Honest review: The Printrbot Simple Metal (Kit)

The wooden Printrbot Simple wasn’t exactly a top-notch printer, but it gets the job done. Watch my review of the Simple Metal to find out if they managed to improve things!

Printrbot Simple Metal Kit

I’m Tom and this is my review of the Printrbot Simple Metal – Kit. Now, i am going to compare it to my impressions on the newest Printrbot Simple, so if you haven’t seen that review yet, you should go watch it. Like, right now.

Just like the Mid-2014 Printrbot Simple Maker’s Kit, I actually borrowed this printer from Nils Hils, who runs 3dDinge.de and is the official importer and reseller for the Printrbots in Germany.

So, i guess it’s fair to say that while the Printrbot Simple Metal isn’t really Printrbot’s most expensive printer, it is still somewhat of a flagship for them. It’s their first printer that had an all-metal chassis, the new aluminum extruder and the bed probe. The last two of those have since been adopted by the other printrbot models, but the Simple Metal is still the only that doesn’t use plywood for its frame.

And while i didn’t build the _wooden_ Simple Maker’s Kit that i reviewed, i actually did build this one from the Kit. In the end, it’s the exact same printer that you’d get if you bought the assembled version, just a bit cheaper and with the additional joy getting to build it. Last time, I compared the required skill for assembling the wooden Simple to building IKEA furniture, and apparently people didn’t agree with that too much. So let me rephrase that for the Simple Metal: It’s similar to building an RC car kit, like one of the Tamiya kits. Just with a couple less parts and less complex assemblies. I never found the assembly to be really challenging, but then again, i’ve built a couple printers before. There are clear instructions available in the form of an official pictured guide from Printrbot and also now in the form of a video assembly and setup guide from me. Shamless plug here. The assembly should take around four hours from unboxing to the first print, but if you’ve done it before, i’m sure one could do it in less than an hour.

Now, it’s actually a bit unfair that this printer carries the same name as the Simple Maker’s Kit, because it’s in no way a printer of the same league. It does still share the design, motion platform, hotend, extruder and mainboard with the current Maker’s Kit, but the printer itself has a completely different feel to it. While the Maker’s Kit was a _tiny_ bit wobbly, the Metal feels much more solid – at least it doesn’t feel like you’re going to break something if you pick it up in the wrong spot, thanks to the beefy powder-coated aluminum frame. _Gone are the zip ties that keep the linear bearings # in place. The Y and Z axis are now coupled with this super-beefy milled aluminum part that has the bearings pressed in, # the X-axis, that is the printbed, uses an aluminum plate to hold the bearings in place, and that already makes it so much stiffer than the wooden version. While we’re at it, the bed on the Simple Metal is _not heated, but there is the option of adding a heated bed later. The printer’s mainboard, which is the usual Printrboard, includes all the necessary parts for that, but you will have to swap out the power supply for a beefier one. Now, the power supply that was _included is a really nice one from Meanwell, which is a huge upgrade upgrade over the no-name ones they used to include.

The Simple Metal’s build area is 150mm in every direction (that is six inches for those who like the funky imperial math), which gives it a total build volume over three times as large as the Simple Maker’s kit. And personally, i don’t need more. I built my main printer with a huge 400x200x200mm build volume because i thought i’d want to use that much, but honestly, 99% of the parts _I print are smaller than about 120mm in any direction, so about five inches. So yeah, that six inch cubed build volume on the Metal is definitely not much of a limitation for me / and probably won’t be for most other users.

Printrbot uses the same milled aluminum extruder, and the same Ubis hotend that they now use on every other printer they’re selling. And that is a pretty good choice, i think, / while they’re both not end-all solutions to extruding plastic, they are very solid and reliable performers. Right next to the hotend is the bed sensor and z-endstop, which allows the printer to measure and compensate for tramming errors of the printbed by adjusting the movements of the printhead in real time. And that also works well.

Now, those were the things why I and many other people recommend the Printrbot Simple Metal when someone asks for a decent, but affordable 3D printer. But the Simple Metal is still not a high-end printer, and here’s why: These are mostly the same issues that i had with the Simple Maker’s Kit – i guess that’s where the legacy shines through.

So, let’s start with the Z-axis. It’s much stiffer than on the Maker’s kit, but it still uses the same imperial leadscrew and the same motor coupler. With a proper metric leadscrew and a machined end instead of one that is simply ground off, not only would that thing instantly wobble less and allow for more accurate positioning, but it would also allow for the use of a simpler, non-flexible coupler.

Next up, the stepper drivers could use a little adjusting right out of the box. I thought the Printrboard in the Kit would come pre-adjusted, but it’s either that my definition of _adjusted is a bit different from Printrbot’s or it’s simply left as an exercise to the user to adjust them. Either way, along with somewhat high default acceleration and jerk settings, this makes for some really interesting oscillation or resonance artifacts on your prints. But the good thing is that this is something that can easily be adjusted and fixed, even if it will be at the expense of some printing speed. One thing, though, that is probably going to need some creativity to fix is the wires. The wire management on the Metal is definitely better than on the Maker’s kit, but it’s still really hard to route them in a way where a) there is no danger of the wires getting caught on moving parts, b) there is enough slack to allow the printer to reach all positions, and c) no risk of catching a wire break from the constant bending. Also, the wiring still smells like emollient like on the Maker’s kit, which isn’t a huge deal if you have your printer sitting out in your garage, but when it’s sitting on my desk next to me, i usually get a sore throat after just a couple of hours even when the printer isn’t printing.

One last thing: The Simple Metal isn’t an open source machine, but quite honestly, i don’t think that is that much of an issue. You _can tell in the design that the Metal wasn’t designed to be super hackable or buildable by sourcing all the # components yourself. After all, it isn’t a RepRap that intends to print as many things for itself as possible, but a printer made by a company that supplies you with all the parts ready for use. But that doesn’t mean that they’re as bad Makerbot or _other companies that take all liberties about the printer away from you. The electronics are still designed and open-sourced by Printrbot, and the compatible firmware and software is also open-source and open for anyone to swap out or modify. Also, you can swap out a couple of parts, like the hotend, for other “industry standard” parts.

But _yeah, the Printrbot is a printer that i would _recommend. It’s a very decent machine for novice or somewhat experienced users and it has the potential of churning out pretty high-quality prints. I mean, you can tell, that this guy is still a Simple printer, so it’s not a perfect, high-end printer, but it gives you the ability of getting pretty darn close and provides a _very decent framework for that. The Printrbot Simple Metal is available as an assembled version from Printrbot for $599 plus shipping and tax or imports or for $539 as the Kit version. I’d personally go for the Kit, but that’s up to you. So price-wise, i think that’s pretty good as well.

So there you have it. If you want to see more of the intimate details of the Simple Metal, check out my unboxing and full assembly guide right here. Available in both English and German.

Also, make sure to like this video and subscribe to my channel if you like what i’m doing. / I’m going to do a bit of a giveaway in the beginning of September, so keep you eyes peeled for that!

Get one from Printrbot http://printrbot.com/compare-printers

Official build guide from Printrbot
Assembly videos [EN]
Assembly videos [DE]


You can support me without spending a single penny!