Robo R2 (2018) - Review 2022

When I first tested the Robo R2 3D printer in late 2022, it was problematic on several levels. It was fourth dimension-consuming to calibrate, its print quality was uneven, and—worst of all—the impact screen often would not respond to fifty-fifty the simplest commands. The visitor recently approached me with a revamped version. Information technology has a new operating system to make the printer more than responsive and easier to set up, plus tweaks to the print bed and leveling sensor. I'm pleased to report that the user experience is considerably improve. Print quality is improved, scale is easier, and the touch screen is generally more responsive. Although information technology falls short of unseating the Dremel DigiLab 3D45 as our Editors' Choice midrange 3D printer, the 2022 Robo R2 ($one,499.99) is a noticeable improvement over the original R2 and is, for the most office, a pleasance to apply. It's a good midrange choice when the amount of vertical printing expanse matters.

One Substantial 3D Printer

The rebooted Robo R2 is a alpine, fashionable printer, measuring 23.viii by 16.viii by 16.6 inches (HWD) and weighing 25.v pounds. It has an off-white frame with an open top, gently curving sides with large plastic windows for viewing the print bed, and a see-through front door with a magnetic latch. A 5-inch touch screen is set beneath the door.

The build area is 10 by viii by eight inches (HWD), a bit larger than that of the Dremel 3D45 (6.vii by 10 by half dozen inches), and closer to square than the MakerBot Replicator+, our Editors' Pick high-finish 3D printer, whose build area measures 6.five by 11.half-dozen by 7.half dozen inches.

The Robo R2 has an open up acme, with sides that are primarily clear plastic windows. In front end is a door that yous open up to remove printed objects or for maintenance, and shut when a print job has commenced. The fact that, commonly, only the top is open during printing profoundly reduces the chances of anyone existence burned past touching the hot extruder, equally you lot would take to accomplish downward underneath the build sleeping room to reach the extruder from the top when the door is closed.

The open superlative has one disadvantage, though: The Robo R2 (2018) is fairly noisy. I was occasionally distracted past its sounds, even at a distance of some 25 feet.

Getting the Robo Set

To set upward the printer, I followed the quick-showtime guide that Robo includes. After unboxing the unit and removing the packing material from around the print bed and extruder, you remove tape, zip ties, and clips that stabilize the extruder assembly and other components during shipping. After that, you connect the power cord—which includes a ability adapter—with the printer and an electrical outlet. A couple of minutes later you turn the ability on, the impact screen—which initially displays a Robo logo—shows a menu with iii main tabs: Files, Printer, and Utility.

From the Files tab, you tin select files to print from retention or from a USB pollex bulldoze. (A USB port is merely to the left of the display.) From the Printer tab, you tin can command the temperature of the extruder and the print bed, likewise equally the extruder'southward position in 3 dimensions. The Utilities tab lets yous launch wizards to perform various setup and maintenance functions, including filament loading and Z-axis calibration.

This printer has 2 filament spool holders around the back. I used only ane, equally the 2nd is intended for ii-colour printing, for when Robo introduces a promised dual-extruder-caput kit. To load filament, you extend the top spool-holder rod downwards to a horizontal position. You lot so insert one end of the filament feed tube into a hole in a nearby sensor block, and the other into the acme of the extruder assembly. One time you put a filament spool onto the holder, you tin can feed filament from the loose finish of the spool into the sensor block and through the feed tube.

You and so launch the filament-loading sorcerer, which heats the extruder. To feed filament into the extruder, y'all press a push button on the top of the extruder (which requires a bit of force) while pushing down on the filament until it meets resistance. From there, gears should pull the filament strand into the heating bedroom. In one case the molten filament starts coming out of the nozzle, the loading is complete.

One prissy characteristic of the Robo R2 is that information technology doesn't employ proprietary filament cartridges and is compatible with other types of 1.75mm filament, in addition to the standard acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and polylactic acid (PLA) kinds. (Run into our explainer for more than on 3D printer filament types.) Robo itself sells 1.1-pound spools of PLA filament for $xx per spool, with specialty filaments (forest, carbon cobweb, metallic, and glow-in-the-dark) for $35 to $40. Glass-fiber filament costs $89 per spool. These specialty filaments contain fibers or shavings of wood, carbon, metal, or glass, and retain some of the properties of those materials. Robo also sells 2.two-pound spools of PLA and ABS for $35 each.

Calibrating the Robo R2

A 3D printer's Z-axis is its vertical axis, and calibrating it ensures that when a impress chore commences, the extruder is placed just above the print bed, shut plenty to slide a slice of paper under and meet slight resistance. (Robo includes a "Z-Offset Tool"—a lilliputian card—for this purpose, but a sheet of paper or a Post-It should do just besides.) When you launch the Z-offset wizard, the print bed volition ascend until information technology comes to remainder a bit below the extruder nozzle. You so move the impress bed toward the extruder in increments of either 0.1mm or 0.2mm.

I was able to calibrate the Z-axis much more than quickly with this model than with the original Robo R2. Even better, one time the Z-centrality is calibrated, the printer retains the setting, and then you lot don't accept to recalibrate it after every print.

The residue of the calibration process, which ensures that the print bed is level, is automated. With some 3D printers, the entire process is automatic, although with many models you all the same take to manually calibrate the Z-axis as with the R2.

A Amend Bear on Screen

In the course of testing the original Robo R2, when I pressed whatever of the touch screen's buttons, oft zip would happen. After speaking to a technical rep at Robo, I got the screen to work more consistently past jabbing or poking the buttons (rather than just applying pressure), either with a finger or with the stylus that comes in the Robo R2's accompaniment kit.

Fortunately, with the 2022 version of the printer, information technology doesn't require a Herculean try to get the screen to respond. Normal force per unit area, either with a finger or stylus, is usually enough. Sometimes, though, when working from the bear upon screen, the screen would freeze, and I would have to reboot the printer.

Command Software for Desktop and Mobile

For printing from a desktop computer, Robo offers an open up-source plan, Cura 2.5, which is unremarkably used by 3D printers, including the LulzBot Mini and the Ultimaker 2. The software is piece of cake to apply, and information technology lets you resize, move, and save objects; load multiple objects for press; and change the print resolution and other settings. Information technology has profiles for a number of filament types. You can transport files to the printer over a Wi-Fi or Ethernet connexion, or load them onto a USB thumb drive for direct printing.

In add-on to the desktop software, Robo offers the costless Robo iOS app, which lets you select 3D files stored on Dropbox or Google Drive from an Apple tree mobile device, ship them to the Robo R2 (or other Robo or OctoPrint-enabled 3D printer) for slicing and press, monitor the progress of prints on multiple printers (including from your R2's onboard camera), and change or purchase filament.

Printing Exam Samples

I printed nine test objects, using PLA filament supplied by Robo. I printed two at Cura's default normal-resolution setting of 100 microns, and the others at the depression-resolution setting of 200 microns. (The software too offers a loftier-resolution setting of 60 microns.) The quality difference between the prints at the two settings was lilliputian, but it took considerably longer for the normal-resolution prints. So, unless quality is paramount, y'all should be fine sticking to the low-res setting.

The print quality in our testing was consistently expert to very expert. With a test object consisting of geometric shapes and raised text arranged on a almost-vertical plane (the item in the center, below), the printer did very well in press text just less well at treatment areas with overhanging printed material. Impress quality wasn't quite the equal of the Editors' Choice Dremel DigiLab 3D45, but information technology was an improvement versus what nosotros saw with the original Robo R2, which showed inconsistent quality in testing.

An Improved R2

The 2022 version of the Robo R2 brings a bunch of positives to the Robo feature list: a reasonably roomy build area, the ability to print taller objects than some of its peers, support for an affluence of filament types, and a good set of connexion choices. The setup process and overall operation are easier than with the original Robo R2, though I all the same take some issues with the touch screen.

Too, print quality is better, and more than consequent, than what we saw from the original R2, though still shy of the best fused filament fabrication (FFF) printers nosotros've tested, including the Editors' Choice Dremel 3D45. Given its price and operation, the R2 is a proficient choice for hobbyists, loftier schools or colleges, and production designers or artists who want to work with more vertical printing space than many midrange 3D printers offer.

Source: https://sea.pcmag.com/printers/21495/robo-r2-2018

Posted by: myersreplach.blogspot.com

Share this post