Printrbot Play Review: Get Your User-Friendly 3D Printer!

So, are you looking for a 3D printer that combines excellent speed, auto-adjustment, and better usability? Well, so many people these days are having a tough time choosing the wrong one. Most of them claimed their printers to be laggy and relatively difficult to operate.

Wave off your worries as I’ve come up with an amazing 3D printer, and this is what the Printrbot Play Review is all about. And guess what? It’s going to give you everything you were looking for, and that too without breaking your bank.

So let’s get into it!

Printrbot Play 3d Printer Specifications

• Depth of Layer: 50 – 100 Microns
• Motors: NEMA-17
• Maximum Printing Speed: 80mm/second
• Nozzle size: 0.4 mm
• Connectivity: USB & SD Card
• Build Size: 4 x 4 x 5 Inches
• Maximum Resolution: 50 Micron
• Color: White
• Material: PLA
• Filament Size: 1.7 mm
• Printing Bed: Non-Heated
• Recommended Operating Software: Cura

Printrbot Play 3D Printer Pros and Cons

Pros

• Ease to use makes it friendly for beginners.
• Good printing speed saves your project completion time.
• The auto-adjustment feature makes the project error-free.
• Can be usable with Cura software makes operation easy.
• Low Pricing makes it easy to get.

Cons

• WI-FI connectivity is not available!
• Non-Heated Printing bed!

Printrbot Play Design and Feature

Fortunately, by design, the Printrbot Play 3d printer is cost-efficient. Every component is optimized to deliver the highest lift for your dollar, without dropping into the depth of bad quality. The 3d printer tried to provide the overall best performance as an economical printer.

The device is measuring only 10 by 11 by 8 inches and weighs 9.3 pounds, the Printrbot 3d printer is an overall good printer by industry standards. But although it’s a small frame, it is sturdy and will efficiently rest on anyone’s desktop.

At the base of the structure of the printer, there is a set of four rubber feet. Guess why? It is for optimal performance. It not only increases its hold on the ground surface but also keeps the printer stable at the time vibrations come out while printing. 

Additionally, the base frame of Printrbot is also one piece to enhance stability.

The manufacturer of the Printrbot Play kept the costs low on this 3d printer by using uncomplicated materials like plywood instead of metal and line for the drive strap as opposed to rubber. The printer comes with a single extruder and the motors and internal electronics are fully uncovered.

This printer doesn’t feature a heated printing bed, as a result, it only supports PLA filament as the only printing material. The build area is only 4-4-4 inches; which is a bit small. Although it’s small, it is sufficient to produce prints like gears, figurines, and cogs, as well as numerous household objects.

Luckily, layer resolutions bring respectable 100 microns, which is unusually decorated for the price range and a fragile balance between quality and speed. Because the printer’s build plate is made of thick aluminum and rushed onto the moving parts, the printrbot’s auto-adjusting bed probe pushes all the alterations suggesting there’s absolutely no need for manual calibration at all. 

Thankfully, The Printrbot comes with the probe. It works to level the printer’s surface when the device is situated on a bumpy surface.

The hotend of the printer will heat up and the printer’s auto-adjustment function will calibrate the X, Y, and Z axes before the printer starts the work.

Last but not least, the hotend of the printer can get to as high as 240 degrees Celsius Temperature, meaning higher-temperature exotic materials are also a no-go for printing.

Printrbot Play Usability

As for connectivity, the 3d printer uses an SD Card or USB for untethered printing. Although we always preferred WiFi connectivity, it doesn’t come with it. Because the cost of adding this function will considerably raise the price. 

Using an SD card is quite straightforward on this printer. Simply load up the printing file to the SD card, attach it to the slot on the device’s side panel, and finally turn on the printer. Isn’t it simple?

No dedicated control panel is available on the printer, so you have to operate the device via a computer. Unfortunately, the manufacturer didn’t supply any operating software on their own. So, you have to use third-party software to operate the device.

The Repetier Host is also easy to use on the printer. But you have to manually configure it to work with the Printrbot Play. It’s a satisfactory thing that, the configuration process is mentioned in-detailed in the setup guide. 

Related: dual extruder 3d printers

Print and Printing

The Printrbot Play 3d printer can print at moderate to fast speed. It took about 4 hours to produce a Thinker statue that is around 3 inches high. And as for the star sculpture, the printer took around two and a half hours, which is quite fast for a printer in this budget segment.

However, the Play printer comes with some limitations also. It doesn’t come with a heating bed, as a result, you can only print with PLA, which is not suitable if you want to be experimental with your device. But PLA (polylactic acid) is the cheapest print material you can get on the market, thankfully.

Above all, the Printrbot 3d printer is a capable printer that can produce decent models, although nothing exceptional.

The Manufacturer behind Printrbot Play Review

Printrbot is a 3d printer manufacturer company established in early 2011 in California by Brook Drumm. They use Fused Deposition Modelling of FDM technology to build their 3d printers. In 2018 their doors were closed due to the flood of the 3d printer market by budget 3d printers.

After a long time, in February 2020 they came back again to the business. Now they are manufacturing some excellent 3d printers. 

What Makes It Unique When Compared to Its Competitor?

• The finest speed it delivers while printing is a unique feature in this budget segment.

• Can you imagine the auto-adjustment function in this budget? The Printrbot play gives you this awesome feature also.

Final Verdict!

Through this Printrbot Play Review, I mentioned all the striking features it shows off, including easy-to-use features, good printing speed, and auto-adjustment feature on a budget-friendly segment. So go for it if you need to get a 3D printer that gives value to its price!