Dremel - 3D45-01 DigiLab 3D45 Award Winning 3D Printer PLA Print Capability black

I recently purchased the Dremel 3D45 primarily because of its claim to be a 3D printer for new to advanced users. I did not want to begin with an entry level printer only having to upgrade to a more advanced one down the road. I am new 3D printing. So new that I wasn’t even aware of the fact that printing and designing software are two different things all together. That being said, this review is likely only useful to someone that is in a similar position. Dremel claimed that you could be printing out of the box in 20 minutes. Although I elected not to print the trinkets they provided gcode for. I am certain that claim is true. Set up of the printer was easy. I spent most of my efforts the first few days, obtaining design software and learning how to use it. There is a plethora of information on design software and how to use it available on the internet. I began with Tinkercad which is an amazing little program that is free to use. But that is another review. Suffice it to say I was printing what I consider to be fairly complex designs in a couple of days. To date, I have only used the Dremel brand of filament. I’ve made prints in Nylon, PETG and ECO ABS. The printer can use other brands of filament because the printer allows you to adjust settings to meet the specifications of the other brand filaments. I will continue using the brand name filament until my warranty runs out. This will allow me to get adequate run time under my belt so I am able to know what good looks. If you choose to use another brand of filament, you will have to make a minor modification to use an external spool or manually load it on to a spare Dremel spool. I am quite impressed with the ease of use of the printer and the quality of the prints. You can select the quality of prints and to date, I have only used the low and medium quality options. I was surprised at the time it takes to make prints. Which is determined by the size, complexity, and the quality of prints you are making. Some of my prints using the medium quality print option have taken over 10 hours. I am using the printer to make components that must fit and work when assembled together. This was achievable after adjusting some of the dimensions of my design to allow for clearances I need to maintain within the assembly components. For an example, if you are printing a component that has a hole that needs to be a certain diameter, you must account for the nozzle diameter of the printer and adjust for it in the dimension you specify for the hole diameter. Given that, the printer prints with enough accuracy for my needs and prints reliably consistent. Because of the duration of some print times, the built-in camera is a nice feature that provides an adequate picture quality to determine if your printing has completed or more importantly, gone awry. It would be nice if the remaining print time is provided while monitoring remotely. The printer has an option to print remotely but I have not used it and cannot comment on that only to say I am not sure if I will ever use it because based on the limited experience, it seems the most critical time in the printing process seems to be in the initial stages so I like to be there so I can abort the print if there is a problem. Plus, you have to periodically prepare the build plate. So far, I have experienced very few misprints and I attribute them to poor design of prints on my part and trying to squeeze out one more print before taking the time to clean the build plate and apply another application of glue. If you are new to 3D printing, this sounds like a hassle but it is really quite simple. When you remove the build plate and reinsert it which is really quite simple as well, you should level it. The printer walks you through it and it takes less than a minute. I cannot speak about other printers and cannot make any comparisons but this one is amazingly easy to use. I am incredibly pleased with it and would recommend it to anyone who is new to 3D printing and plans on eventually becoming an experienced printer. My only criticisms are relatively minor and do not impact the functionality of the printer but perhaps Dremel can account for these on future models. 1) The front access door sags a bit when it is opened requiring you to lift up on it slightly when you close and latch it in place. No biggie but sadly it is noticeable every time you open and close the door and takes away from the otherwise nice design of the enclosure. 2) The touch screen is nice except that it displays 4 files at a time which results in the file names being truncated in the display. When you are naming your files keep this in mind and avoid similarly named files. 3) After time, the enclosure collects dust and printing debris so I like to wipe it out with a damp paper towel. At the point where the floor of the printer meets the front access door, there is a raised lip preventing you from easily wiping the dust out of the enclosure. As I said these are very minor criticisms. The only noteworthy complaint I have about this printer is the size of the build volume but I knew how big it was before purchasing it so I really cannot complain about it.

I bought this printer because I was in a bind, and needed something that would work right out of the box... and I needed is FAST, to complete some orders within a deadline. I also needed something that would print Nylon well, and with no issues, again right out of the box. I use Prusa Mk3s for most of my production- And, if I'd have had time, would have just ordered another one of them. But- I didn't have time for it to arrive and to get it assembled. So, after reading reviews and doing some research, I bought this one. Don't want to read a long review? Here are the Pros and Cons- PROS- -Prints well, right out of the box. -Easy, guided setup. -No assembly, testing, or tweaking -Easy to use touch screen interface, Web based 'cloud' printing through WIFI, and easy to use slicer included -Great US based customer support -Fully enclosed, VERY quiet. -All metal hotend can handle just about any filament Cons- -Build area is on the small side -Designed to use Dremel filaments. You CAN use 3rd party, but you'll have to make some changes. Dremel spools are smaller than 'normal' spools. -A little tough to adjust settings while printing If you still think it might be for you, read on! So- How easy is it REALLY to set up? From opening the box to starting the first print was less than 20 minutes, and most of that time was spent removing all the packing material. This machine is ready to go, right out of the box. All you really have to do (other than remove all of the packaging!) is to put the bed in place and load the filament. Oh, you have to plug it in, too... I switched it on, and it walks you through the setup, first connecting to your WiFi network. I loaded one of the included filament rolls. The printer does not have a self leveling bed, but it uses an assisted leveling process to get everything set. It's quick and painless, the printer tells you EXACTLY what to do. Since my first time leveling, I have not had to relevel the bed yet. I have checked it a few times, but it's always OK. You have several options to control the printer- Using the web interface, the touch screen, or via a USB connected computer. For the first print, I decided to just use one of the files that was preloaded in the printer, with the touch screen. You scroll through a couple of easy to navigate menus using the touch screen interface, hit start, and let it go. The first print turned out nice. For the next print, I used the web-based interface. There is a slicer online, but I chose to use the slicing software that came with the printer, The DigiLab Slicer. Those who are familiar with Cura will immediately recognize it- it's Dremel's own version. It is quick and easy to use, and like other versions of Cura allows you to do a lot of custom setting changes to tweak your prints as needed. I chose to do a 'benchy' so I could compare it to the others I have printed on my other printers. I uploaded it, and sent it to the printer via Dremel's online interface. The really cool thing about printing from the cloud is the video monitoring- I can check in on it any time i want to on my iPhone or computer. And, when the print is done, I get an Email that includes a time lapse video of the entire print. The Benchy turned out great. Not QUITE as nice as the ones that I print on my Prusas, but bear in mind i'm getting this quality of output right out of the box. So- Next thing to try is a more 'exotic' filament- Nylon. I've always had difficulty with nylon, and have avoided it. I read a lot of reviews about this printer that said it did a great job with Nylon. So, I loaded the included spool of Nylon filament and gave it a shot. The first thing that I printed was a simple wall hook. It printed very nicely- Almost flawless. The strength and flexibility of nylon prints is unbelievable. I'm really looking forward to using more of it. The printer is 'optimized' for using Dremel filaments- In fact, the filament spools have RFID chips in them that allow the printer to identify what kind of filament you have loaded. You are not restricted to only Dremel brand, though, it can also use other filaments as well. The Dremel uses a smaller spool size, so you'll have to make some arrangements to use the materials from other manufacturers. You'll also have to tell the printer what the filament type is since there won't be a chip for it to read. I found a new cover for the filament spool opening on Thingiverse that has an opening to feed the filament through, and I mount my filament on a spool holder next to the printer. I have put several spools of 'third party' filament through my 3D45- Mostly PETG. It prints it beautifully. If you're looking for a 3D printer that is going to work right out of the box- With no tinkering or assembly, this is a great choice. If you use just the Dremel Filaments, it will be about as painless a process as 3D printing can be- You will just hit the 'print' button and come back later to take your print off the bed. It is about as easy to use and user friendly as a 3d printer can be. This is where 3D printing needs to go to make it more 'mainstream'... Not everyone enjoys playing with settings and tinkering- Some just want to PRINT! **UPDATE** I've now had this printer up and running for about 3 weeks. I have it going just about 24/7 for about the previous two weeks, producing PETG parts for a machine that I build and sell. It has performed flawlessly, and has produced incredible parts that are both accurate and strong. I decided to try out some other filaments on it, too. The last two pics are items printed with Carbon Fiber PLA. I used SunTop 3d filament, which is available on Amazon. The quality of the prints is incredible- Both of them are right off the build sheet.

After many months of online research, reviewing YouTube and blogs it became obvious that the best choice was to spend a little more money and purchase a quality 3D Printer. This was my first personal printer, but I have had a few years experience with a professional, engineering unit. With a few years of work experience with printers, I had a good understanding on the process to print and the need for a high quality print to achieve necessary results for prototyping etc. The Dremel 3D45 offered not only high quality prints, but an excellent selection of usable resins. After having unpacked my shipment from Amazon, as specified on the Dremel website, the 3D45 was virtually ready to plug in and print. The unit is well manufactured, sturdy (a little heavy) and manufactured with quality parts. This became more evident with the first print, observing the precise automatic palette levelling and electro/mechanical movement. Set-up is easy and straightforward, with clear and well detailed instructions. A first time user would have no difficulty navigating the initial set-up. The only difficulty I encountered was the touch screen size/font for internet set-up, made keying in passwords very difficult for the normal man with normal fingers. (I suggest a touch screen stylist) Set-up was completed in about 90 minutes, and printing a sample model confirmed the print quality. Printing some personal prototype designs with Ultra Quality settings were virtually perfect with minimal surface finishing needed. Change over from the various resin spools was easy and quick. Whether you're an experienced 3D printer, or a novice I highly recommend you consider spending the extra money and ensure yourself a printer that will last a long time, has the backing and guarantee of a well known, respected manufacturer, as well as the peace of mind that Service (if needed) will be available. Many of the complaints I've read about cheaper, 3D printers highlighted the issues about Service and Tech Support. I am confident Dremel will stand behind their 3D printers like all Dremel products. At the end of the day, I have zero regrets or complaints about purchasing this high quality printer.

The Dremel 3D45 is an excellent printer with an easy learning curve and extensive capabilities. Out of the box, the printer was practically ready to use after inserting the filament which was recognized by the RFID chip and configured the printer's settings for optimal use. Upon use, the great quality and speed of its prints impressed me; this machine is truly a workhorse backed by the reliability one can expect from Dremel. With features such as a touchscreen, a large build volume, and a heated printing bed, the 3D45 is ready to tackle advanced materials like Nylon, ECO-ABS, and PETG with ease. Coupled with its focus on usability from the Dremel 3D printing ecosystem and safety from its fully enclosed design it is no surprise why this is one of the best printers on the market. This 3D printer is a great option for beginners or experienced makers alike who are looking for a machine that makes the printing process simple and effective.

Within 10 minutes of unpacking this thing, I printed off a sample that was so precise that I just had to shake my head. This is one excellent machine, my first. There are some intricacies to it though, most of them dealing with the firmware or the software. Overall the software for slicing STL files is really, really awful., starting with a GUI that has grey text on white background and extremely poor color choices for everything to do with slicing. The stand-alone computer software (Dremel Digilab) is NOT as good as the online cloud version which has more options, but still a crappy GUI. It's hard to read, has ambiguous commands, poor documentation. The filament is more expensive than others but the Dremel filament can be sensed for type and the printer settings set accordingly. Good for starting anyway. It's a beautiful machine, very well constructed, and the two very large plastic covers are great to keep an eye on your printing. Heated bed and cool leveling system is top notch. The local color LCD display is like the software: terrible color choices, with no contrast at all. When your file is loaded a poor rendition of it is shown in orange on the screen but it is so illegible that you have to go by the file name. Dremel can do a LOT better in this area.

The 3D45 is a capable 3D printer that has out preformed my previous printer in many ways. I use a painters tape on the build platform and get fantastic adhesion. The enclosed design is one of the main reasons I got this model, it provides great stable temperatures for printing more finicky types of filament and has an air filter on the back to reduce some of the odour/gasses. Filament feed as been great and prints come out fairly clean with good layer adhesion. The semi-automated levelling procedure is a DREAM compared to my last printer which was fully manual, this has also been one of my favourite features. The printer also comes with some glue and a scraper plus a couple (full roll) filament types which is a nice touch. The main con is what most people have mentioned, the proprietary spool sizes. If you stick to dremel spools it's very convenient with the RFID chips that provide default print parameters (which have all been good so far) and it tucks away nicely inside the machine (also good for temperatures). But ultimately you're locked in to a specific vendor unless you rewind cheaper filament onto Dremel spools. I've also found the cloud interface a bit lacking, it's clunky to use and difficult to find the portal to access it, and I've never been able to successfully upload a print to the printer through this interface. Luckily the silcer software is very capable and connects with the printer over my local network (I ran cat5 to the printer). Overall I'd definitely recommend this printer to hobbyists/enthusiasts.

Printer worked great for about 2 years then started crapping out. Dremel support was nice enough to send me a new extruder including the stepper motor which at first seemed to fix the problem. It soon became apparent that the machine still wasn't working properly. The Dremel support staff first tried to convince me that the problem was with my design process or the .stl file I was using, but after it failed to print a very simple model (shown in the attached picture) the support staff just ignored my email. I have only used Dremel brand filament in the printer and it was in extremely good condition at the time of failure. Perhaps this type of 3D printer technology (extruder type) is only supposed to last for a relatively short while? Also as an added bonus, the machine only works with the Dremel slicer program which was very buggy and consistently crashed on a 2020 MacBook Air (M1) running Big Sur.