====== Qidi Plus 4 ======

===== About =====

This printer is the newer little brother to the X-MAX 3. Most of the specs are very similar, but this version has a bit more polish and supports multi-material printing. What I would consider the killer feature of this over something like a Bambu Labs is that both the chamber and multi-material unit are heated so you can guarantee dry filament from beginning to end on any print. This helps a lot with the more exotic filaments. Bambu Labs relies on fiber fill in most of their 'exotic' filaments to help diminish shrinkage, but quite often fiber fill is not actually desirable in a finished part. In FDM printing the fibers are too short and tend to make the material weaker and stiffer rather than improving both. This is fine if you just need the stiffest possible part, but if you want superior strength you can't beat a heated chamber and a filament without fiber fill.

This printer kind of makes the X-MAX 3 I have look like a toy. It has much better fit and finish with glass panels rather than plastic inserts and a more refined shape. Even the screen is now separate and adjustable rather than molded in and hard to see in bad lighting conditions. I still use the X-MAX 3 for most of my printing because I have more tuned profiles, but this printer has become the go to printer if I need multi-color printing or want to print supports in a different material. This allows for a lot higher quality print if there are big overhangs or fine features that need support.