da Vinci Jr. 1.0 A Pro Is a Great Step-Up 3D Printer

XYZprinting

When a $200 3D printer just doesn’t cut it anymore, consider the da Vinci Jr. 1.0 A Pro. It produces great prints; there’s an optional laser engraver module for it; and with an optional extruder, you can print with carbon fiber and metallic PLA filaments.

I Want More!

Some great $200 (and under) 3D printers are available on the market. And these are terrific for learning how to use 3D print technology and software that turns models into printable files (called slicers). But at some point, you’re going to want more. More flexibility in filament choices and a larger print platform, so you can print larger objects. For $449, XYZprinting’s da Vinci Jr. 1.0 A Pro gives you a considerable step up in what you can print.

Part of this flexibility comes from the size of the print bed: 8 x 8 inches. Many lower-cost 3D printers provide a more limiting 5-inch square print surface. Another feature the da Vinci Jr. Pro 1.0 A offers is the ability to use XYZprinting’s own filaments or OEM filaments. Many of the non-“Pro” printers from XYZprinting require that you use filament from the vendor, which contains a small RFID chip in the spool. The Pro lets you use a chipped spool, which tracks the amount of filament used as well as pre-sets the print parameter settings for the particular filament being used. Or, you can use OEM filament and set the parameters (or use the software default) yourself.

Quick Assembly

Unpacking and assembling the bright orange printer takes only a few minutes. After removing the packing materials, you need to install the extruder, which just snaps into a fixture that holds it in place. Then plug the Bowden tube, which reduces the friction of the filament as it moves from the feeder on the loft of the printer, into the extruder. Hang a spool of filament on the holder built into the left side of the printer, and feed the filament into the feeder directly above the spool holder. You can load and unload the filament from commands on the front control panel. Finally, place the included tape on the glass build platform and you’re ready to go.

Inside of printer printig a boat — Large glass print bed. / Ted Needleman

Almost as Pretty as a Picture

To judge print quality, I printed several reference/benchmark objects on the Jr. Pro and on a Monoprice Voxel, a 3D printer that’s pretty close in features, cost, and capabilities. The first of these is a small tugboat called the 3D Benchy. In this object, there are several things to look for.

benchy showing stringing — The Benchy printed on the Voxel shows considerable stringing while the one printed on the da Vinci is much cleaner. / Ted Needleman

Some of the things to look at are the fishing rod holder and smokestack, which should be round with clean lines. The holes in the front of the boat where the anchors are dropped should also be crisp and round. On the blue Benchy, which was printed by the da Vinci, if you look inside the cabin you can see the steering wheel and a lack of stringing. On the black Benchy, printed on the Monoprice, this wheel is difficult to make out and there’s a noticeable amount of stringing inside the cabin and on the left side of the prow.

You can see the extensive stringing on this Benchy. It's often a result of print speed and retraction settings. — You can see the extensive stringing on this Benchy. It’s often a result of print speed and retraction settings. / Ted Needleman

The second reference object was developed jointly by Kickstarter and Autodesk. There are multiple attributes tested with this figure, and for more information on what they are and how to score the output, you can check the Assessment Protocol on GitHub, which has both the .stl file and the scoring rubric.

Photo of two benchmark objects — The most noticeable thing about both of these prints is the amount of stringing in different areas of the object. Otherwise, the prints from both 3D printers are of pretty much equivalent quality, which is actually good for printing with default settings. / Ted Needleman

Reference prints such as these can be informative in both output quality and results of using default slicer software settings. When stringing is a problem, as it is here, there are a number of possible reasons, most of which you can address by changing some of the print parameters. A good guild to troubleshooting print problems is at Ultimaker.

Although it might look like the object on right is of better quality, applying the scoring rubric resulted in the print from the da Vinci scoring slightly better. Stringing is a problem that can be easily solved (though I didn’t want to tamper with the default settings of either printer), and the overall quality of the various test objects I printed on the da Vinci ranged from very good to excellent.