Review on 🧩 M3D Filament Materials Compatible with Software by Tim Paolucci

TL;DR: Pros: Inexpensive, very consumer-friendly, lots of colors to choose from, attractive and compact enough to brazenly put on the table, and a much-needed improvement over the original Micro (not even not buy the original) Cons: Quite slow even for a 3D printer, no SD or microSD card slot, quality isn't always as good as what's less consumer-friendly (the trade-off is much easier to use), and lack of one heated platform out of the box (available on the M3D website). Verdict: The printer is great for beginners and makes a great second printer for those more experienced with 3D printing. I would recommend this printer, especially at the retail price of $299. ---------- ------------------------------------------------------ -------------- ------------- --------- FULL REVIEW Firstly if you want to buy this printer I would recommend to buy it when it's on sale for $299. It's a very good price, but if you can't wait, $349 isn't that much. Now we come to the assessment. The Micro+ is a much-needed improvement over its predecessor. This printer is faster and, more importantly, can print without binding like the M3D Pro. One thing M3D consistently gets right with its line is presentation. The packaging is professional and the printer itself is attractive enough to put on a table. Also, the Micro+ is pretty quiet compared to other, more advanced printers I've owned. I've found that I can get it running in my closet at night with the door closed and am able to get a good night's sleep and I don't sleep soundly. M3D is definitely one of the best when it comes to making a printer that can be placed on a table without taking up too much space or looking like a total maniac. It's minimal and very functional. Another great thing about any M3D printer is that it's pretty darn easy to set up. I have had many printers and I can say that M3D is still the best when it comes to building a printer that you can plug into the wall and start printing. Setting up the printer takes no more than half an hour. All you have to do is plug it into the wall, download the software from their website, load some filament and start printing. The M3D software also offers you a very consumer-friendly experience. No need to trip over other software like Cura to find the best print settings. This is especially easy when you buy filament from them, as their spools of filament have "cheat codes" which, when entered into the software, automatically adjust the printer's heater settings to get your prints perfect with that particular filament. Their threads are affordable, so that's a plus. You really can't find a more consumer-friendly 3D printer. Another thing I like about this printer is that it doesn't have too many problems. Many more advanced printers have a moving platform or two motors to raise and lower the extruder that can fail. Another big problem with other printers is making sure your bed is level. M3D makes this easy and automatically levels the bed. The platform doesn't physically move, but the extruder knows not to go so deep that it scratches the platform. For those who have never used a 3D printer in their lives, I cannot stress enough how annoying and frequent bed leveling can be. Each of the previous points is a source of error, and M3D simplifies and eliminates these problems. If you're new to typing, there are a few things you need to know to get the best results. Printer. Micro+ may have game issues. To put it in layman's terms, this printer may not print a good quality circle out of the box. All you have to do to fix this is go into the printer settings in the software and set the game. There are two values for the game setting (one for the x-axis and one for the y-axis). I changed both values from 0 to 0.4mm and the results are much better. Another thing you need to know is that this printer does NOT have a heated print bed. This means that printing anything other than PLA (or their line of Chameleon inks or Hard 3D inks) is not recommended and likely won't give you the remotest quality print. HOWEVER, you CAN now BUY a heated print bed from their website. This upgrade costs $99 and I 110% recommend that you spend that extra money to get it as a heated bed really expands your printing options and improves the overall quality of your prints. If you don't want to spend $99 on a heated bed, that's fine! All you have to do to glue the PLA print to the bed is to use a simple glue stick. I use Elmer's purple paint and never have a problem gluing the print to the bed. Alternatively, you can stick tape on the bed itself and THEN use a glue stick so you can easily peel off the tape and not worry about cleaning the bed. Using blue painters tape will increase the life of the bed and I recommend you get a good roll and start with that. Just make sure when applying the tape that no part of the tape overlaps the other! If you want to skip the masking tape part and just use a glue stick, be sure to use a good dish soap and water to clean the build platform. IT IS MANDATORY TO REMOVE THE BED FROM THE PRINTER FIRST. I have never had a problem with their support. It takes them a while to reply to the email but they have disagreements where there are people who can help you including the M3D staff. If you need a quick response, Discord Server is your best choice. Now for the cons. This printer is not perfect and has some disadvantages: 1. No heated bed included. While PLA prints perfectly with a glue stick, I wouldn't recommend buying this printer to print ABS or other filament without a heated bed! This printer is slow. All 3D printers are slow, and the original Micro was slower than the DMV molasses, but the Micro+ is still slow compared to other printers. Personally, I've never considered this shortage to be that big of a problem, but all I know is that it can take some time to print. Because this printer is extremely user-friendly, there are some trade-offs. If you know how to assemble/disassemble a printer and know how to work with other slicing software like Cura or 3DSimplify, you can get more bang for your buck from other brands. This printer is great if you don't want to think about what's going on behind the print and just want to print stuff, but like computers you can always get better results if you assemble it yourself. No SD card option. With many printers, you can simply insert an SD/MicroSD card and start printing. This printer requires your computer to be connected to the printer FULL TIME or you save printouts to the printer. Just in the last few months, M3D has enabled Micro+ to print without tethering, and while it's not as fast as simply inserting an SD card, it allows you to take your computer anywhere and leave the printer alone afterward the file is ready. saved on the printer.5. There are two ways to load filament into this printer. You can load it from the outside like most printers, or feed the filament through a tube under the bed. I won't say it's a scam because I've never downloaded it internally, but I've heard of some problems with internal downloading. I personally don't trust the system and always load the thread from the outside. Also, the thread is much easier to pull off when it's on the outside of the tubing than when it's on the inside. Overall, this little guy isn't perfect, but I found M3D's claim to be "the most consumer-friendly 3D printer". considered true. The Micro+ is very easy to use for beginners, and even those who are more experienced at printing and are simply looking for another printer that doesn't require fiddling with from time to time to get it working properly will find the Micro+ to be a good one hold buy . The price is higher than other printers with a similar print volume, but you get easy hardware/software integration with the purchase that won't put you off. If you don't use a glue stick, hotbed, or masking tape with a glue stick, your prints will suck, but that's the case with any 3D printer. I would definitely recommend this printer to anyone just starting out in printing or who needs a printer that is already built and just works. Buy and print.