Makerbot Replicator Z18 Review

[David K.]

I have written a full review for my Z18.  Read it here.  I hope it is helpful for people who have interest in the machine.

[TobyCWood]

Please explain why you gave "Other Materials" a "B". Seems to me it should be an "F" since it CAN'T print other materials! It can barely print PLA let alone other materials!

[David K.]

I think a lot of people are wondering why the Makerbot Z18 has a heated chamber.  I do not recommend using the other materials or using the heated chamber at all.  But I was interested to see how the printer would respond to different materials.  I gave other "Other Materials" a "B" because I the prints look good and came out very well.  With the other materials I did not have to worry about the smart extruder clicking, air printing, or jamming.  The prints were not perfect, but they were better than what I expect therefore I gave them a B.  It does kind of suck waiting for the chamber to heat up.

I would not be surprised to see Makerbot make a Z18x, similar to the Replicator 2x.  I think it would have lots of potential.

[Steve Johnstone]

Hi Dave,

Thanks for sharing your review. Do you have any photos of the type of prints you're producing as it would be great to compare with the earlier MB range of printers?

Also, what's the largest print you've successfully printed on the Z18, size and print time if possible?

I believe for printing ABS you will need to get you chamber up to 80c and doing so you negate the heated build plate requirement. By the way, how is the chamber heated?

My feeling is that as someone new to 3d printing some of you scores have little weight as you've no baseline. Sorry I don't men to give you a hard time but I'm sure if you had a well tuned R2 to compare against you may find that you've been a little generous.

We don't have many Z18 guys posting success stories here so as I said before it would be great to see some of your larges prints.

[David K.]

Hi Steve,

Great work on the mold making videos btw.

Answers are below in red:

Do you have any photos of the type of prints you're producing as it would be great to compare with the earlier MB range of printers?

Yes, Please check out some of my previous blog post.  Specifically this one.

Also, what's the largest print you've successfully printed on the Z18, size and print time if possible?

The majority of my prints have been in the 12 hour range.  I have not had a need to go longer, but I have printed non stop for quite a few days straight.  I have multiple build plates, so I can remove one print and start another immediately.  I do anticipate doing longer prints soon, but I wanted to buy a battery back up before I do anything that takes multiple days.  I did have the power go out one night about halfway through a 12 hour print.  Here is my largest ABS print. 

I believe for printing ABS you will need to get you chamber up to 80c and doing so you negate the heated build plate requirement. By the way, how is the chamber heated?

Yes, when I first attempted the heated chamber I set the temperature at 75c, but I waited for about an hour and it never got above 55.  It might be able to reach higher temperatures if it is fully enclosed, there is a gap at the top.  The ribbon cable is also rated at 80c, so I would definitely be careful and thoughtful if you try to reach higher temperatures.

[David K.]

I would consider it a success story, if you count squeezing a square block through a round hole a success.  It has taken a lot of tinkering to get it to print, and it definatly can be frustrating at times.  But I enjoy tinkering and solving problems.

I forgot to answer how it was heated.  It is similar to a blow dryer or space heater.  There is a air intake on the bottom where a fan sucks in air then blows it though heated coils.  The hot air comes out just below where the logo is on the back of the unit.

[Steve Johnstone]

Thanks David,

Also thank you for not taking my comments personal.

More people these days seem to be asking me about which 3D printer I would recommend. The only printer I've owned and used is a MBI R2X so my experience is very limited, but I would honestly have to tell them to stay away from MakerBot, especial the 5Gen series. If they were insistent on the MIB brand then the advice would be to go for the Replicator R2 and that's only based on reports form FAR more experienced guys. In saying that it seems that they have stopped manufacturing them now.

For me the PLA prints seem about average quality. Obviously 0.1mm Layer heights are not really an option.

ABS seems to print a lot nicer, but again no 0.1mm Layer height. I would put the quality at perhaps above average. My R2X would have no problem printing this as low as 0.05mm Layer heights, although I'm not sure why you would want to, but people seem fixated with how low you can go.

Your example of a large print in ABS is actually pretty decent, perhaps 8 /10. At 11" long I wouldn't consider it a large print and if it took 12 hours print I would be seriously worried.  

I would consider the MBI marketing image on your blog a large print. To my knowledge nothing this size has every been printed on a Z18 and there is still about a 1/3 Z height left to play with. It really bugs me that all of their examples on their website are CAD rendered images.... surely that must tell you something.  

Although I've tried, I've never seen a Z18 working. Recently at the TCT show in Birmingham there were  two on the MBI stand and perhaps another 2 on other stands. For the 5 hours I was at the show none of the Z18 were printing and that was even with the CEO on the stand at times. The mini's weren't running either.

I think most people would say that for $6,500. your should be getting so much more for your money. I'm fortunate enough to be include in Carl Raffle's beta test of his new Clone R1. At 1/4 of the cost of the Z18 and with 2 print heads, I would bet that withing a month of using it, we would be knocking anything Makerbot has out of the park.

Again, I apologist for giving you a hard time. Hopefully I've been constructive, its just that it pains many of us to think, that you think, you've got a good deal.

If its any consolation, if I was starting off in 3D, I would have 100% gone for the Z18. After all, they have won all those awards, are a huge company and the best brand out there.... according to the media hype.

Steve

[David K.]

Steve,

You have had success at printing ABS at .05mm layers?  I read a previous blog post by Jetguy that stated printing ABS at .1mm was hit or miss.  This was due to that fact that ABS doesn't spread as easily as PLA.  I tried that print twice, and it failed both times.

I am disappointed by the speed of the machine.  The large logo took 10 hours, and that was at the speed recommended by Makerbot.  I have not tried adjusting the speed to go faster, so it may be capable. 

I call that a large print mainly due to the base going almost the entire length of the build plate.  I wanted to test if a large base ABS print would warp.  It did not warp more or less than smaller 4" base ABS prints that I have done.  Also with out a heated build plate, I would not expect the ABS to crack.  I do want to try an ABS print that goes larger in the Z-axis.

I suspect that the machines at the TCT show were not printing due to the filament feed system.  I used that about 5 times ant then I built my feed rack, and the only time it worked is when I did the initial print which took 30 minutes.  Long prints are almost guaranteed to fail with that feed system.

I bought my machine, because I need to do some large printing in the future.  I started out small just to get familiar with the machine.  I almost bought a used Stratasys Dimension 1200, but I just couldn't afford it.  I think it would have produced far superior prints, but the cost of filament would have been way too high.

I also looked at other machines.  Specifically the Gigabot.  I thought it was a good deal, but I thought it was too big to put in my spare bedroom.  It also did not have a heated chamber.  However, the main reason I went with Makerbot was due to longevity of their business.  With companies like Gigabot, I do not know if they will last longer than a year.  This is a big factor when investing thousands of dollars into a machine.  Makerbot has been in business for a few years now, and they are owned by Statasys.  So I assume that they will be in business long enough to get the product right.  Although the last few months have me very worried about that decision.  I figured If I bought a Makerbot it would have a decent resell value.  I do not think that is the case right now.  But if they fix their smart extruder and keep improving their software,  I think that the machine will have a good resell value.  I also bought a protection plan for 1 year.  I assume and hope that they will get the machine right within a year.  If they can't get the product right within a year, I don't think they will be in business for much longer.

I like to search #z18 on Twitter and Instagram.  There are many examples of large prints done on the Makerbot Z18.  Here are some screenshots from my phone.  They are all from different users, so I assume they are different machines.

[Steve Johnstone]

I meant to say also that the warping you experienced with the large ABS is very minimal, so the heated build chamber is certainly doing something. On the 2X with the heated build plate I would have expected more then that. If you could get your chamber temperature up to 80c I expect you could be on to something with the ABS.

Thanks for the screen shots.... the last time I checked there wasn't much out there. A while back, I think it was on the old forum, a post was started to see if anyone was having any success printing large print and if i recall there wasn't.

Anyway, I hope it works out for you & be sure to post those big prints when your're able.