should be a matter of course for anyone using a smartphone – which is practically everyone at the moment.
But the software you need to use to actually do the damn thing is terrible. We don't normally look too deeply at software reviews in our 3D printer reviews, but it was bad enough to warrant a discussion.
With such a low price, the Cube 3 offers some pretty incredible specs.
In contrast to most other 3D printers, which are designed for open source slicer programs such as Cura or Slic3r, Cube only works with its own software program called Cubify. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, and Cube 3 is definitely not the only 3D printer that runs on proprietary software. Unfortunately, the program that works with Cube 3 is a pain. It's like the crappy software that comes with some all-in-one printers / scanners / copiers. It looks good, but it doesn't work very well and is so simplified that it's frustrating to use.
Performing basic tasks (connecting to the printer, adding an STL file, changing the fill settings, etc.) is easy enough, but there are practically no advanced user controls, and some things just don't work properly.
For example, after loading an STL file onto your "shelf", the printer only appears to accept it in about 50 percent of the cases. The other 50 percent see an error message explaining that the model may not work with the printer and may need to be re-synced to get the best results. This is pretty annoying and happened to us on several computers. Oddly enough, the prints would work well if we ignored the warning.
BIll Roberson / Digital Trends
BIll Roberson / Digital Trends
In other cases, STL files loaded easily, but the program did not allow us to save the changes we made. This made it impossible to print with the desired settings. There have been several instances where this has happened to us. The only way to fix this was to close the program, reopen it, and try again. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't – which is insanely frustrating.
If 3D systems could fix this software, they would have an impressive little printer under $ 1,000 in hand, but currently this software is a major obstacle to usability.
Printing performance
If we had to summarize the printing performance of Cube 3 in one word, that word would probably be "meh". It's nowhere near as accurate or detailed as high-end printers, and the objects it produces are far from perfect – but it also has some redemption features that you wouldn't normally find in this price range.
The machine is ready for use almost immediately.
For starters, it has two extruders, so it can print in two different colors or materials at the same time. This is fantastic for two reasons. First, you can print two-color objects at once. Secondly, it is possible to print your object with a material and to print the supports with the absolutely fantastic water-soluble filament from 3D Systems. This means that you don't have to spend half an hour breaking off supports and cleaning your pressure. You can simply drop the finished product into a water bath and let the supports dissolve.
Nevertheless, the printing performance of the Cube 3 leaves something to be desired, even with two extruders. With Cubify software you can only print with layer thicknesses of 200 or 70 microns. So you have to choose between fast and low resolution or slow and detailed. To be fair, there is this compromise in every 3D printer, but Cube 3 doesn't offer you any options for the middle ground. If you want to print at 100 microns, you're out of luck.
Print speed and resolution are decent, but have problems with fine details and dimensional accuracy. The dimensional accuracy was omnipresent when we ran the 3D benchy test. The lengths and widths of certain parts ranged from exactly up to 200 micrometers. You honestly wouldn't be able to see this with the naked eye, and it probably doesn't matter whether you're just printing soap dishes and candle holders for your home – but if you need extreme precision, that's probably not the case. t the printer you should be using.
The biggest problem we encountered with the Cube 3 was an abundance of misprints – no matter how many times we calibrated it. If you do not apply the adhesive properly to the bed, the first layer may not adhere strongly enough to the ceramic substrate, which can (and will) lead to printing errors. But we also found printing errors when we applied the glue perfectly. So it's more of a hit-or-miss affair. We are not quite sure whether we should blame the unheated bed of the machine or the fact that it moves easily on the magnetic armatures, but the fact is that we have a number of printing errors with the Cube 3 and this couldn't I don't know how to avoid them.
Maintenance, repairability and upgradeability
One of the things we liked most about the Cube was that it was easy to maintain. 3D Systems has thought about this area and it really shows it. The quickly changing filament system is child's play and the magnetically anchored pressure plate can be easily removed for cleaning. There are also waste bins that automatically collect excess filament and a self-calibration system that levels everything with just a few clicks. Regardless of how you look at it, maintaining and servicing the Cube 3 is a breeze.
Just don't break it. The completely closed design of the printer makes disassembly difficult. So if something goes wrong internally, you probably can't fix it yourself.
You can't update it much either. This device is not designed for upgrades or accessories of any kind – except for software and firmware updates, which we sincerely hope will be available soon.
Conclusion
The DT accessory package
Improve your game and get the most out of your equipment with the following extras selected by our editors:
3D systems Isense 3D scanner ($ 455)
3D Systems 2.37 fl oz cube adhesive ($ 9)
3D Systems Sense 3D scanner ($ 386)
The Cube 3 scores with great design and useful features, but the poor reliability and frustrating software of the machine sometimes make it difficult to use. This is a great option for anyone looking for an easy, non-technical way to get started with 3D printing. However, users looking for high quality prints and advanced printing options should look elsewhere.
However, this is also one of the most powerful printers you can find for less than $ 1,000. Even with occasional misprints, this device offers you a lot of money.
Heights
- About simplified user experience
- Double extruder
- Self-calibrating
- Wi-Fi connectivity
- Closed design
- Under $ 1,000
Lows
- Buggy, frustrating software
- Advanced user controls are missing
- Expensive proprietary filament cartridges
- Loud operation
- Unheated bed occasionally causes misprints
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