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Cubify 3d printer
Cube 3D Printer Review 2022
3.5
See Price
Since the popularization of 3D printers, and give the inherent difficulty of 3D printing, there’s been demand for affordable, easy to use models that work out of the box.
3D Systems and the widely popularized Cube 3D printer strive to plug that gap. Does it live up the hype? Let’s investigate as we pull apart the secret inner workings of the most stylish printer on the market.
| Printing Area | 152x152x152mm |
| Print Tech | Plastic Jet Printing |
| Supported Filament | ABS and PLA |
| Extruders | 2 |
| Layer Thickness | 70 microns and 200 microns |
Table of ContentsShow
Design
3D Systems is onto its third generation of the Cube with all the enhancements this encompasses. An all-in-one cube casing houses the printer, hence the name, and is advertised primarily as a user-friendly personal desktop model. With simplicity in mind, it aims to introduce first-timers to the world of 3D printing without the oft-complicated installation of entry-level DIY models.
Straight out of the box, the Cube is a piece of engineering bliss. Aesthetically pleasing, compact, classy, and dare we say, beautiful, it resembles a product distributed by Apple, where functionality and ease of use are as much a consideration as design.
The sleek white exterior panels are miles away from the functional, bare-bones design of plenty rival models. So much so that the Cube is very much at home sitting alongside other home office devices rather than confined to a workshop. The self-contained shell means keeping track of diverse components isn’t a factor.
The print area is a modest 152x152x152mm, providing enough working space for most small scale projects, especially for beginners trying their hand at 3D printing for the first time. With both 0.2mm and 0.07mm (200 and 70 microns) print resolution layers, the Cube offers a degree of versatility, but not enough to cater for a large variety of print projects.
The print head ensures the X-axis, while the PrintPad (read build plate) manages the Y and Z axis. The PrintPad is removable for easy cleaning in hot soapy water. Every print job requires the application of Cube Glue, a weak adhesive produced by 3D Systems that assists the printed filament to solidly in place on the build plate. It takes some practice to apply the appropriate amount, and you need to wait for it to dry enough or suffer the consequences as we did.
The Cube sports dual extruders for simultaneous double color or material prints housed in out of sight purpose-built plastic casings that sit inside the vertical outer side panels. ABS and PLA are the only supported materials, and the Cube only works with 3D Systems proprietary filament Smart Cartridges that come in a selection of twenty-three colors.
These are significantly more expensive than generic filament bought from a hobbyist retailer, which was a big con for us when assessing the Cube 3D printer. These materials are of a higher quality, ostensibly, to justify the higher cost.
To give 3D Systems its due, the ABS provided is recyclable, while the PLA is compostable, which softens the blow for the environmentally conscious maker. The company also asks users to ship back empty cartridges for recycling.
Each cartridge includes its own integrated, snap-in nozzle, which it must be said, is incredibly simple to install and, in theory, foregoes the need to battle with removing debris and build up from the extruders every time. Two cartridges come as standard with each new device.
Connectivity through a USB port mounted on the bottom of the side casing (the package includes a USB flash drive) and a WiFi connection allowing the user to trigger prints from their computer or via a flash drive, gives options.
3D Systems have even designed a dedicated Cubify mobile app for both Android and iOS (plus MacOS and Windows through the Cubify software) packed with printing ideas, blueprints, and guides. The software converts into the required file type and forwards the instructions to the printer.
It cannot be used to design prints though.
The user interface, we love. Inviting and perfectly intuitive, it’s hard to go wrong using the in-built 2.5” color touch screen LCD. Beginners should find getting around the settings and options a breeze. Indicators such as how much material is left are welcome additions for users who might not have yet developed the skills to gauge how much filament a project requires.
Printing
For a 3D printer touted as an out of the box solution, the printing process was hit or miss. The first few prints went well, especially for smaller prints. The results were generally error-free and full of detail with smooth contours and layers with few flaws. Ghosting was all but absent.
However, the Cube starts to struggle with larger projects that more often than not end in a bundle of filament only good for the landfill. The waste is especially hard to stomach given the exorbitant cost of the cartridges. The Cube Glue did little to fix the issue but works well for smaller prints.
Overall, the Cube is ideally suited to small jobs and is relatively economical with the material when it works correctly. From what we can gather, the lack of a heated plate, and the fact the software didn’t factor in the need for supports worked to the detriment of larger prints that require stability and uniform heat distribution as vertical layers build up.
The Cube is loud, to the point that it can become an annoyance by reverberating into adjacent rooms. For such a little machine, the noise is disproportionate possibly due to clanks bouncing off the casing.
Where our opinion of the Cube shifted drastically was when we encountered systematic jamming in the jet on the print head. The problem appeared to happen after only a handful of jobs using a brand new cartridge. Either the filament reacts badly to being exposed and goes brittle, or warehouse storage is conducive to the chemical properties of the plastic to harden more than necessary while sitting in the cartridge.
It was hard to tell.
Regardless, we have here a serious design flaw; feeding the filament through a tube doesn’t work well. Once a jam occurs, the nozzle does nothing but churn the plastic into a clumpy mess. If it isn’t a jam, the filament breaks inside the cartridge. There’s not much that can be done other than load in a replacement.
Speed wise, the Cube isn’t remarkable and gets the job done within acceptable limits.
Small prints can take anywhere from four to ten hours depending on the size, while bigger jobs were a bust most of the time, so we were never able to finish them to know how long the process takes.
Assembly
The Cube comes pre-assembled and only requires the user to install the cartridges, a straightforward procedure. The Cube is packaged well and comes with a quick start manual, USB key, cabling, glue, spatula, plyers, power supply, and the printer itself.
The Cube self-calibrates by make sure the build plate is perfectly level and at the right distance from the print head via a set of magnets under the plate, although the device asks the user to tweak the plastic circular knobs below the plate as required.
The instructions are straightforward and won’t daunt even the most unversed user.
That aside, the Cube allows you to be up and printing within 45 minutes after unboxing the device, unheard of for printers in this price range where hours of assembly are the name of the game.
Support
3D Systems has discontinued the Cube, and the model is no longer in production, arguably due to lackluster reviews caused by the filament jamming issue.
As a consequence, the Cube is now available at a fraction of the cost of its initial retail price, around the $1000 mark. You can pick one up for around $200-$300 on Amazon, if not less. 3D Systems continues to sell cartridges for the time being, although third-party manufacturers have popped up selling them at a fraction of the cost.
Support wise, 3D Systems offers a 90-day warranty for parts and labor, but no refunds whatsoever due to discontinuing the product. Specific resellers may offer different refund policies.
3D Systems has a robust after-sales support service with a dedicated phone team that can help with the jamming issue by walking through a variety of detailed fixes.
They’ll also walk through updating the Cubify software to the latest firmware which helps with printing problems to a certain degree. Alongside are forums, guides, and articles about getting the most out of the Cube.
Verdict
The Cube isn’t a bad printer overall and produces some quality results for smaller projects. The design is the model’s strongest asset, and it’s hard to find fault with the look, feel, and ease of use (bar the jamming issue).
At a much-reduced price, the Cube is an ideal no-nonsense first time 3D printer for those who want to experience the joys of printing without the hassle and tinkering of similarly priced DIY equivalents. The dual extruder setup is also a bargain.
The cartridges are a downside, but if you buy them from a third-party, the costs are more palatable. There’s also a DIY fix for the jamming problem, which isn’t particularly difficult to perform and is an excellent way to introduce a beginner to the modification aspect of the hobby.
The Cube isn’t ideal, but its hard to argue with for the bargain price.
Bye Bye Cubify, 3D Systems Discontinues Consumer Division
4
In January of 2012 at CES, 3D Systems made the big announcement that they were entering into the direct consumer market with the Cube line of 3D printers. Now, nearly 4 years later, the experiment is over. 3DS has announced the end of Cube and Cubify.
First off, if you are an owner of a Cube or Cube Pro machine, don’t panic. This isn’t the end for your machine. While the consumer-focused Cube 3 will be discontinued, 3D systems will continue to sell the higher end Cube-Pro, as well as materials and supplies for both machines, via their 3DSystems.com site.
Beyond being a portal for Cube owners to manage their print libraries, order supplies, and find downloads for their machines, Cubify.
com also served as a model repository and retail print portal for 3D Systems. While machine support will be moved to 3DSystems.com, all retail and model libraries will be shut down as of January 31st 2016.
Through the years, there have been 3 editions of the Cube, and while many will bemoan 3D Systems for their usage of proprietary software and adding ID chips to their filament (locking buyers into their supply chain), they also pushed a lot of innovative features to consumer-friendly machines. The Cube was one of the first printers with built in WiFi printing, a feature that may sound frivolous, but becomes very easy to get used to and miss from other 3D printers. 3D Systems took a serious look at safety with the Cube printers, adding features like magnetically-attached tempered glass build plates so prints could be removed away from the hot end, and nozzles surrounded by silicone buffers to prevent accidental touching by stray fingers.
The Cube 3 brought a feature that I found extremely progressive, with nozzles integrated into their filament cartridges.
Most critics concentrated on the “evil” nature of chipped cartridges, and missed this handy add-on. If a nozzle became jammed (a less likely occurrence in a sealed cartridge), the whole thing could be quickly, and without use of tools, swapped out for a new cartridge with a new un-jammed nozzle. This could be a huge advantage for a teacher trying to print an object for a room full of anxious youngsters (or even a demo for impatient Makers).
While most Makers won’t be mourning the loss of this entry in the market, I worry about the other projects from 3D Systems that we know were coming down the pipeline. The Chefjet and Cocojet alone would be sad losses if never shown the light of day.
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10 models for 3D printer calibration. Set up your printer
Before you start printing on a 3D printer, you need to test it. For this, special models are most often used to diagnose and calibrate the device. Next, we will list the top 10 models for calibration, in our opinion.
3D Benchy
Among all 3D printing tests, the flagship is 3D Benchy. This model is a boat that can test everything from protrusions to extrusion. If you want to test your 3D printer, then the benches will help you determine the optimal settings for the ideal result. On Thingiverse, more than three thousand users posted photos with their samples, and the boat itself was printed by more than a hundred machines and no fewer materials. nine0003
Model reference
All-In-One
A very interesting model, which is called “all-in-one”.
Everything is presented in the model: canopy, bridge, string, temperature and belt tension test, extrusion. This is an ideal model for testing the device at several levels at once. A manual is included with the model to help you troubleshoot any issues you find. On Thingiverse, more than 75 users have posted test results on different 3D printers and different materials. nine0003
Model Reference
XYZ Calibration Cube
Very simple and fast model for testing. This is a cube with a side of 20mm. It helps to gain dimension by adjusting the steps in millimeters. Also, the model allows you to test extrusion, vibration, temperature. This cube was printed simply by countless 3D printers and a variety of materials.
Model Link
Cali Cat
Nice little calibration cat or just Cali Cat is a simple model that allows you to test the accuracy of the device, as well as detailing, lugs, bridges, vibration and extrusion. And all this in just one hour.
More than 2.5 hundred users have submitted their test results on the service. nine0003
Model Reference
Phil A. Ment
The MatterHackers Mascot is a Phil A. Ment test model. It was originally intended for manufacturers. The description mentions the fact that Phil has several functions. And they were originally designed specifically for 3D printers. The model has small inserts, relief details, cylinders of vertical and horizontal orientation, ledges. In addition, the model contains chamfers, bridges and fillets. And this miracle is performed by a domed helmet. The record size on the service is 5,1397mm. A total of 84 models were published.
Model Link
Calibration Temperature Tower
You can use this model to adjust the heat of your 3D printer. You can also test for different materials at what temperature the print comes out better.
NEW model Autodesk
This is a new model, or rather not even a model, but a whole procedure that will allow 3D printer manufacturers to show all the capabilities of devices to Kickstarter supporters.
And of course, calibrate. The test was developed by Andreas Bastian and is a consolidated STL file that is able to test the system for the following indicators:
- authorization;
- alignment;
- accuracy;
- bridge, etc.
The model has it all. For example, if the 3D printer is set up well, then the horizontal function will be performed with a minimum of problems.
Model Link
PolyPearl Tower
If you want to test curves, cuts, bridges, cuts, then this model can be a great solution. In the description for this test model, the name "torture tower with a twist" appears. It is worth trying to use it for calibration. nine0003
Model Link
Rapid Screening
This model is a very quick test to check temperature, cooling, and retract function. Among the advantages of the model is its cost-effectiveness. The model will weigh only 0.23g. With its help, you can immediately remove the "strings".
Model Reference
Parametric Calibration Object
A particular difficulty in calibrating a 3D printer is lowering the stage level. With this model, you can draw the right conclusions to improve the first layer of printing, and as a result, get better prints. nine0003
Model Link
Cube・Cults
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^3
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