Review on 🔌 QIDI TECHNOLOGY Extruder Module Base by Joshua Mejia

This is my fourth 3D printer and I have to say that this printer exceeded my expectations. I bought this unit to have a printer that could be easily built in to print on ABS plastic. At a modest price of $400, I wasn't expecting the great print quality and build area this device has. The touchscreen is fantastic too; Easy to use, complete and thorough, with firmware features I wish my other i3 printers were just like this one. However, there were a few problems: 1. A pulley (along with axle and bearings) fell out of the machine during printing due to a loose grub screw. I was able to put everything back together but wish I had a diagram to follow.2. The electronics fan is very loud and always on. But I was able to change and fix this problem.3. The filament feed tube (3mm) is rendered useless by switching to a 1.75mm tube on the extruder, but I didn't need it anyway so I got rid of it.4. It's noisy. Much louder than my other printers of this size and I can't do much about it. The stepper motors are attached to a sheet metal frame (which it should be for rigidity reasons) which is reinforced through the entire frame of the box. I could use stepper motor shims to isolate some of the sound, but I suspect this may introduce some printing inaccuracy. But all in all, here's what I love about this printer: 1. Multi-layer, rigid, all-metal frame. That thing is heavy! But it's good.2. Excellent build surface. It's very similar to BuildTak but MUCH cheaper to replace and I think it sticks even better.3. The MK10 extruder is built as expected and I was able to easily upgrade to an all-metal micro-swiss hot end. This is not necessary as the normal hotend works fine. But I also want to start experimenting with glow in the dark and metallic threads.4. It's easy to close. I made some panels out of plexiglass and foam board.5. The lights are already on! 6. Touch panel. Oh touchpad! What a luxury compared to all the dial/button interfaces on my i3 style printers. Intuitive, responsive and great features. And if you're using the boxed version of Cura, the touchpad will show an image of your model before you start printing.7. Good firmware. I really like the thread switching function, manual controls and everything else! FYI: This is a printer I bought with my own money. Qidi Tech, no one else was involved, my personal review.