Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I was planning on giving a 4 or 5 star review but was unlucky and had an issue 6 weeks into using the printer and will probably bump up the rating once my issue is resolved. The printer was printing really well with PLA. I then set the bed temperature from the default 60C to 75C and it stopped working. The printer will now start prints but reboots mid print. I think there may be an issue with the power supply because it also tripped the breaker in the house. I have contacted Monoprice to see if they will honor the 1 year warranty. If you get this printer the first thing you should do is manually set the hot end and printer bed up to the max settings to verify you do not have a faulty power supply. I wish I would have done this because you can send back the printer to Amazon if the power supply or any other part is faulty as long as you are in the 30 day window, but after that you will need to working with Monoprice directly. Nov 1, 2016 Update: Monoprice sent me an email regarding the issue and asked me for the Amazon invoice so I am hoping they can resolve the issue. Nov 4th: Monoprice issued a RMA number so that I can return my unit. Nov 7th: Printer is on the way back to Monoprice. Nov 14th: Printer delivered to Monoprice. Nov 16th:Replacement printer has been shipped, things are proceeding well. Nov 20th: Got new replacement printer and it is working great. Once I run this printer some more I will probably give it another star. I had a filament jam due to my own fault but was able to clear it by removing 2 screws. The filament had wrapped around the extruder gear but it was easy to take out. The one thing that is a huge factor with this printer is that there are a ton of videos for this model so when something goes wrong it is easy to search the internet for solutions. There are extra items included -- keep these in a safe place because they will make life easier if you have a filament jam. In particular, the drill bit and long wire (piano wire). I liked that these were included because sooner or later you are bound to have a filament jam if you try printing with different materials since they all have different heating properties. In doing research, I found out that heated air chambers are patented by one company so that is why many vendors may have an enclosure, but it is not heated. I found a large clear tupperware storage container that I now pace over the printer with a space heater that has a thermostat set so the air temperature is at 90F. Don't let the air temp. go higher than 100F because it will make the filament to soft and cause it to wrap around the extruder gear. If you are printing filament other than PLA then you may be able to go up to 114F. In order to get everything under the tupperware container, I had to print a filament spool holder. The spool holder that I have found to work best uses a 608 bearings, also know as a skate board bearing. One the photos has the spool holder with the 608 bearings. I tried a spool holder that had a short base and sometimes the spool for get pulled off the holder. Take care to keep the filament tight because if it becomes too loose on the spool it will tangle will can cause your print to fail after your print job has been running for a few hours. Also, keep your filament spools in a zip lock bag so that they don't go bad, the filament will absorb moisture which will cause defects in the printed object. If this happens you will need to dry your the spool by placing it in the oven for 140 minutes. Looks up the exact temp. for the type of filament you are using. You need to pre-heat the oven and let it sit at that temperature for 10 minutes because most ovens will overshoot the target temp and gradually drop down but this may melt the actual spool that holds the filament. Placing everything under the large tupperware container has made a huge difference on not having to have the bed leveled to a high degree because the filament (I use Hatchbox PLA) sticks super well. In fact it sticks so well that I use blue tape to make getting the print of the bed. I have the control unit placed outside of the tupperware so it does not overheat. Some say that the Maker select Plus is nicer because the controller and power supply is mounted on the frame, but if you want to use a heated chamber this is a disadvantage because the controller board and power supply will over heat-- so get this model. The Maker Select Plus does not use the standard Melzi board most likely due to the touch screen code. That means the code has not had as much testing coverage vs. using the stock open source code. My coworker got the maker select mini which uses a modified code base running on a different chip architecture and when trying to print a more complex 3D model the print stopped at 80% mark when printing from the SD card, but he was able to make the print work when printing from the USB cable. We think that this is related to the controller board not using stock open source firmware. We investigated if we could update the firmware but could not find adequate documentation to proceed. You can also print a base frame so you can carry the controller and x-y-z frame as one piece. My unit has adjustable the Z endstop which you need if you decide to print on glass. I control this printer with OctoPrint (OctoPI) and AstroPrint. OctoPI lets me see the gcode that is get executed on the printer. If need to monitor the print while away from home, I run AstroPrint because I don't have to open up any firewalls. OctoPrint and AstroPrint are free and work well with this printer. Also, it seems like I have the latest version with the large metal thumbscrews about the size a a nickel used to adjust the bed which I have only done once so far. My version also came with the fiber washers between the build plate and springs pushing against the thumbscrews. I also noticed that my version has z-motor dampeners which helps with print quality. Another feature that has become a big deal for me is how big the build volume is. If you place the part diagonally you can have parts that are 11 inches long. Once you start print things for your household (brackets, mounts, frames, power tool holders, organizers) you will be glad. My office worker got the mini select and i had to print a bracket so he could mount his router to the wall. The only thing he can print are small toy like objects or smaller screw clips. Speaking of printing large objects on this printer, the build surface is the 3M PEI also known as Buildtak. It really works well but the bigger objects are hard to remove from the build plate. Heating the bed is no help - I have read other people hitting the object with a hammer but that will throw off the level of the bed. I have found a much better solution with is to build the object using the raft option that is available in the slicer software included on the SD card. As last resort I have used a heat gun to soften the PLA on a corner of the print object to get the paint scraper under the print. Do not use the include paint scraper that comes with the printer because it has a 90 degree edge that will scrape the surface, find a print removal tool that has rounded edges. I got a set of 5 tools all with rounded edges for around $9 online but you get pick these up at any hobby store under the paint supply area - ask for a painters steel palette knife. The other day I turned on the printer and the fan motor on the controller box started to make a loud noise but would go away after about 3 minutes. I searched the web for solutions and it involves putting a drop of oil the fan bearings which is located in the middle of the fan covered by a sticker by the manufacturer. When doing this it is important not to use WD-40 because that is a degreaser, instead use light sewing machine oil or PFTE oil. To get to the fan you have to remove 4 screws on the back on the control unit and 2 screws keeping the DC fan in place. It was simple and only took 5 minutes. I also noticed that the fan on the controller box appears to be the same one used on the filament fan and hot end fan. This is good because you basically have a spare dc fan. I will eventually replace the fan on the controller fan with a larger one that does not produce as much noise. The fan adapter plates can be found online for free. Also, if you move the fan to the outside of the controller box it does not make as much noise, make sure the not to reverse the air flow, it should blow air out of the controller box. Make sure you watch and re-watch videos on how to adjust the bed because you can damage and possible bend the build plate if the nozzle press down on the plate to hard. Use the paper / dollar bill method to verify the bed is at the right height, other methods may cause problems. Once your build plate is bent, your larger prints will no longer stick and which is very frustrating. If the build plate gets bent you have a few options. 1) Replace the build plate. 2) try printing with a heated build chamber 3) print on glass 4) use a KISSlicer which has a feature to compensate for print beds that have a crown( are no longer flat - typically the middle is lower and corners are higher) 5) where the bed is lower that the rest of the plate, put a few strips of blue tape in the valleys which kinda like filling in potholes.. I have include a photo done with wood PLA. I also printed a watch charger and stand. If you are not going to spend over $500 for a more advance printer then get this exact model -- it simply does not get any better at this price point. I am going put the printer through it paces for the next few months and if all goes well another star will be added to this review. Hope this helps others, happy printing.