Disclaimer: I also wrote a review for the Shadow 5.5s which looks a lot like this one. That's because both printers are stress-free. I never have to fiddle with them.
This printer really is just the best value you can get. I'm a mechanical engineer and have been printing for 10 years now. I picked this printer up a few months ago and couldn't be happier. The gist of it is: This printer works 100% of the time. You don't have to fiddle with anything, you don't have to constantly level the bed, you don't have to scrape prints off. You turn the printer on, load your file, hit go, and walk away knowing the print will complete as planned.
You can go ahead and buy one of the kit printers or the prusa i3 cheapos for $180, but you'll end up spending tens- or hundreds of hours fiddling with it to get it to print nicely. You'll by more attachments or fixes to get it running. This thing, for a little more than $100 extra, gets you 10x the value. It just works. You don't have to fiddle around with it ever - level the bed the first time around, click go and watch it run.
First, the documentation and support is amazing. The book that comes with the printer (also on the included USB) has high-quality color pictures showing you exactly how to set up and maintain the printer. The company stands by their stuff - they put their after-sales support info on the printer, in the LCD menu, and on the setup booklet. If you need something, they want you to call. I've had an earlier QIDI Tech One and had to replace the nozzle within the first month due to an issue. I called them and they sent a full hotend assembly to me within a week. Super helpful customer service, not that you should need it. I've done hundreds of hours of printing so far and I haven't had any issues at all. I bought the QIDI Tech One for a professional environment where it ran for 4 years daily. The thing still runs great with absolutely no modifications or replacement parts (beyond the initial nozzle).
The features:
- The magnetic bed is amazing. You pop the bed off super easy, bend it, and the print comes right off. It takes less than 30 seconds as opposed to other printers where you scrape for a few minutes to remove the print. (NOTE: if anyone is having issues getting thin support material off, just heat the bed to about 70degC which passes the glass transition temp of PLA and allows you to easily peel it off).
- The LCD menu is super easy to use. Very intuitive, and when you go to print it even shows you a thumbnail of your print so you can be extra sure you're printing the right one.
- Breakpoint printing is the best. if you have to pause the print or have a power outage, this printer saves your
progress!
- The bed is nice and rigid, so it stays level. I have NOT HAD TO LEVEL this printer since the first time. It prints correctly 100% of the time.
I have no cons. I really couldn't recommend this printer, and QIDI as a brand (just bought the resin printer Shadow 5.5s a few months ago and it also works fantastic) enough. 5+ stars.
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Customer Review: Great Printer for the money
David Bergman
Product Description
X-smart Main Innovation:
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QIDI Print Slicer:The QIDI latest slicer software version 5.0: Redesigned UI interface of QIDI software, which is smarter and more convenient to operate. (If yours is the old version, please download the latest version on QIDI official website). |
Removable Plate:Movable extraction, curved metal plate, can be used repeatedly, it is more convenient to remove the model after printing. And meanwhile, can minimize the damages or offsets to the build plate. Which is widely appreciated by users. |
Newly Developed Extruder:The redesigned single extruder is equipped with a four sides blowing turbofan which ensures a better cooling effect. Details make a success! |
Key Features:
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3.5 Inch Touch Screen:3.5 Inch touch screen with use friendly interface. During whole process, providing you real-time printing status, make it more intuitive, and more precise and easier to operate. |
Fully Enclosed Device:When printing ABS filament, it makes better printing result, and is inherently safer than an exposed open-frame printer. When printing PLA filament, please make the printer ventilated. |
QIDI TECH One-to-one Service:If any problems with the X-Smart 3D printer, please contact QIDI TECH team and we will reply in 12 hours. |
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| X-max | X-plus | X-pro | X-smart | X-maker | Shadow 5.5S | |
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| Technology | Fused Deposition Modeling | Fused Deposition Modeling | Fused Deposition Modeling | Fused Deposition Modeling | Fused Deposition Modeling | LED Display Photocuring |
| Build Volume | 11.8''x9.8''x11.8''(300x250x300mm) | 10.6''x7.9''x7.9''(270x200x200mm) | 9.1''x5.9''x5.9''(230x150x150mm) | 6.3''x5.9''x5.9''(160x150x150mm) | 6.69'' x 5.9'' x 6.29'' (170x150x160mm) | 4.52'' x 2.55'' x 5.9''(115x 65x150mm) |
| Filament Types | PLA,ABS,TPU,PETG,Nylon,PC,Carbon fiber,etc | PLA,ABS,TPU,PETG,Nylon,PC,Carbon fiber,etc | PLA,ABS,TPU,PETG,HIPS | PLA,ABS,TPU, PETG | PLA,ABS,TPU, PETG | Resin |
| Platform Support | Double Z axis | Double Z axis | Single Z axis | Single Z axis | Single Z axis | Double Z-axis linear guide |
| Extruder Configuration | 1 set of professional printing PLA, ABS TPU high stability extruder, Add 1 set of high performance extruder for printing PC, Nylon, Carbon fiber. | 1 set of professional printing PLA, ABS TPU high stability extruder, Add 1 set of high performance extruder for printing PC, Nylon, Carbon fiber. | 1 set of professional printing PLA, ABS TPU high stability extruder | 1 set of professional printing PLA, ABS TPU high stability extruder | 1 set of professional printing PLA, ABS TPU high stability extruder | |
| Printing Plate | heated, removable plate | heated, removable plate | heated, removable plate | heated, removable plate | heated, removable plate | |
| Support | 1-Year with Infinite Customer Support | 1-Year with Infinite Customer Support | 1-Year with Infinite Customer Support | 6-Month with Infinite Customer Support | 6 months with Infinite Customer Support | 1-Year with Infinite Customer Support(the 2K LCD and FEP film are excluded ) . |
| Filament Diameter | 1.75mm | 1.75mm | 1.75mm | 1.75mm | 1.75mm | |
| Printing Extruder | Single Extruder | Single Extruder | Dual Extruder | Single Extruder | Single Extruder | |
| Layer Thickness: | 0.05mm-0.4mm | 0.05mm-0.4mm | 0.05mm-0.4mm | 0.05mm-0.4mm | 0.05mm-0.4mm | 0.01mm-0.2mm |
Compare with similar items
This Item  R QIDI TECHNOLOGY X-Smart 3D Printer, Intelligent Printer with 3.5 Inch Touchscreen, Fully Metal Structure 6.3x5.9x5.9 Inch |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | Currently unavailable. | -8% $616.00 Typical: $669.00 | -6% $499.00 Typical: $529.00 | $319.00 | $399.00 | -21% $379.00 List: $479.00 |
| Delivery | — | Get it as soon as Friday, May 3 | Get it as soon as Wednesday, May 8 | Get it as soon as Friday, May 3 | Get it May 6 - 10 | Get it as soon as Friday, May 3 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Tech Support | ||||||
| Print Quality | ||||||
| For beginners | ||||||
| Value for money | ||||||
| Easy to use | ||||||
| Sold By | — | Edify-Technology INC | Edify-Technology INC | Edify-Technology INC | Voxelab | FLASHFORGE Official Store |
| compatible material | Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, Plastic, Metal, Thermoplastic Polyurethane, Polylactic Acid | Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol, Polycarbonate, Thermoplastic Polyurethane, Copper, Alloy Steel, Polylactic Acid | PLA, ABS, ASA, PETG, TPU, PA, PC, Carbon/Glass Fiber | Polylactic Acid, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate, Thermoplastic Polyurethane, Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol | PLA/ABS/PETG//ASA/TPU/PC/PLA-CF/PETG-CF | PLA/ABS/PETG/TPU/PLA-CF/PETG-CF (PC/ASA enclosed enclosure needed) |
| file format | — | — | Gcode, STL, OBJ, 3MF, STEP, STP | STL,OBJ,STP,STEP | Output-3MF/ STL / OBJ/FPP/BMP/PNG/JPG/JPEG | STEP |
| material | Aluminum,Alloy,Pla,Metal | Alloy,Copper,Pla,Steel | — | Acrylonitrile But, Polylactic Acid | PLA/ABS/PETG/TPU/PLA-CF/PETG-CF | PLA/ABS/PETG/TPU/PLA-CF/PETG-CF (PC/ASA enclosed enclosure needed) |
| connectivity tech | USB, Wi-Fi | USB | Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi, Ethernet | Ethernet, Wi-Fi, USB, Cloud | Wi-Fi, USB, Ethernet |
| operating system | Windows 7 | Linux | Windows, MacOS, Linux | Linux, Windows 10, macOS 10.14 Mojave | Win7/8/10/11; Linux supports Ubuntu 20.04 and later versions, Mac OS supports 10.9 and later versions | Win7/8/10/11, Linux Ubuntu 20.04+, Mac OS 10.9+ |
| printing technology | — | — | — | FDM | FDM | FDM |
From the brand
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QIDI TECH, founded in 2014, is an advanced 3D printer company that is able to manufacture a full series of high-quality FDM printers. We have our own R&D center and laboratory.
We also have own a number of patents, software copyrights. All of our products have passed the MET safety quality certification, CE, FCC, ROHS certification. We have rich experience of OEM, ODM.
Reviews with images
Absolute best two machines out of 5 3D printers I own.
I've been putting off writing this review for some time but felt the need after having a minor issue this weekend that Qidi tech support helped me fix very quickly (turns out I had caused the vertical positioning of the bed to get a wee bit out of whack when changing filaments- it reset itself during auto home). I've been 3d printing for a year and a half now and quickly went from 1 printer to 5. Two of these are Qidi X-Smarts (the first one is an older red/blue generation version). I can tell you that they are the most reliable and overall best printing machines I own.So what do I need 5 machines for? I'm a game designer and gaming components designer outside of my day job... I'm talking table top games, and yes with that miniatures... probably like 70% of the 3d print hobby market. Its important that I make prototype prints of the stuff I design and sell the files of so I will know what is working and what doesn't. I can tell you that overall the Qidis give me the least amount of headaches. Sometimes the very fine details are a bit harder to get but usually this is just a combination of the filament I'm using and the settings in the slicer. Qidi has its own slicer that is very similar to Cura and there are constant updates.I'm giving these a five star rating but I'm going to tell you both the pros and the cons.. yes, even with 5 stars there are cons but it is less the machine and more that could be done to promote the growth of Qidi products. (I can't blame the machine itself and will not do so)Pros-No assembly... its straight out of the box. Just be careful and pay attention to the unpacking instructions to avoid breaking something or giving yourself a headache. Other than that its easy as it can be.Easy to use... has a nice screen that gives you more options and there's less "rolling through" things (with the control knob( like I have to do with my Ender 3 and Ender 5. Having a digital image of the part on the screen is also nice... not needed, but nice. The plate leveling (making sure that your image is printed on a "leveled" surface) is a breeze. Again, no rolling knob... the Qidi X-Smarts have a touch screen display.Durable Boxy Design- with most 3d printers at this budget you have a somewhat fragile scary design- basically bare bones with wires and motherboards exposed. Something that can easily get broken. The Qidi are housed in a durable boxy frame. By the way with the handles this technically makes them somewhat portable (I don't recommend hauling your 3d printer around in your vehicle all the time, but if you had to this would be one to do it with- though they are a bit heavy).Great Tech Support- They are actually very nice and will walk you through problems with videos. Send them videos of your issues if you can as it makes for easier explanation of the problem should you have problems.Very Few Problems- I've only had two major problems with my Qidis. On my first one I was pulling out some filament I was removing and a piece broke off and lodged itself down in the extruder housing. Not the X-Smart unit's fault... my fault... still it led to me taking apart the housing. Fortunately for some reason or another I was given a free extruder housing when I had ordered other parts so I was able to simply (it was pretty simple) replace the current housing- I still put it back together to save for later use. The second happened this weekend... I was getting a bad knocking issue that prevented printing and they led me through a test... the unit, literally, I swear... fixed itself during the testing phase. You can't complain when the machine literally fixes itself.Price- They're $328 right now. I've considered buying a 3rd at that price. Yeah, you can get a lot of popular hobby printers for $100 less but you have to put those together, and these in my opinion simply work better.Not Filament Picky- Granted I only print in PLA (and I know it does at least ABS and I think a few others), but there's no issues with who's brand of filament you use (I don't recommend 3d Solutech anymore though because all my headaches with my Qidis have been when I was using that stuff). I've used Hatchbox and Stronghero3d a lot plus several other brands. The only one I must warn you about is ESun- it will use ESun but the spool holes on that brand of filament are too small for the attachable spool holder on the back of these machines. Use an external spool holder if you are a die hard ESun user.Cons- Yes, I'm going to be honest as there are some negative aspects. Fortunately they have nothing to do with the printer but rather a limited amount of exposure of the company in the United States.Exposure and Presentation- I would honestly sing the praises about Qidi 3d printers from the roof tops and I have encouraged my friends to do so. However, its a tough market as far as advertising over much louder voices. Ender 3 is heavily supported in the hobby industry- with everyone considering it a standard (so much I had to get one just to see how my print designs were coming out on this industry standard). I totally support Qidi but its supporting a company that a lot of 3d print hobbyists (and newcomers) haven't heard of. I discovered Qidi after a careful comparison of printers I was looking at buying and liked its look and features the best. It was a wise decision on my part.My suggestions to solve this.... updated website is #1. The website feels a bit bare bones and could use some updates. Regular restocking of Amazon... especially parts and accessories is my second (see below). And, of course, more interaction with social media (granted I'm usually just on FB so I may be a bit off here).Make Ordering of Parts and Accessories Easier To Find- The magnetic surface pads (which are awesome, btw) are one thing that you may often look for, but there's other stuff as well. After market brass nozzle heads were a bit hard to find at first but I found some as well as the correct bowden tubing (which I've only had to replace once as well as the nozzle... yep, the printers are that good... and I have to blame 3d Solutech for when I did have to replace the nozzle.) I'd like to see a more steady and easier to find selection of other parts, like Extruder housings (for when I do mess one up again), etc.Promote X-Smart A Bit More: The unit I bought feels a bit like the unwanted step child at times. Qidi promotes their other models (both lesser and more expensive) more on their pages, website, etc. X-Smart, the units I have and love, not as much. Hey, they are great economical machines... promote these! :DOptional Cura/Other Slicer Settings: In all honesty the native Qidi Slicer is all you need if you know what you are doing. Some folks, however, prefer to use the current version of Cura, Simplify 3d, etc. for their slicer. Finding these settings for a Qidi unit- especially the often not talked about X-Smart, is like finding a needle in a haystack. Having the settings for these available on the website and such would be a help.Finally- again- promotion! Honestly I can't say that enough.
Top reviews from the United States
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This printer works 100% every time. Stress-free printing with no fiddling around, for a great price.
Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2020Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2018
Customer Support -
Purchased the XSmart almost a month ago. Today I had to use their customer support. The filament wouldn't extrude or unload. This is my first personal 3d printer & although I suspected it was a clog I wasnt sure and didnt know how to unclog. I emailed tech support and received a response in 4 mins. with video links to cleaning the extruder and replacing the nozzle. My first time taking apart printer components and yet I was back up and running in less than 45 minutes. I'm back up and running. Ive uploaded a picture of the disassembled extruder for reference.
Performance Update -
First few prints were decent using Qidi's slicer. Then I started to get stringing in my prints (see uploaded image). Eventually found the time to use Simplify 3D and really play with the settings, supports, retraction etc. My prints are much better. Still learning to get better prints and a lot still remaining to experiment with. As of now, I'm still a happy customer even though I did have to use customer support! I've updated the rating from a 4 to a 5!
Original Review:
Why I chose the X-Smart -
I have access to a Makerbot Replicator 2 and a Replicator Plus at work. When it came time to purchase my own, the deciding factors were budget (sub $1000, preferably around $500), ease of use (didnt want to get too deep into tinkering, upgrades etc), bed size (approx. 6", preferably 8" in x,y), Trouble shooting (either excellent customer service or a large user community). I started by looking at the Creality, Monoprice & Flashforge printers; then stumbled upon the Qidis on Amazon. I narrowed my search to either a Creality or a Qidi. For an entire month I went back and forth between the Tech-1 and X-Pro, reading as many reviews and Q&A as I could. Watched several youtube videos, read blogs and even joined the Qidi facebook page. Eventually I settled on the X-Smart (due to its affordability) and that I could purchase Simplify3D with the money I saved. I really didnt need the dual print heads (an additional item to worry about for something I'd use rarely). In the end, lw's review of the Qidi X-Smart sealed the deal for me! I've read every other review on the X-Smart as well (all of them have been helpful in making my decision), and even though this is a fairly new printer with very little online info. or videos on it, I am hoping that Qidi's customer support will save the day when I will need it.
Setup -
I was lucky. My printer came with no damage or missing parts. It truly took just 30 minutes to be up and running. Setup the printer, leveled the bed several times as recommended, installed the Qidi slicer & started with the test file that they provided on the usb stick, a small cuboid.
First Impressions -
All of the initial prints are w/ the PLA provided by Qidi. The Qidi test file printed great. Next I printed the #3DBenchy test from Thingiverse. Photos of the print uploaded here. Printed very nicely with the Qidi Slicer's recommended settings, however some settings could be tweaked. After that I printed a small 'volcano' for my kid's science project. This was also done with the Qidi slicer's recommended settings and turned out pretty nice (could use some tweaking to the settings if a perfect print was expected).
Simplify3D -
S3D has a profile for the X-Smart. I purchased it to see if I could get any improvements on my prints. I printed the #3DBenchy again with S3D's default settings. Surprisingly, the print turned out worse than the print from the Qidi Slicer. I wasnt expecting this and I need to experiment more to see where I messed up.
Issues / Concerns -
I love the printer so far. Prints pretty good for a sub $500 out of the box. You couldnt tell the difference between this and a $xxxx Makerbot. The true test however is to see how it runs over a substantial amount of time. Curious to see how it holds up in a few months. I do not see a large community of X-Smart owners out there (yet). It'll be interesting to see how difficult (or easy) it would be to troubleshoot when the time comes.
Best Practices -
The X-Smart being a 'closed' printer is great! For me, more so because a closed printer means less dust inside, easier to keep clean. I level the bed at least twice before each print (better safe than sorry). I've been printing directly on the metal plates (no blue tape or glue) and they seem to work great however I've had to use the spatula to scrape off some plastic every time. Eventually I may damage the surface of the plate. Not too concerned, Qidi provided a spare and replacements arent very expensive (or I could switch to glass).
Next Steps -
One step at a time. I might scour Thingiverse for a few more 'stress test' prints and see how they print. Learn how to use Simplify3D and see how I can get better prints. I have a hatchbox white PLA and wood PLA sitting on my desk now. I want to work my way to a wood PLA print soon.
Should you buy it -
Johnny D's review says 'Just buy it'! I would say, if you are still on the fence, then atleast strongly consider it. Doesnt matter what printer you purchase, there is a chance there may be something wrong out of the box or something could go wrong down the line... its a given. 3D printing technology isnt absolutely reliable yet; accept the fact that you will have to tinker with it sooner or later, question is - is there a strong customer support or a big user community to help you with your problems. Almost everyone here seems to swear by Qidi's customer support; in the absence of a big user group, I am relying on that service to come through for me! It is a risk, but it is a risk no matter what printer you go with!
Xsmart + Simplify 3D + Qidi Tech Support = Five Stars!
Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2018
1 Month Update:Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2018
Customer Support -
Purchased the XSmart almost a month ago. Today I had to use their customer support. The filament wouldn't extrude or unload. This is my first personal 3d printer & although I suspected it was a clog I wasnt sure and didnt know how to unclog. I emailed tech support and received a response in 4 mins. with video links to cleaning the extruder and replacing the nozzle. My first time taking apart printer components and yet I was back up and running in less than 45 minutes. I'm back up and running. Ive uploaded a picture of the disassembled extruder for reference.
Performance Update -
First few prints were decent using Qidi's slicer. Then I started to get stringing in my prints (see uploaded image). Eventually found the time to use Simplify 3D and really play with the settings, supports, retraction etc. My prints are much better. Still learning to get better prints and a lot still remaining to experiment with. As of now, I'm still a happy customer even though I did have to use customer support! I've updated the rating from a 4 to a 5!
Original Review:
Why I chose the X-Smart -
I have access to a Makerbot Replicator 2 and a Replicator Plus at work. When it came time to purchase my own, the deciding factors were budget (sub $1000, preferably around $500), ease of use (didnt want to get too deep into tinkering, upgrades etc), bed size (approx. 6", preferably 8" in x,y), Trouble shooting (either excellent customer service or a large user community). I started by looking at the Creality, Monoprice & Flashforge printers; then stumbled upon the Qidis on Amazon. I narrowed my search to either a Creality or a Qidi. For an entire month I went back and forth between the Tech-1 and X-Pro, reading as many reviews and Q&A as I could. Watched several youtube videos, read blogs and even joined the Qidi facebook page. Eventually I settled on the X-Smart (due to its affordability) and that I could purchase Simplify3D with the money I saved. I really didnt need the dual print heads (an additional item to worry about for something I'd use rarely). In the end, lw's review of the Qidi X-Smart sealed the deal for me! I've read every other review on the X-Smart as well (all of them have been helpful in making my decision), and even though this is a fairly new printer with very little online info. or videos on it, I am hoping that Qidi's customer support will save the day when I will need it.
Setup -
I was lucky. My printer came with no damage or missing parts. It truly took just 30 minutes to be up and running. Setup the printer, leveled the bed several times as recommended, installed the Qidi slicer & started with the test file that they provided on the usb stick, a small cuboid.
First Impressions -
All of the initial prints are w/ the PLA provided by Qidi. The Qidi test file printed great. Next I printed the #3DBenchy test from Thingiverse. Photos of the print uploaded here. Printed very nicely with the Qidi Slicer's recommended settings, however some settings could be tweaked. After that I printed a small 'volcano' for my kid's science project. This was also done with the Qidi slicer's recommended settings and turned out pretty nice (could use some tweaking to the settings if a perfect print was expected).
Simplify3D -
S3D has a profile for the X-Smart. I purchased it to see if I could get any improvements on my prints. I printed the #3DBenchy again with S3D's default settings. Surprisingly, the print turned out worse than the print from the Qidi Slicer. I wasnt expecting this and I need to experiment more to see where I messed up.
Issues / Concerns -
I love the printer so far. Prints pretty good for a sub $500 out of the box. You couldnt tell the difference between this and a $xxxx Makerbot. The true test however is to see how it runs over a substantial amount of time. Curious to see how it holds up in a few months. I do not see a large community of X-Smart owners out there (yet). It'll be interesting to see how difficult (or easy) it would be to troubleshoot when the time comes.
Best Practices -
The X-Smart being a 'closed' printer is great! For me, more so because a closed printer means less dust inside, easier to keep clean. I level the bed at least twice before each print (better safe than sorry). I've been printing directly on the metal plates (no blue tape or glue) and they seem to work great however I've had to use the spatula to scrape off some plastic every time. Eventually I may damage the surface of the plate. Not too concerned, Qidi provided a spare and replacements arent very expensive (or I could switch to glass).
Next Steps -
One step at a time. I might scour Thingiverse for a few more 'stress test' prints and see how they print. Learn how to use Simplify3D and see how I can get better prints. I have a hatchbox white PLA and wood PLA sitting on my desk now. I want to work my way to a wood PLA print soon.
Should you buy it -
Johnny D's review says 'Just buy it'! I would say, if you are still on the fence, then atleast strongly consider it. Doesnt matter what printer you purchase, there is a chance there may be something wrong out of the box or something could go wrong down the line... its a given. 3D printing technology isnt absolutely reliable yet; accept the fact that you will have to tinker with it sooner or later, question is - is there a strong customer support or a big user community to help you with your problems. Almost everyone here seems to swear by Qidi's customer support; in the absence of a big user group, I am relying on that service to come through for me! It is a risk, but it is a risk no matter what printer you go with!
Images in this review
