Review: HICTOP i3 Prusa variant

I just got my HICTOP 3DP17 assembled and running. I had ordered it on a Thursday, paid the extra $20 for expedited shipping and it arrived (from China) the next Tuesday.

My life has been a little hectic lately so I could only work on it in snatches. It took about seven hours over the course of about seven days to put it together. I did spend extra time going back and re-routing/bundling the wiring to keep it clean but loose and to clear the workspace in all extremes of the XYZ range. Don't tidy up the wiring until you are all done and, again, mind the way the carriage moves so you neither restrict it or pinch a wire.

The kit was well thought out and included small tools, zip ties and paper tape for the bed, which I didn't use. The instructions were in a PDF that came on a CD. Only a couple improvements to suggest: there were no 2MM screws or nuts, I had to buy those locally. Also, they should make sure to add to the instructions that the X and Y limits switches and the proximity sensor plug into the X-, Y- and Z- sockets. I had mine in the X+, Y+ and Z+ sockets and the steppers keep crashing against the stops.

Other wise, I am VERY impressed with this printer, the kit and the instruction PDF. It seems well made, carefully put together and of good quality. T e assembly instructions are clear, simple and easy to follow. The PDF would stop after a section and do a checklist to verify you had done and checked everything so far before moving on. The English was perfect, by the way.

My first print came out perfectly with very fine resolution, quite smooth even on a rounded surface. And QUIET!You can barely hear it.

For $370 USD (with free shipping) this must be the best buy in the 3D printer market. 24V power supply, linear guide bearings, aluminum frame, LCD, SD slot or USB, good steppers, auto leveling that actually works, filament monitoring -- a very robust package indeed.

Because it's a Prusa variant, it's all open source. Spare parts from my Wanhao i3 go right on this one too.

The few changes I'm going to make are:
- swap out the (good) MK8 metal hot end (with PTFE throat) with a Micro Swiss hardened all-metal MK10 hot end so I can print metallics and maybe carbon fiber (if they ever make one that is not so brittle)
- put a few LEDs around the gantry and hanging off the fan mount to illuminate the work as well as make an enclosure.
- cover the underside of the hot bed with four layers of aluminum foil to reflect the heat back up and keep the bed a more even and stable temperature
- put a PEI sheet on for the printing surface

Another nice thing is support. No matter where you buy your HICTOP you still get factory support and warranty coverage.They have a Facebook page, email and website to get help. My one question was responded to in several hours.

So far, I give it a BIG thumbs up.

Note, HICTOP labels their printers as 3DP XX and all are improvements on the one before. They go from about 11 to my 17. The earlier ones were also very good (I guess it's hard to screw up a Prusa design) but the 17 has the leveling and filament monitor plus 24V power supply.

As I print more filaments with it I will post updates.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HICTOP-Reprap-P … SwU-pXq-kA