Hello everyone.
Most recently, Wanhao released three truly large printers – the Wanhao Duplicator 9/300 , D9 / 400 and D9 / 500 .
There has been a lot of debate as to how viable a printer with such kinematics and such a large size would be. We decided to dot the i’s and prepared a review for the Duplicator 9.
In this Guide
Specifications
Also among the features can be mentioned the added functions: a calibration sensor and a resume function. We’ll talk about them in more detail below.
Appearance
The printer is striking, first of all, by its size. In fact, it turned out to be even slightly higher than Raise3D N2 without a cap.
On the bottom of the case there is a small touchscreen display for controlling the printer.
The printer can only print from an SD card or directly from a computer using a cable.
Assembly
D9 is shipped unassembled. The assembly is not difficult and takes place in 13 steps.
The assembly process is greatly facilitated by the fact that all the wires and frames are signed, and the fact that the instructions are in Russian. It will be quite difficult to get confused)
Constructive
The printer has a “spongy” kinematics with all its pros and cons.
The main disadvantage is of course the table rolling along the Y-axis.
With such a table it will be problematic to type at really high speeds. And tall and thin models will wobble when printed.
The overall rigidity of the structure is a moot point. Some people lack the frame stiffness on the i3, which is significantly less than the D9. And some consider such a frame not rigid enough and try to further strengthen it.
In our opinion, the frame in D9 is mounted quite rigidly and does not play.
Metal table with heating and Wanhao branded surface, which is attached to a magnet.
It has become easier and more convenient to remove the model from the table. You can even do without a spatula. Simply remove the model with the surface from the table and gently tear the flexible adhesive surface away from the model.
Extruder with traditional Wanhao DIRECT feed. A huge plus is omnivorousness. A huge range of plastics can be printed including naughty flexes and rubbers.
Another plus is that the printer has got an auto-calibration sensor.
Calibrating and starting up the printer for the first time should now be much easier.
In the X and Z axes, the extruder moves thanks to rollers rather than linear bearings.
Time will tell how good this decision is. So far, there have been no complaints about their work.
The downside was, in our opinion, the insufficiently rigid mounting of the extruder. It easily bends down or up by hand by 4-5 mm.
This did not affect printing in any way (under its own weight and when printing, it does not walk), but I would like more rigid fixation of such an important part of the printer as the extruder.
Two trapezoidal screws are installed along the Z-axis. They are additionally fixed from above.
Familiar Y and X-axis limit switches.
There is no limit switch on the Z-axis. Its function is performed by an auto-calibration sensor.
I was very impressed by the long cable from the extruder to the body.
The train is long, but they tried to protect it as much as possible from chafing. It is attached to the body with latches and glued to double-sided tape.
Calibration
Calibration is very simple. Find in the Auto level menu.
The printer itself goes over several points on the table remembering the difference in height and taking this difference into account when printing.
Sometimes it may be necessary to calibrate the height of the sensor itself.
To do this, you need to bury the nozzle into the table and, by unscrewing the sensor mount, lower or raise it until the light on top lights up.
The Wanhao website has detailed photo and video instructions.
The calibration sensor acts as a limit switch in the Z-axis. This may not be very convenient. If the sensor cannot be configured or is defective, printing will become impossible.
Slicer
The redesigned CURA is used as a slicer, but not the usual old version 15, but the new one.
With all its buns) You can turn on the display of the settings you need (there are a lot of them).
Or use ready-made profiles.
Photo print
We decided to immediately swing at the big model.
Vase. Layer 0.2, PLA ESUN, printing time 1 day. Printing with Vase mode or spiral printing – in one pass.
The vase turned out to be of course thin. And the flaws of the spicy kinematics were immediately visible on it.
The layers below look very good. There is no wobbling in the Z-axis.
But the higher, the more noticeable the unevenness of the layers, which appeared due to the fact that the vase swayed when the table moved.
The outermost layers from above turned out to be generally perforated.
The second model was chosen more massive to avoid swaying on the table.
Bust of Thanos. Printing time is approximately 3.5 days. Plastic – PLA ESUN.
Due to the greater massiveness on Thanos, there are no such obvious differences in the lower and upper layers as in the vase.
And no wobling. The bust weighs almost 500 grams)
During the printing of Thanos, the office was cut off several times. The resume print function was very helpful in these moments.
Outcome
It is unlikely that the Wanhao D9 will impress or surprise the experienced printer with the quality and speed of printing. But Wanhao did not become a “people’s” brand for print quality or trouble-free operation. Many people fell in love with it, thanks to its affordability, low cost and, of course, many ready-made modifications.
Wanhao D9 will be an excellent printer for a “handy” person who wants not only to start printing, but also to understand the printer)
It seems to us that, despite the shortcomings, the printer will definitely find its fans.
