Customer Ratings & Reviews

Best Buy is a weird place to buy a 3D printer, but maybe you're like me and you had a giftcard with nothing to spend it on. I selected the Flashforge specifically because I liked the idea of having a dual extruder. I was completely new to 3d printing so this was my introduction. Yes, it is hard to make it work right, but does anyone remember how much of a pain their 2d printers used to be back in 1992? Anyway, this is new tech. Flashforge is based on the open designs of the Makerbot Replicator Dual. As far as I'm concerned they did a solid job. My machine has been working great for a year now. The company is in Taiwan, I think, but their customer service was responsive and sent me a replacement part for a bad screw right away. That being said, don't expect them to hold your hand through making your 3d prints work. It is a skill and art that takes lots of patience and research and sometimes a bit of hacking. If you are afraid of reading through forums, this might bot be the hobby for you. (By the way, if you are hoping to use 3d printing in your business I hope you have an experienced tech on staff and you are willing to buy commercial grade equipment.) The biggest downer for this one is that you are a bit limited with the software that you can use. I've not been able to make it work with any slicers except for Makerbot's Desktop (free). It works, but it lacks some of the features I'd like that Cura(also free) has. It is also missing some of the latest innovations like auto leveling, a glass bed, wireless printing/monitoring, active cooling, enclosed print area. Some of those things you can upgrade later. To summarize, if you HAVE to buy from BestBuy and you HAVE to have a dual extruder and it HAS to be under $1,000. This is your machine. It is a good enough design, a good company and a decent price. The other Flashforge machines offer more features at a higher price. There are cheaper machines that probably have just as good print quality, but no dual extruder. My advice, if you are starting out, is to get a low cost yet quality single extruder machine like Printrbot. If you want to get something much nicer check out the Taz. If Dual extrusion is a must, the Flashforge Dreamer or Pro might be the best value. Whatever you do, DON'T buy a Makerbot. Everybody knows that.

Everything breaks. Of the 25-30 prints attempted, not a single one has come out right, most failing to print at all. This printer is a pain; the extruders jam constantly, the plate will not calibrate to save its life, and I have been troubleshooting this hunk of junk for months. I've used an entire roll of PLA and it was all a waste. I bought this for my business and it has cost me thousands. Perhaps I had a lemon, but I think not. Avoid this printer unless you designed it, or worked in their repair department. It is a pain in the two-pack.