Today we go back to talking about 3D printers and we do it with the Artillery Sidewinder, a product that is offered to beginners but which, also given the large printing plate, is also suitable for complex jobs. It is a model that has fueled our expectations a lot, above all because it has been crowned as the best 3D printer even by the New York Times.
Index
Artillery Sidewinder X2 Review
Package contents and assembly
Forget the old ones printers 3D for which you had to spend half a day for assembly. There Artillery Sidewinder it arrives practically already assembled, it will be enough insert the Z axis in the appropriate space and that's it. To make it easier, the company has already prepared the pins at the bottom, just tilt the 3D printer and screw them quickly with the hexagonal key included in the package.
Cable management is great. And not only because the connections are practically invisible and very simple to complete during assembly, but above all because, once the printer is assembled, there will be no cable to disturb the movements of the head. And it is a feature that should not be underestimated.
Small sore point, there is no small test reel inside the package, so you will have to buy it separately even to start with the first print.
Design and features
La Sidewinder X2 features the classic design of filament 3D printers. Nothing to say about the build quality, indeed. The entire base is made of aluminium, while the plate is pre-heated. And just as regards the dish, one of the characteristics of Sidewinder X2 is its large print area: it is large 550x405x640mm millimeters, which allows the production of models with larger than average dimensions.
The extruder is also very interesting, which is made of titanium and has a head capable of heating up quickly: it is one of those small features that greatly improves the user experience, especially for less experienced people, and which makes it much easier also the replacement of the filament.
In the lower part of the head, then, the company has integrated a sensor with which the whole system will be able to self-level and calculate the distance from the plate. And here, again, it is one of those little things that makes the whole pre-printing process much easier and, therefore, 3D printing much more user-friendly.
To embellish design and functionality, we find - as anticipated - the display that allows, in a very simple way, to configure the printer and to start the prints, adjusting the temperature of the nozzle and the plate as desired.
Then there is a USB port for direct connection to the computer, together with a microSD input and a further USB-A input: in this way you can load your projects directly onto external supports, and use the Sidewinder X2 completely independent of the computer.
Software and print quality
To proceed with the printing we used the software present in the key (out of the box), that is to say Ultimaker Cura 4.0. The software in question is very intuitive, you can load files in .stl format and, automatically, the software will load them on a stick, or by direct printing with cable, in .gcode format, in order to be read by the printer.
Even the print quality of the product convinced us, since, despite printing with lower resolution and maximum nozzle speed, it managed to bring home the result: print up to a maximum of 150mm/if this is not possible only thanks to the head, but also to the alternating current heated plate, which makes the hot surface much more uniform and increases its safety.
Noise is also good, which in our tests never exceeded 55 dB, and the dual Z-axis synchronization system, the double lead screw and the closed-loop synchronous belt guarantee truly excellent synchronization performance; The unique Z-axis coupler makes the printing finer and achieves high-quality printing
Clearly, as you can imagine (and as you can see from the pen holder below), the Sidewinder X2 it is made to print large-sized products (also considering the availability of the plate), but the Z-axis coupler makes the print much finer and of higher quality. However, for precision work such as miniatures under 3 cm, it is preferable to rely on resin printers. For the rest it is perfect.
Finally another small detail, which could be very useful in "exceptional" cases: the Sidewinder X2 integrates the resume function, which not only means that if the power goes off while you are printing, everything would restart without any problem whatsoever, but above all that if the filament runs out while you are printing, you will could replace and resume production of its object.
Price and conclusions - Artillery Sidewinder X2
As you may have gathered, the Artillery Sidewinder impressed us, in a positive way. Despite offering high quality both in terms of construction and in terms of printing, in fact, the 3D printer is offered at a price of around 280 euros thanks to our coupon. Not least, then, the speech related to ease of assembly, definitely a plus for newbies in the industry.
NB If you do not see the coupon, disable ADBlock
