Robo R1 3D Printer Review

To avoid paying a fee for the privilege of using his University's 3D printer, Coby Kabili created the Robo R1 3D printer. After creating a prototype the Robo 3D printer hit the mainstream after a successful punt on the popular crowdfunding site Kickstarter.

ROB3D’s ethos and goal was to produce an affordable 3D printer so that anyone who wanted to could enjoy the benefits of a relatively new technology. ROBO3D is a very young company with one model of 3d printer: the Robo R1. This has been upgraded and improved upon to create the Robo R1 Plus model.

Criteria for a Great 3D Printer

When choosing a 3D printer or looking at a robo 3d printer review, there are several things to look for to make sure you are getting something you are happy with!

• Print Area - On many budget 3d printers, the print area can be quite small and quite disappointing. The bigger the area the bigger the objects you can create – so if you have some wonderful larger creations, you may need to factor this in. Generally for home 3d printers, the area doesn’t usually go above 380mm

• Layer resolution - High resolution objects will be smoother and have very thin layers. Some 3d printers will even let you enter a value for layer resolution if you want to play about with quality.

• Extruders - If a printer has more than one extruder this will let you print an object in different colors and/or different materials as well.

• Printing Speed - Printers are general between 40mm/s and 150mm/s. Generally though the higher the resolution the slower than the speed. Many users feel that it is worth the wait for a quality object.

Product Review

This Robo 3D printer review is of the ROBO 3D R1 Plus model. The new improved version of the original R1 model. The printer features a heated print bed which prevents uneven cooling and warping. The print bed is also large creating models up to 8 x 9 x 10 inches. It has automatic calibration and levelling to ensure precise printing. The print layers up to a max of 100 microns.

Looking at robo 3d reviews there are a few pros and cons to the Robo R1 which we have listed below in our Robo 3d printer review.

Pros

• Easy to use with auto-calibration
• Open source
• Auto-levelling
• Large heated build plate

The R1 3D printer is reasonably priced and very affordable. It is a good quality 3d printer and a fraction of the price of the high end brands which can be bought for thousands. The printer is also open source meaning you can run your own software and use your own equipment. You can also use a variety of materials with it too and are not limited by one of two like other models. One robo 3d review mentions the printers autoleveling function which will make your life a lot easier if you are a beginner or someone who hates tweaking this constantly.

It also has a large heated print platform allowing you to print models up to 8 x 9 x 10 inches. This is much larger than the majority of budget printers.

The Robo R1 Printing

The ROBO3D printer is also very easy to set up and calibrate. It has an automatic calibration process to make things easy and ready to go. Many users also found the printer to be very easy to use. One of the frustrations of using new equipment can be the length of time it takes to learn how to use it. However with the ROBO R1 this learning curve was minimal. If you do find you are not easily getting along with your 3d printer, ROBO2D also have great support to help you get quickly up and running. There is a small but active online community available to help. This makes the ROBO R1 a great printer for beginners.

One robo3d review also noted that the printer works consistently compared to other models.

Cons

• Slow to print: Some robo 3d reviews feel that the R1 is a little slow to print, but conclude that it’s worth waiting for because the quality is great.

• Reliability: Some users have also found that although at first the printer works well, after a few months they start to encounter problems. This does pull into question the R1’s reliability and build quality.

• Noise: Lastly many feel that the printer is a little noisy!

Conclusion

The R1 is great value for money, is very versatile particularly because its open source and has a large print area. It also has a solid customer service and support forum. Despite its cons, I would definitely recommend this based on its positives. It is significantly ahead of many of its competitors in providing a value for money quality 3d printer.