QIDI X Plus 3 3D Printer Review: Ultimate Guide

Looking for a versatile 3D printer that can handle a wide range of filaments and deliver fast prints? If so, the QIDI X-Plus 3 might be just what you need. With its heated chamber, high-temperature extruder, and CoreXY mechanics, this printer promises a high-speed and versatile printing experience. Plus, it comes with a range of practical features that make it a great choice for various applications.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the QIDI X-Plus 3 and test its key features and performance with multiple filaments. So if you’re ready to dive in and learn more about this powerhouse of a printer, keep reading!

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QIDI X-Plus 3 Specs

If you’re looking for a 3D printer that offers a high-speed and versatile printing experience, the QIDI X-Plus 3 is a great choice. Here are some specs that make this printer stand out:

Overall, the QIDI X-Plus 3 is a high-quality 3D printer that offers a wide range of features and capabilities. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced maker, this printer is sure to meet your needs.

What’s in the Box?

Unboxing the QIDI X-Plus 3 is a breeze, as long as you have someone to help you. The printer is quite large and heavy, so it can be challenging to handle alone.

Once you get it out of the box, you’ll find all accessories neatly packed inside the printer itself. This includes any tools you might need, a roll of UltraABS-GF25 filament, and spare parts.

The package includes the following items:

• QIDI X-Plus 3 3D printer
• Dryer box
• 500g of UltraABS-GF25 filament
• Filament spool holder
• Power cord
• Ethernet cable
• Print bed scraper
• Various tools
• USB flash drive
• Glue stick
• Spare parts kit
• Extra hot end

Getting Started

The printer is more than 95% pre-assembled. You only need to remove some tie wraps that hold the components in place during shipping. Additionally, you’ll need to remove a couple of screws that hold the components of the Z-axis in place.

The getting started instructions are in the manual. You can also find them on the machine after you boot it up.

The on-screen steps will guide you through the entire setup process, including leveling the bed, and running Input Shaper.

Overall, setting up the X-Plus 3 is a breeze. Compared to other 3D printers, there is little room for error.

QIDI X-Plus 3 Features

Heated Chamber

One of the standout features of the QIDI X-Plus 3 is its enclosed heated chamber. This feature allows for better temperature control during the printing process, resulting in better quality prints. The chamber can reach temperatures of up to 65°C. This is necessary for printing with certain filaments like ABS that require higher temperatures.

High-Temperature Hot End

The QIDI X-Plus 3 uses a high-temperature all-metal hot end that can reach temperatures of up to 350°C. This allows for printing with a wide range of filaments, including exotic materials. The hot end also features a circular heater cartridge for better heat distribution.

Geared Extruder

The QIDI X-Plus 3 features a powerful 9.5:1 geared extruder that pushes filament at high speeds. The extruder stepper motor fits neatly between the steel X-axis rods. The extruder gear is part metal, part plastic. Also, it may wear faster than expected depending on the plastic used.

Automatic Bed Leveling

The QIDI X-Plus 3 features automatic bed leveling. This feature eliminates the need for manual bed leveling. The automatic bed leveling system uses a sensor to detect the distance between the nozzle and the print bed, and adjusts the bed accordingly.

Steel Rods

The QIDI X-Plus 3 features light stainless steel rods. This reduces moving mass and allows for faster print speeds with fewer ringing and other print artifacts. The rods are 10mm in diameter and are epoxied to the Y-axis carriages.

Powerful Print Cooling

The QIDI X-Plus 3 features a powerful print cooling system that uses a 50×15 mm radial fan to cool the filament being extruded. The system also includes a massive blower fan located in the enclosure that delivers a voluminous stream of air to the freshly extruded plastic. This is useful for overhangs, bridging, and printing faster in general. The print cooling system is most useful for low-temperature filaments like PLA and TPU.

Flexible Print Surface

The QIDI X-Plus 3 features a flexible magnetic sheet print surface that sticks to the heated bed. While this is a great solution in theory, the surface does not stick well to some filaments. A simple application of glue stick to the print surface can solve this issue.

The print surface is double-sided and features alignment tabs at the back of the print bed to help with alignment.

Filament Dry Box

The QIDI X-Plus 3 includes a filament dry box that helps to keep filament dry . This is important for printing with certain filaments, like nylon, that absorb moisture from the air. The dry box includes a desiccant pack that helps to absorb moisture and keep the filament dry.

Additional Features

The QIDI X-Plus 3 also includes a second hot end with a hardened steel nozzle for printing with more abrasive filaments, like carbon fiber-filled, wood-filled, and glow-in-the-dark filaments. The printer also features a large 4.3-inch touchscreen display for easy navigation and control. Additionally, the printer includes a built-in camera for remote monitoring of prints.

Build Quality and Construction

Build Volume

The QIDI X-Plus 3 has an impressive build volume of 280x280x270 mm. This makes it one of the largest enclosed 3D printers in its price range. However, due to its enclosure, the machine is significantly larger than open-frame printers. Therefore, it requires more space on your 3D printer table.

You should also consider the space in front for opening the front panel door, access to the rear for swapping out spools, and space above the machine to remove the top lid.

CoreXY Kinematics

The QIDI X-Plus 3 uses CoreXY kinematics. This means that its X and Y stepper motors are mounted on the frame, reducing the amount of moving mass and allowing the printer to make faster movements. This arrangement is ideal for achieving fast printing speeds.

Moreover, the X-Plus 3 comes fully preassembled. This is a big plus for new 3D printer users who may find assembling a CoreXY kit daunting.

Electronics

The QIDI X-Plus 3 uses a Cortex A53 1.5 GHz CPU and 1GB of DDR3. This provides plenty of processing power to carry out fast prints and complex motion profiles. There is no need for an external Klipper Pad, like the Creality Sonic Pad or FLSUN Speeder Pad.

However, one downside of the X-Plus 3 controller board is that it takes a long time to boot up. It takes 30 seconds for the firmware to boot before you can start using the printer. Also, the system throws an error when you start the machine immediately after turning it on, telling you to turn off the 3D printer, wait a bit, and then restart it.

Full Enclosure

The QIDI X-Plus 3 is fully enclosed. This allows you to work with high-temperature filaments without worrying about delamination or warping of your models. Its top lid is removable. Therefore, for PLA, TPU, and other lower-temperature materials, you can open the lid to let the freshly extruded plastic cool down quickly.

However, the enclosure does not have air filtration. Therefore, fumes will leak out, and you will end up smelling them. The smell is less strong than with partially open 3D printers, but it’s still noticeable.

Cable Management

All cables of the X-Plus 3 are nearly tucked away. There is no risk of them snagging on anything. The printhead has a PCB on the back that controls the extruder stepper motor, hot end heater, fan, and ABL sensor, resulting in only one thick cable that runs to the print head itself. The rest of the wiring is all stationary and out of sight, making it a clean and organized setup.

Component Quality

The general build of the QIDI X-Plus 3 is plasticky. Some critical components of the motion mechanism also made of plastic. Metal parts for some of the CoreXY components, like the Y-carriage and motor mounts, would have been good for rigidity. However, the Input Shaping feature of the Klipper firmware does a great job of smoothening out unwanted movements and reducing resonance. The cuboid frame also helps make the whole machine rigid.

Sound Levels

The QIDI X-Plus 3 gets loud due to the multiple fans in the actively-cooled power supplies, electronics compartment, print head, and print chamber. The noise is muffled a bit due to the machine being enclosed.

Ease of Use

If you’re looking for a 3D printer that is easy to use, the QIDI X-Plus 3 is a great option. It’s designed to provide a reliable experience without requiring much tinkering.

Touch Screen

The QIDI X-Plus 3 features a 5-inch touch screen mounted on top of it. This makes it easier to interact with and read. The touch screen requires some force to register a click. This may take some getting used to, especially if you’re used to the sensitive touch screens found on smartphones.

User Interface

The QIDI X-Plus 3’s user interface is well-organized and intuitive. However, it may be less appealing to more experienced users who want to adjust more advanced settings. For example, while you can adjust basic settings, such as print speed and temperature, there are no advanced settings available through the UI. If you want to adjust more in-depth parameters, you’ll need to use GCode.

For example, you can’t adjust stepper motor current, acceleration or jerk settings through the menu. You also can’t adjust Klipper settings directly through the UI, such as pressure advance. The most you can do is start the Input Shaper calibration sequence.

QIDI X-Plus 3 Print Quality

We tested this printer with various filaments and found that it produced high-quality prints with smooth surfaces and good detail reproduction.

Waterproof Box

To test the performance of the QIDI X-Plus 3 with ABS and PETG, we printed a waterproof box using the included UltraABS-GF25 filament. The printer was pushed to its limits with high print speeds, a large layer height, and a high print temperature. It managed to keep up without any issues. The heated chamber prevented any delamination or warping, and there was no need for a raft or brim.

Up close, the outer shell of the box had a slightly wavy appearance, likely due to the larger layer height in combination with the high print speed. A slower print speed, thinner layers, or a higher nozzle temperature would have improved the surface finish. The blue hinges and latches were made with PETG, and there was minimal stringing, which we were able to reduce by lowering the nozzle temperature.

Candlestick Holder

When printing a candlestick holder using Polycarbonate filament, we noticed a rattling noise coming from the printer. The surface finish of the print left a bit to be desired, but overall, the QIDI X-Plus 3 handled the filament well.

Custom NEMA17 Bracket

We printed a custom NEMA17 bracket in PA12-CF, a carbon fiber-filled filament. The print was easy to remove from the build plate and showed no signs of warping, thanks to the heated chamber. There was a bit of sagging on the large overhang, but this was due to not dialing in the bridging settings and not using support material.

Illusion Cube

To add some color to our testing, we printed an Illusion Cube in dual-color PLA filament. The print quality was great at a speed of 200 mm/s, and we didn’t encounter any problems.

Overall, the QIDI X-Plus 3 delivers on its promise of easy warpless 3D printing with high-quality results.

Verdict: Should You Buy the QIDI X-Plus 3?

If you’re in the market for a 3D printer that can handle a wide range of materials, the QIDI X-Plus 3 is definitely worth considering. With its high-temperature hot end, powerful print cooling, and ability to print at high speeds, this machine offers an impressive combination of features that make it a great value for the price.

While the build quality and ease of use could be improved, these minor drawbacks are outweighed by the printer’s ability to reliably print with materials ranging from PLA to engineering plastics like PC and Nylon. And at around $1000, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better value for your money.

Overall, we recommend the QIDI X-Plus 3 to any enthusiast looking for a powerful workhorse in their home or workshop. With its impressive filament compatibility, build volume, and features, this 3D printer is a great choice for anyone looking to take their 3D printing to the next level. In fact, we’ve found it to be the best 3D printer for cookie cutters.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the QIDI X-Plus compare to other 3D printers on the market?

The QIDI X-Plus 3D printer is a high-quality 3D printer that is designed to compete with other high-end 3D printers on the market. It has several features that set it apart from other printers, including its enclosed build chamber, and large build volume. Additionally, it has a user-friendly interface that makes it easy to use, even for beginners.

What is the maximum print speed of the QIDI X-Plus?

The maximum print speed of the QIDI X-Plus is 600mm/s. This makes it one of the faster 3D printers on the market. It is capable of producing high-quality prints quickly and efficiently.

Can Cura be used with the QIDI X-Plus?

Yes, Cura can be used with the QIDI X-Plus. Cura is a popular open-source slicing software that is compatible with a wide range of 3D printers, including the QIDI X-Plus. This means that users can take advantage of Cura’s powerful features, including customizable slicing settings, to achieve the best possible print quality.

What are the key features of the QIDI X-Plus?

The QIDI X-Plus has several key features that make it an excellent choice for anyone looking for a high-quality 3D printer. Some of its key features include:

• Enclosed build chamber: The enclosed build chamber helps to maintain a consistent temperature, which is important for achieving high-quality prints.
• Large build volume: The QIDI X-Plus has a large build volume of 280 x 280 x 270mm, which gives users plenty of space to create large prints.
• User-friendly interface: The QIDI X-Plus has a user-friendly interface that makes it easy to use, even for beginners.
• Auto bed leveling: The QIDI X-Plus has an auto bed leveling feature, which helps to ensure that prints adhere properly to the build plate and are not affected by any imperfections in the plate’s surface.

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