22.6.2018

This is a large and impressive looking machine, with a volume that's somewhere between a large microwave and an oven. It's my first time using a 3D printer, so I was very excited to get started. In use, the printer does have something of an oven quality about it, thanks to the visibility of models as they're 'cooking'. The machine I received was supplied with a choice of 3 different region power cables. The UK one was faulty, with the metal inside the pin holes being incorrectly shaped, and could not be used - it would only fit about 1/3 of the way it should have done. The cable is a standard power cable and I happened to have a spare, so with a quick swap of fuses into my old cable,I had this up and running. Both of the other region power cables this was supplied with fit the pins without problem, so it did just seem to be the one faulty cable. That said, this fault with a really basic component is not something you would expect to find on a printer with an RRP that's just a hair's breadth below £1000.The printer was fairly easy to set up, although I thought it definitely helped that I had watched a couple of videos before I started trying to use it rather than just going from the quick start guide or instruction manual. Dremel themselves have promotional videos that can be watched on YouTube. Most aspects of setup are relatively uncomplicated. Power up is a little on the slow side, and the touch screen interface isn't the most sensitive I have encountered and has a quite retro look. The machine makes a fair bit of noise, including a jaunty little tune when it's switched on, and there is a bright white LED light that comes on and remains on whilst the printer is awake. I found the build plate slightly tricky to fit the first couple of times I did it. The instructions simply say to fit it onto the clips on the bed - you need to thread it over the top of a pair of tabs at the back, and then slide it backwards once it's on these until it's back far enough that it will fit behind the two prongs at the front.Even on first use there was a small amount of filament inside the extruder head that came out as the machine heated up, so it would appear that this is factory tested with filament. I decided to test this first for myself using a couple of the pre-installed designs and made a teddy bear finger puppet and a chess pawn (each of which took tens of minutes to complete). I made these from files in the machine's memory and without connecting it to my wireless network or my computer. Although the quick start guide and instructions indicated that this would look to connect to a network as part of initial setup, this didn't happen for me. I set my region/language and the machine then went straight to the main menu.The machine starts by heating up to temperature, which takes about a minute, and then begins the time consuming task of constructing models with the heated filament. The printer makes an unexpected amount of noise when it's working - not simply the whirring of the arm moving but beeps and boops that wouldn't be out of place in a mad scientist's laboratory in a 1950s B movie. I have added a short video to demonstrate this, as I think it's something to bear in mind when choosing where to locate this, and before starting a larger print. The large, clear access doors at the top and front of the machine provide a fascinating view of 3D construction at work. The process is quite slow going, building just fractions of a millimetre at a time but after a few minutes you can see some kind of progress. Once a job is completed, the build platform is lowered, the extruder moves to the side and the machine plays a little tune to alert you that it's finished working. The small number of pre-programmed projects generally have an eye to youngster/school/educational use, but those aside there's nothing restrictive feeling about this.The smaller projects I opted to make first are on the poorer quality side, having a lower quality profile programmed that results in quite a ridged appearance. There's no indication of quality on screen, so you take a bit of pot luck when printing these pre-programmed builds. The bear finger puppet has ridges in it that resemble the grooves on a record. Once printed, items have to be removed from the build base. This is not easy. They stick tightly. The removal tool works after a fashion, but requires patience. The metal-ended tool is not structured in the same way as the one shown in the manual illustrations - the tool I received has texturing on the tip, whilst the one depicted has a textured edge on the side. It takes a good few tries before any kind of separation of object and base is achieved, but once the build does start to come away from the platform it becomes fairly easy to prise off. The difficult part is getting the initial separation, once you have a start on that, it's reasonably easy to work the tool round the base of your build.After these first couple of projects, I was ready to pick something a bit different - and started work on an open source case for a Raspberry Pi 3 that my brother had asked me to make. This is giving me a chance to learn to use the Dremel software (a Dremel DigiLab product based on Cura open source slicing software for CAD), and to learn to work through larger, multi-part builds based on open-sourced software. I'm a Mac user, and needed to go to the Dremel website to download the software. Although I've not used CAD files before, I have used CorelDraw, and a couple of different Movie editing programmes. I found the software fairly intuitive, though on my first component I did not realise that I needed to switch off a default that added 20% fill (internal honeycomb structuring that strengthens a build) which resulted in a much longer than anticipated build time that took more than 9 hours and didn't complete until 2am!The print files generated by Dremel's DigiLab software and saved to the supplied flash drive from the open source .stl files were not recognised until I had networked the printer and updated its firmware. I have so far completed the two sections needed to make up the base of the Raspberry Pi case, and whilst still a little bit lined in texture the quality is obviously better than that of the two preset jobs I have completed - (profile set to 0.2mm medium quality) the finely textured effect gives the plastic a satin-like look and feel. For the pre-installed item designs, the touch screen menu shows amount of print job completed and time left to go in the build as both a countdown and a graphic highlighting the completed parts on a drawing of the item. For open sourced files sliced using the Dremel software, the display shows time taken on the print so far and a brand logo bubble image. For these, the logo image is highlighted in orange as the build completes - and is almost done when the top frame of the bubble turns from grey to orange.On this printer you can pause a build if you need to make the background noises stop temporarily, but the machine remains on. There's no way to suspend a build, switch off the machine, turn it back on again and resume printing. This is a bit of a shame, as anything beyond the simplest of jobs, takes several hours and can result in the machine being left on unnecessarily long - especially if an unattended job starts going wrong. It also means that if your power is interrupted, any in-progress build will be written off.I think my class and after school club kids will have a lot of fun and enjoy learning with resources we have made ourselves. And whilst there is an initial excitement phase that will probably result in some really unnecessary projects being built, I saw the most amazing project on the 'Shed of the Year' programme last year - where a couple of guys working in a shed are manufacturing prosthetics using 3D printers, and have designed an open source template for the creation of prosthetic arms. I'm hoping to ultimately be able to help the truly amazing work that is being done by the Team Unlimbited charity in generating funky, colourful prosthetics.======30/06/18UPDATE:I have now finished printing my brother's Raspberry Pi case. I have had one print fail. As indicated in the manual, this was in the first few minutes and seemed to be caused by the first layers of filament for my build failing to stick to the build base mat. The resulting misprint - stopped after about 20 minutes - created a fairly impressive bird's nest of tangled filament. I couldn't see any reason for that particular print not to have taken, so it seems that keeping a eye on progress in the first few minutes is worth while to avoid the risk of wasting several hours of printing.I've bought my first filament colours, opting to use the manufacturer's filament after spotting some rather dire warnings in the instruction manual suggesting that other brands could damage the machine. At the time of writing, there are eleven filament colours available: red, orange, green, blue, purple, pink, gold, silver, black, white and translucent. I've bought the first five of these plus the translucent. With the obvious exception of the latter, the colours are all nicely vivid and changing the filament spool is very easy.I have upgraded my star rating from an initially slightly grumpy four stars to five. The out of the box problem I had with a faulty power cable was a minor annoyance that shouldn't have affected an item at this level but was relatively easy to resolve and has paled in comparison to how exciting it is to use this, and the useful, unusual things that can be made.

16.7.2018

SUMMARYA well made 3D printer with a decent print size capacity. The fully cased design makes it safer to use and increases print reliability. It’s easy to set up and get going quickly so ideal for first time users, and Dremel have excellent product support too, making this as pain free as possible. This machine would be ideal for hobby or educational use.THE POSITIVESFully Cased – protects your fingers and your print.Easy print base levelingPrint spools can be replaced mid-print (unlike some machines)Fully cooled work space100 micron resolution (0.1mm)Multiple connection options – can be used stand alone or networked.On-board software and colour touch screen control.Good value for money giventhe capabilities and design.THE NEGATIVESTouch screen sometimes a little laggyPrint quality a little prone to being affected by vibration ( common to all 3D printers)Warranty is invalidated if you don’t stick to Dremel filamentThe printer arrives in a large and heavy box, and well packaged inside it sits a substantial printer. I’m not one to complain about this being a big tool, because the physical size of a 3D printer has a direct bearing on the size objects it can print for you. So the fact that it resembles a bloated microwave allows it a respectable print volume of 255 mm x 155 mm x 170 mm. The machine itself is 514mm high x 406w x 403d and weighs 16kg without the spool of filament.The instructions provided are simple and easy to understand, helping you get up and running quickly and painlessly. I do like the inclusion of a USB stick containing sample files that you can print off immediately, once you’ve set the machine up and installed the roll of white filament provided. The thing that took longest for me was using the slightly clunky scroll system of the front mounted touch screen to input my wifi details!One thing that is very important with any 3D printer is setting it up accurately. A level print base is essential so that the print head can lay down a solid and well attached foundation to the print. The 3D40 has an easy to operate leveling system that helps tremendously. I can envisage a time in future when leveling function will be entirely automatic, but until that becomes the norm, the Dremel system works well. By the way, you’ll need to re-level the base after every print, because the output (if done correctly) is pretty solidly glued to the base, which needs to be removed from the printer each time a print is finished and prised off from it. I strongly recommend you position this device of the most stable platform possible by the way. Doing so will help prevent those birds nest print failures. Ideally a heavy solid bench on a concrete floor would be best - in other words, in a workshop or garage rather than sitting on a wobbly Ikea table in a bedroom with bouncy timber floors!Some 3D printers – especially the cheaper ones - are in the form of open gantry structures, with no casing. The Dremel scores here in my view because the cover improves both print reliability and user safety. Depending on your output settings a largish high resolution print could take four to six hours to complete. People brushing past, inquisitive pets, insects, the breeze from a window – all manner of things could ruin a print if it wasn’t being produced in a protected environment. The case is fan cooled and the machine runs quietly, with the occasional beep and boop sound, and with a similar noiise level of a 2D bubblejet.There are certain similarities when using a 3D printer, to using a standard 2D version: You get the same options to vary print quality for example. Just like the saturation control of a 2D printer, the infill control of a 3D will affect how much print medium gets squirted out the nozzle. In other words, the finer the detail you desire, the more ink / filament you will use up, and the longer the finished article will take. For instance, if you print a vase at 20% infill it will be created quickly but it will leak! A Higher infill will cure that. Resolution controls the dot size obviously, so the higher that is set the less surface banding you’ll notice. Personally I think the visible banding of lower resolutions can be incorporated as a pleasing visual element, especially for sculptural pieces. And of course output colour can be altered by loading different colour spools, even mid-print.Why do we need 3D printers? Personally I think they’re incredibly useful tools. I wouldn’t bother printing simple things like toy frogs myself, but to get kids started and engage their interest that’s fine. For me, the real utility of these devices is in the ability they give to create complex objects that would just be impossible to produce any other way. One example are the acoustically neutral complex lattice covers on my Audioquest Nighthawk headphones. I also love being able to think outside the box with complex sculptural shapes that I could never turn, sculpt or craft if it wasn’t for the Dremel. Other users find them invaluable for modelling prototypes of new products, before sending them off for production. Given the ubiquitous nature of CAD and the scalability of the digital files, it makes it simple.This is altogether an excellent printer, and the sculptural forms I have managed to create with it are very pleasing. There’s an entire sub-culture out there, of 3D print modelers; connecting with it is proving fascinating, and rather rewarding. I recommend you take a look at the Thingiverse web site to begin with. It’s just one of the many resources.

19.8.2018

Fantastic. Really. Absolutely fantastic and utterly absorbing.I'm sure that we are all aware of 3D printers and of course if you are looking at this one then clearly the idea is of interest. And I'm sure that many will have seen things made on YouTube where a 3D printer is used for a casting object or to act as a test product.It really is the start of the next thing in industrial engineering. You can literally make things that a few years ago would have been the remit of large industrial factories but now available in your home.Of course, industry does use 3D printers which probably cost millions and make things like turbine blades which clearly this home gamer isn't capable of.But...what it is,is the bestest educational tool that I've ever seen.Now, I'm an engineer. Old school learning my trade back in the 80's as a marine engineer. I'm therefor old. A dinosaur. However I retain an inquiring mind and I can understand that the engineering of the future will not be what I learned which was probably more in tune with Victorian standards than what is in place today.And on top of that despite the fact that the UK almost forgot that engineering and manufacturing counted it rather seems that our leaders have worked out that the future lies not with services which are fairly easily turned into webpages but instead in engineering and technology.This means that rather than push ones children into trying to become a banker or lawyer, instead many understand that their small people will have to look to another direction because this is the future.Which is where this 3D printer comes in. Dremmel have made this as a learning tool primarily. And a wonderful job they have done of it too. The basic idea is that you can use this to learn skills needed to create objects which inevitably if progressed will mean learning some quite tough things. Mainly CAD as well as the slicing programs that are used to take that CAD drawing and turn it into a real thing. This process is where an interested child will gain huge steps forward and learn what will be absolutely essential skills for their career.As part of that Dremmel have created a specific website that caters for differing ages/groups. Elementary, middle, higher and industry. The idea being that for each level you learn new and of course progressively more difficult things.Of course, on line you can find printable files and use them. For the likes of model makers this might be enough as they can perhaps create their own parts for train layouts etc.However, for those who wish to learn the Dremmel site is a great place to start. Free software that gets you up and started of course. Lots of examples of finished work and a community of like minded people.Then...you need to start the hard slog. No getting away from it, if you want to use this as a tool to learn, you gotta put the leg work in. And that means not only learning the 3D solfware, but more importantly CAD software. Which isn't all that easy. I use TurboCAD as I'm learning the new skill of not using a drawing board but instead a PC to make engineering drawings.So, use this as a tool for your future or hobby, but accept that you really will have to learn some fairly hard stuff. As a grandparent my target is to become proficient enough to teach my grandchildren these skills. I reckon I have about three years grace before I need to start the imprinting..Now, onto the machine.Its not small and its not light despite being primarily a plastic case. I'd say about 1.5x the size of a typical microwave so factor in the space needed to place this.Well made but of course the fairly eye watering price mainly goes into the design and support not the materials I guess.Setting up is easy. Find a solid base somewhere - bear in mind that the printer will move rapidly and back and forth enough to shake the unit if not solidly placed.Fit the plastic 'wire' into the holder and feed into the printing head. Art this point the quick start instructions don't mention that on the left hand side as you look at it there is a small tab you gently press down in order to feed the wire into place.Once done, start up and then follow the on screen instructions. Which also don't quite match the quick start in that they ask that you cut the wire and allow the head to purge. I did this and to be honest it was a bit of a mistake. Simply do as the quickstart says and fit the wire and then purge but don't cut.Then level the base. This is also done via the menu and needs to be done in order to ensure the printing head aligns with the base. Its easy and very self explanatory.I then signed this into my WiFi connection and updated the firmware.And then picked out of the menu the reindeer that I've photographed to see if it worked. Which it did in the most fascinating way.Now, make sure that you put the sticky non stick base covers on as well. I did make the mistake of thinking the black plastic one was the only one needed,m but in fact you stick this into the glass base then the blue non-stick one on top of that. The instructions are not clear but take it from me, printing onto the black base directly means a shed load of scraping.So, for me the long uphill learning curve has started. And I'm really looking forward to it. I've downloaded the Dremmel software and I have TurboCAD so here I go on another engineering trip of discovery. And I'm really hoping to drag my grandkids with me too.

19.6.2019

I have been thinking about 3D printing for quite some time especially after seeing some of the interesting brackets that can be made to aid mounting mobile phones to drone controllers and I had bought such a mount that had been printed on such a device.What I did not realise is that to make your own creations you have to master 3D CAD Modelling software (none of which is provided).The last time I used CAD was Autocad 13 and we only used that to create 2D projects and electrical drawings.So you may wish to dabble with 3D Cad before you buy a printer (unless you just want to print existing designs).Now the printer.It can connect to your network by WiFi or direct ethernet which is what I went for.However,the setup wizard does not seem to know about the ethernet connection and still wants you to setup to WiFi. I know the connection was working as it updated the firmware.So I never did run the wizard and the component parts of that can be run separately anyway.The touch screen is not the best and trying to select the “United Kingdom” twice I got Finland and no option to navigate back. Fortunately it lets you pick English language under Finland.This was all in vain as for the “Cloud” print options are only present if you set the country to “United States”.The printer needs to be on a nice firm table so table wobble does not interfere with print quality.Also even with its charcoal filtered fan some filaments seem to smell, contains VOC’s so good room ventilation is a good idea.Applying just the right amount of glue stick (provided) to the glass table is another skill and needed to stop the print job moving during printing and reduce it curling up (warping) and the material contracts.Getting the finished product off the glass with the provided scraper is also a challenge and the glue cleans off with warm water and a microfibre cloth works well to dry/clean the glass for the next project.If the filament runs out mid job it does let you load a new roll and I also ran out of one colour so you can get an interesting colour change in your project.Some prints I have done can take over 20 hours....On the very first thing I wanted to make from scratch I met one of the printers first limitations wanting to make a tray to go on the bottom of a bird feeder to catch the seed.I used Tinkercad to create it but the printer limits the diameter of a round tray to 154mm (object limits are 254x154x70) and so lots of bird seed still ends up on the lawn (but it helps).Assuming you told the printer you are American you can use the dremel print cloud which I used to check and slice the job before it sends it to the printer also allowing you to view the job printing with the built in camera.The printer comes with two rolls of filament and have managed to spend three figures buying some more (all PLA green, red, orange, blue and pink).You can even 3D print a spindle so you can use other vendors larger rolls of filament with the printer.Check on youtube and I found Adam Savage “Tested: Dremel 3D45 3D Printer!” a good place to start.You may also get some filament bargains from a UK high street catalogue stores online clearance outlet site.Some of my filament was designed for the previous model so no auto RFID filament type identification but it is easy to set and is saved even when you turn the printer off (it uses 16 watts when idle).Most of the items I have tried have turned out pretty good but with some warping (in the corners) and a flowerpot which I had to scale down to print had issues breaking off the support parts (supports are needed print in which on the finished item would be in mid air) but I then realised when scaling down it would reduce the gaps for the supporting items thus they would not break off cleanly.At the moment I am printing a TARDIS (in pink) from the design linked to on the YouTube video I mentioned.Version 2 of the Tardis will be in blue.Some sample jobs are stored in the printers internal memory and on the 16Gb USB stick provided (also has their slicing software on it for Windows and MAC).Any problems with it? Well yes, the first roll of filament must of got tangled so make sure the filament is not crossed on the roll.I am generally impressed and it being in a cabinet does have advantages but an open one can cost less and print larger items.

16.4.2020

Reviewed by a neighbour, an engineering tutor, who is using it to print visors fo rthe NHS:The Dremel Digilab 3D45 arrives fully assembled, in a ‘ready to plug and play’ fashion. This requires minimal technical knowledge/understanding of the function of 3D printers in order to get the system working and producing additively manufactured products. This is essential particularly for the product's intended use (education), with respect to the time educators may have dedicated to curriculum design and planning, having a system ready to roll is essential. As is, it must be said, the Digilab slicer. This is a free software in which the design file (normally STL), is loaded into and prepared for the printer.In this review, the machine has been used to manufacture PRUSA Visors (PPE for NHS), therefore it has been thrown into full production, producing 4 visors a day using the supplied PETG material. The machine comes with two rolls of sample materials from the supplier, which will inevitably be the most compatible for the machine, however, the real test lies in the implementation of third-party materials with the system and whether this will produce the same results as the manufacturers recommended source.As mentioned, the printer itself is delivered with two things required to be fitted before printing.1) Power source input2) Material filament3) Use of glueIt does not get more straight forward than this when it comes to 3D printing, which makes this machine ideal for those that are new to the hobby, or for educational establishments that aim to have students work with these. A lovely feature that appeals to my technical side is the RFID recognition of filament material. Although this is only going to be available on the more expensive filament coils, this allows for the machine to read the type of material that has been loaded, therefore applying the recommended print settings for the build. Again, accelerating any set-up time.A number of options have been included in this system to allow for the uploading of jobs. The three routes are;a) USBb) Ethernetc) Network (WiFi)The route preferred by myself is uploading a g-code file onto a USB, which then slots into the machine and is executed. What is advantageous about the Network compatibility is the remote access function, allowing the operator to receive updates on the progress of jobs whilst away from the machine.A problem that has been faced when implementing 3D printers into educational establishments is their continual noise. As jobs are running it is difficult to reduce the noise of fans, belts and motors. What Dremel have achieved by enclosing the entire system produces low noise. In comparison with some more expensive machines (such as the Ultimaker 3), which has an open top, there is less dampening of noise. When producing work in a classroom, the noise can be distracting and quite frankly irritating, particularly when jobs take 2+ hours. Again, another string to the bow of the 3D45.Reliability is a key issue in 3D printing. With the Dremel 3D45, the initial run was satisfactory, and, keeping the settings constant, continued to deliver a constant quality print for a number of days. Issues arose when the extruder became blocked, however, by following the well-detailed manual alongside the YouTube tutorials delivered by Dremel, the issue was overcome and printing continued.Having used the 3D45 for a week, continually producing PPE equipment, the only negative that should be highlighted is the bed size. This will inevitably restrict the designs that can be produced on the printer, although scaling is key in prototyping, the printer suitably meets the criteria for its intended market.My thanks to my neighbour for this thorough review. I am delighted that the machine has been put to such good use.

27.6.2019

First of all this is a Dremel which means that it is made by Bosch and all the usual Bosch quality is there. It is well made, very easy to set up and easy to print your first demo item.A few more details about the printer, then I will cover off the tips for new users.The initial setup was done via a series of picture in the quick reference guide and instructions on the touch screen. |Installation of of the required PC software was provided both on an included USB stick, a very small one both in size and in capacity). the only issue that I have is that I don't seem to be able to print from my PC despite everything saying that the printer is connected and working; I can even view the real time web cam within the printer to check on status of printing.

16.5.2019

As fans of all things gadgety, we were thrilled to be given the opportunity to test this 'Dremel Printer 3D40 FLEX (230 V, Flexible Build Plate, 1 PLA Filament, 3.5 Inch LCD Touchscreen, Slicing Software)'. It is a sizeable beast - almost 20kg in the box, and does require a rather large amount of desk space, so be warned! As I'm certain is the case with all 3D printers, there is a significant learning curve if you haven't used one before - while the product description does say it is user-friendly, and indeed it is, this is relative, and you do need to be technologically competent to be able to use the machine. To put this in context,

8.6.2019

The printer came very well packed with everything well protected. This is a big printer and has an opening lid section as well as a front door. Once assembled, which is very easy, there's a short delay after switch on and the printer bursts into life. The printer has USB and Ethernet ports as well as WiFi. I used the LCD touchscreen to connect to my WiFi, the printer then downloaded a software update. The building platform clips into the printer and this can be levelled from the touchscreen. Magnetically attached on top of the building platform is the Flex plate which can be removed and then flexed to remove the printed object, it's really easy to do. The supplied USB stick,

27.5.2019

The item is very well packed; there is ample protection.No assembly is required. You just take it out the box and unpeel the plastic wrapping and tape.❌?? It is a PLA only machine because it does not have a heated bed.⚠️ You HAVE TO use the Dremel filament else it will void the warranty.It has a decent IPS colour touchscreen. It is very responsive.The interface is very intuitive.It's a single extruder BUT it's very advanced.It is comparable with Autodesk print studio software.You can only "print" one colour at a time.It comes with a flash drive. (You can plug this in instead of having to use a computer.) (The printer has its own internal memory so you can load items on to it and put the flash drive away.)The print quality is CONSISTENTLY very good.

27.5.2019

This printer is very easy to use and setup. I've had a previous 3d printer by Dremel, and they've really aimed to improve the usability. In particular, changing the spool (which is a lot more accessible) is easier, and changing/levelling the platform is more straightforward.On the downside it wasn't obvious how I could convert some previous 3d models - the literature seemed to suggest I could move my existing files across - however, I couldn't get these to appear unless I ran them through the new software on my mac or PC.I also had a couple of models fail as I tried to keep them too small, but they still looked well within spec tolerance, so that was slightly disappointing.However,

14.7.2019

There are definitely cheaper 3D printers available but if you are looking for one that just works straight out of the box, produces great results, is well-designed, and safe to use for a variety of ages, then a Dremel model is right for you. I have this model, the 3D45, and the slightly cheaper 3D40 Flex.Both are very similar but the 3D45 can print in a wider array of materials (PLA, ABS, nylon) and has a heated glass print bed. It also recognises automatically what filament you are using (provided that you have bought the Dremel accessories range with the built in rfid tag).I attach a picture of a test print Voronoi Dachshund which shows the great kind of details these printers can

12.9.2019

I highly recommend this printer. I read the reviews and I can see why someone with a lot of experience might get frustrated. for a new to 3d printing novice like me this machine provided me with the tools, designs and ability to produce good quality models with ease.The touch screen is good. The camera hasn’t got the best quality but to quickly check the progress of your build it’s fairly suited. The designs that come with it are great but there are plenty of free 3d designs online.The 2 free rolls of filament are great and enable you to get printing straight away. The builds take time but they are well worth the wait.The printer itself is very stylish and I can’t wait to experiment more.

16.5.2019

Well what a gadget. It was straightforward to set up but you do need to have space to put it, it is about the size of a large microwave. You feed it plastic filament rather than paper, tell it via the computer what you want and off it goes. My main issue for us as a family is that we really don’t need one and having agreed to test drive this one I thought I might change my mind, but I didn’t. My 15 year old is doing art for GCSE and she felt she could get use of it for her projects but I would not spend the hundreds of pounds just for that purpose. I can see how an engineer might make great use of it but as a family ink remains our most common type of printing.

19.4.2020

I really like this printer. It is easy to use. I am a huge fan of the flexible build plate, which makes it very easy to remove your projects. My one complaint is that the Dremel spool is non-standard. Their PLA is a bit more expensive, but this isn't a huge factor. What bothers me more is that they have a limited color selection, so if you want metallics as I did, you then have to rewind other company's PLA on to Dremel spools to use it. This is very tedious. Otherwise, though it is a great printer.

1.12.2019

I’ve never done 3D printing before, but this comes with everything you need to get started. You can download templates online and get going straight away. Before you start it is worth thinking about where you want to put the printer - it is fairly noisy and smells of hot plastic so you don’t want it in a room you’re sitting in.

Dremel DigiLab 3D40 Flex - Reviews

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