3DPrinting
3DPrinting is a place where makers of all skill levels and walks of life can learn about and discuss 3D printing and development of 3D printed parts and devices.
The r/functionalprint community is now located at: or !functionalprint@fedia.io
There are CAD communities available at: !cad@lemmy.world or !freecad@lemmy.ml
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I don't own a Q1 pro, and my only experience prior to my current printer was an ender 3 pro.
But I bought a Qidi Plus 4 a couple of months ago and have been extremely happy with it. It's fast, reliable, and has the heated chamber and high temp hotend. Multi-material is supposed to get added via the Qidi box in the first quarter if you wanted to add it on later.
I haven't printed any engineering grade material on it yet, but all the reviews I've seen say it's a piece of cake with advanced materials.
That plus 4 looks very nice, but it is just a little out of my price range unfortunately and it also seems like the Qidi box will not be compatible with the Q1 Pro, but I still feel like multi filament printing with a single print head is a wasteful gimmick.
Like you, I have an A1 mini but with the AMS lite, I seldom use it for multi color prints beyond some few pieces of simple signage. But, it's very effective when you hang multiple materials or colors to do your single material/color prints. So I have to give them that point.
That said, when I bought the mini this last fall, I was all set to buy the Qidi X Smart 3-- only to discover it had been discontinued and off the website when I went to order. I just wanted a smaller and faster printer.
I see 3 reasons to save your pennies to get the Plus 4 over the Q1. It's a bit bigger print volume, what appears to be better specs for printing those high end engineering filaments you want to print, and being a newer model it will be supported longer. The Qidi Box isn't needed anymore than the AMS system you already don't have. But I think you will be happier over the long run.
Ah, yes. I overlooked the budget. Well, I can at least attest to the quality of Qidi brand out of the box. Not sure on longevity, but I'm impressed so far.
... and absolutely yes on the engineering materials, should be easy as pie.