QIDI Technology XD3DP-003 X per 3D printer, 4.3-inch touchscreen, dual extruder, support pressure with ABS, PLA, PETG, TPU filament

TL;DRAwesome 3D Printer, amazing value for money, lots of extras included, great print quality - even at higher speeds. You just wont get better for under £1500, this is THE 3D printer to buy.It’s my second Qidi - I had the predecessor to this one, the Qidi Tech 1 and it’s still going strong years later. That and the amazing customer service from this company is why I’ve bought another from them. I cant recommend this printer highly enough, you won’t be disappointed.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Ok, now the (very) long version.This is my fourth 3D printer and my second one by Qidi Tech. I purchased their Qidi Tech 1 3D printer back in 2016. Actually a week from when I’m writing this will be two years to the day.That printer was, and still is, a solid, reliable workhorse of a thing. It wasn’t perfect, don’t get me wrong. But the small niggles I had with it were easily rectified.It’s only ever had one real problem. After a couple of months I had a bit of an issue with the motherboard. But, instead off faffing me about, the amazing Qidi support team just sent me a brand new motherboard once we’d verified the issue (which took only a couple of emails).Best of all, the replacement arrived on my doorstep in the UK the next morning. FROM CHINA!!! That was not an inexpensive thing for them to do. Needless to say, I was impressed with that. The Qidi 1 has worked without issue ever since then.So, lets move onto the Qid Tech X-Pro now.The X-Pro is for all intents and purposes an upgrade of the Qidi 1, but what an upgrade it is. It takes everything you ever thought could be better on the old one and makes it a reality. It’s got a better build quality, it’s sturdier and it’s improved on everything it probably could have.First up, the printer comes very well and securely packaged. You can tell immediately on opening it up that they have put some actual thought into the packaging.I have to mention that there’s some things with this printer that (as of time of writing) even the manufacture hasn’t mentioned in the description, but really, they should have.For one thing, this printer not only has an Ethernet port, it also has built-in WiFi!As a Mac user, I’m bit limited with that for now, but I’m entirely certain we’ll see and hear more from it with software updates from Qidi.Another thing I saw nowhere in the description, is that they include a complete, extra Extruder. Specifically designed to work with Flexible Filaments. That’s a great extra to have and saves me some money.There’s even a nice little toolbox included. To be fair, there was a little box of goodies with my first Qidi printer, but this one is so much nicer. It’s a proper little toolbox with a handle. Inside it has a scraper, the USB drive (Mine was a 16GB Toshiba, in it’s own little tin box), a screwdriver and a little box of spares, a spanner and the hex keys. Oh, nice touch there, they even put a small (removable ) magnet on the spanner so it holds all of the hex keys in one place for you when you’re working on the printer.The printer itself has lots of upgrades over the original. The side windows are magnetic and easily removable, as is the front door and the hood. Speaking of the hood, it’s a major, major improvement over the original - no more fiddly and flimsy construction, this one is a proper one-piece injection moulded affair.The 4.3 inch touchscreen is so much better than buttons, it allows for more information to be displayed, it’s easier and quicker to get to what you want and the Qidi software itself is excellent, very well designed.The cables inside the printer are all much more sensibly organised this time round and thankfully already come with a cable chain. Saves me fitting one this time around.The print bed is another well designed and much improved area this time around. It’s been upgraded to have a magnetic, removable, flexible print sheet which grips prints brilliantly and makes removing your completed builds an absolute breeze. There’s no chance of it moving about during a print either, it’s a really strong magnet (I do love magnets, ha).Full disclosure - I’m not normally a fan of these build platforms, I don’t use them. Not because they don’t work well, they do. But because I hate the hassle of removing, cleaning and replacing the normally sticky-backed sheets. But with these being magnetic - that I can definitely live with.Best of all, they give you two of them, so when your build is done, just remove it - print sheet and all to cool down and pop in the other to keep on working. Brilliant!A small but worthwhile change you’ll notice when you go to adjust the bed, they have added big, sturdy, knurled metal knobs. They’re great, a big upgrade over the old butterfly nuts of the first printer and they really do make it easier to adjust the bed.The print-heads haven’t changed much, but why should they? Don’t fix what isn’t broken as far as I’m concerned. They stick with industry standard components making it easy to get replacement parts. But have added shields over the fans and rubber grommets in the filament feeder holes to grip the feeder tubes more securely.One really big upgrade with the print heads is the air blower. It’s no longer just a simple vent, which if were honest, we all replaced with a 3D printed one. This time around though, we wont have too, theres an all-around 360 blower fitted as standard.All of these things are nice, but they’d be of little value if the printer didn’t perform well.Thankfully, just like it’s predecessor, it does.From being delivered, to assembly, alignment and first test print took me less than 30 minutes. I’m used to 3D printers by now of course, so if this is your first it may take a little extra. But not much, it’s a simple, straightforward, easy build process.My first print, as it always is, was a 20mm calibration cube. You’ll notice from the photos provided that this turned out, well essentially perfect, with all all 3 axis being exactly 20.00mm. This is no lie - I was a little surprised myself, but the micrometer always tells the truth.I’ve also included photos of a twisted Tealight holder, this was printed with wood filament and turned out perfect first try too, with no cleanup needed at all.I should mention that I don’t normally use included software for any 3D printers. I invested in Simplfy3D years ago and don’t regret doing so, it’s a great piece of software.However for the purposes of this review I did actually use the Qidi software, after all when you get this printer it may be the only software you have. Indeed, it may well be the only software you ever need.I am happy (and surprised) to report that the included software is actually good. It’s really easy to use, while also offering more advanced options for the seasoned 3D printing fraternity. Most importantly, it delivers great results.(Just one thing, if like me you are a Mac user, you are better off downloading the latest version of the software from the Qidi support site).I could go on talking about this printer for hours, but at the end of the day all you really need to know - and all you probably want to know, is if you should buy it.The answer is a resounding yes! This printer is great for beginners and seasoned professionals alike. Right out of the box it performs amazingly well and if my previous experiences with Qidi are anything to go by, it will continue to do so.In the unlikely event you have a problem, the Qidi support team are simply amazing. They are lovely people, well informed and very, very helpful.But you’ll likely never need to speak to them. Look after this printer, keep it well maintained and it will serve you well for years to come.So sure, if you want to spend more money on certain other 3D printer companies products. Then go ahead. But in my wholehearted, honest opinion, you’re throwing your money away.I have nothing to gain from lying to you, in reality it makes no difference to me what you spend your money on.But the reason I’m writing all of this is because I have been so impressed with Qidi as a company. Their incredibly helpful, friendly, well-informed customer support team and most importantly, their products over the last couple of years that I do believe if you don’t buy this printer, you may regret it.Without a shadow of a doubt and with a completely clear conscience, I unflinchingly recommend the  Qidi Tech 3D Printer, New Model: X-pro, 4.3 Inch Touchscreen, Dual Extruder With 2 Spool of Filament,Works With ABS And PLA  printer to you. It’s already a great buy and I think we have even more to see from it with future updates to the software enabling more WiFi features.If anyone has questions, just leave a comment on this review, I'm happy to help.

This is the second Qidi Technology printer I have bought, after the Qidi Tech 1 that I purchased in summer 2017. The Tech 1 was great and a fantastic introduction to 3D/FDM printing, however it did have some problems, almost all of which have been fixed for this much-needed modernisation, the X-Pro.The machine was delivered within 3 working days and was extraordinarily well packaged - a lot of thought has gone into this to make sure the printer gets to the consumer in tip-top condition. Everything was present and correct, and I was impressed by the addition of a plastic tool box with carry handle, which contained pretty much everything you need to maintain the printer.Included is a colourful 'getting started' flyer which details the steps required from unboxing to kicking off your first print, which for me was about 20 minutes, since I'm already familiar with these machines.Once the heated bed was levelled (with included levelling paper) and the filament loaded (included 1 roll of ABS, 1 roll of PLA) the machine was up and running printing the test file, and it came out absolutely perfectly, and it has printed with ease everything I've thrown at it so far.One huge advantage over the Tech 1 is the magnetic build plates that are included - it makes getting prints off the bed a breeze, and they give you two so you can take one out and immediately start another print, if you so desire. The blue build surface is much improved over the Tech1 version, I had no problems getting ABS and PLA to stick without the addition of any glue. The printer also has a really nice enclosure that provides a MUCH better draught-proof seal. This was a significant problem on the Tech1, where cold air was getting into the printer practically from all sides, causing ABS in particular to warp. No such issues with this machine, I'm happy to report.The printer is quite heavy, but this is a reflection on the build quality - it's solid metal from tip to toe which is key to achieving rigidity and axial stability in a machine like this. Qidi have also done a great job with the cabling which is very, very neat and they have taken steps to avoid excessive movement on cables attached to the Y-axis motor in particular - these are now protected by a cable chain which takes the strain off the cables, meaning significantly reduced likelihood of cable conductor fatigue causing an open circuit & a printer fault.The bright touch screen is a nice addition and makes interacting with the printer that much easier than the simple buttons and matrix display on the Tech1.The only downside I have found so far is that this printer no longer has a USB port for connection to a PC or Raspberry Pi, which prevents use of OctoPrint/AstroPrint or communication directly with 3rd-party slicers like Simplify3D. Qidi want you to use the included Qidi Print software which will talk to the printer over your home network (printer has an ethernet port) though I have not tried this yet. For most people this will not be a problem, but it is a feature I expected to see on a 'Pro' model, I have to say.All in all, this is a very capable printer with a great build quality, and will no doubt give years of trouble free service, and if you do have a problem, I can personally attest to the very responsive customer support team, who will send replacement parts free of charge during the warranty period, and provide technical support when required. This alone is worth a great deal when compared to many other brands.Buy with confidence!