If you’ve been with a 3D printing aficionado for a long time, you’ve probably heard the word “cloning” thrown around. To be honest, I refer to and use a not-unique 3D printer, many of the machines on the market today, and the Monoprice Joule takes cloning one step further. Boxerab Aquila X2, reviewed in 2021. “Rebadging” is when a company resells an existing product manufactured by another company under its own label. Costco has a lot of rebadged products. Anything with the Kirkland label was made by someone else and sold under Costco’s own brand.
Retailing at $199.99, the Monoprice Joule has similar features to the 2020 model. creative ender 3 v2 (opens in new tab) About $79 cheaper. Both machines have glass beds, manual leveling, Bowden extruders, and color LED interfaces with knobs.
While testing Joule, we found some unfortunate quality issues. It was cut with a protruding screw. The control knob was very unstable and had to be disassembled and cleaned. Also, the cooling fan started intermittently towards the end of the review. period. These flaws mean that the Joule does not fare well against other low-cost printers, making it very difficult to compete with the Joule. best 3d printer in that price range.
If you’re wondering why we’re considering a rebranded machine, the answer is simple. The average buyer doesn’t know the origins of this printer unless they open the case and look at the motherboard, which is clearly marked “Aquila.” Monoprice is his website for popular consumer electronics, and many shoppers are new to 3D printing. For most people, this is a great looking machine for a great price.
Specifications: Monoprice Joule
| machine footprint | 18.6 x 18.9 x 18.6 inches (473mm x 480 x 473mm) |
| build volume | 220 x 220 x 250 mm (8.5 x 8.5 x 9.8 inches) |
| material | PLA/PETG/TPU |
| Extruder type | Boden |
| nozzle | .4mm (replaceable) |
| build platform | coated glass, heating |
| filament runout sensor | No |
| bed leveling | manual |
| connectivity | microSD card, micro USB |
| interface | Color LED with knob |
Monoprice Joule: Included
Monoprice Joule comes with everything you need to set up your printer. Get tools to build and maintain a printer, side cutter, metal scraper, nozzle cleaner, spare nozzles, and a microSD card with USB adapter. There is also a small sample of random colored PLA to print your first model.
The microSD card contains a PDF copy of the manual, a custom slicer called FlashPrint-MP, and models in both pre-sliced .gcode and .stl formats. Included in the sample file are two of his practical prints of a tool caddy that attaches to Joule’s frame and an alternate spool holder bracket.
at monoprice video tutorial If you need help, YouTube will walk you through the build process.
Monoprice Joule design
The Monoprice Joule is a traditional FDM 3D printer made from black aluminum extrusions, bare screws and some plastic parts. Oddly enough, the fan’s cover still has his Voxelab logo on Aquila it’s based on. It doesn’t look as sleek as printers on the market today that use flat aluminum bars.
It features a plastic extruder with a handy tension knob to help tighten the Bowden tubes and belts. all in one footprint.
I should add that the Y-axis tensioner was mounted on a threaded rod that was too long sticking out of the knob. I didn’t realize it until I was bitten. This was easily resolved with a Dremel cut-off wheel, but it’s not the kind of hazard I was wary of when setting up his 3D printer.
There is no tool storage for the printer, but you can create your own using the sample files included on the microSD card. Alternative brackets are also available if you prefer to mount the spool holder on the side.
The Joule has a quiet stepper motor, but a rather noisy cooling fan. The 32-bit motherboard is clearly Aquila’s.
The bed has a coated glass pane and is secured with two easy-to-remove clips. The bed has a nice grip, but it does require a bit of sanding to remove the print.
Assembling the Monoprice Joule
Monoprice Joule is a DIY kit. That means you have to assemble most printers yourself. It’s both a way to cut costs and a way to truly understand the inner workings of a 3D printer. It took about an hour to assemble this machine.
The assembly instructions are clear, but if you need more help, Monoprice has an excellent YouTube. assembly video can follow. The screws are separated into labeled bags for your convenience. All the wiring is marked so it’s very easy.
Monoprice Joule Leveling
Monoprice Joule requires manual bed leveling and has no built-in program to help. You have to home the printer, disable the stepper, and physically push the tool head into each corner. Slide a piece of paper under the nozzle and adjust the wheel until it just scrapes the nozzle.
If you need more help, we have a guide to manual bed leveling.
One issue I had with the Joule was that the springs were weak and put very little tension on the wheels. Moving the bed by hand was very easy to get the bed out of level. This is easily fixed with replacement springs. Creality printers have had the same issues for a long time and use the same parts as the Ender 3. Amazon’s Ender 3 Upgrade Kit (opens in new tab) This fixes common problems before they wreak havoc on new printers.
Loading filament into the Monoprice Joule
One thing that impressed me was Joule’s filament loading and unloading program which was very helpful in making changing filaments easy.from the main menu[コントロール]and select[自動ロード]Scroll down to The machine will automatically heat up and advance the filament. It will not stop loading, so you have to wait. You have to tell it when to stop.
To unload the material, reverse the process.
File/software preparation for Monoprice Joule
Monoprice Joule comes with a copy of FlashPrint-MP, a custom Monoprice slicer containing Joule’s profile. Ultimaker Cura and PrusaSlicer are popular alternatives that are free to download. These slicers don’t have Joule’s profile, but can be easily substituted with the Ender 3 Pro, which is the same size and has similar equipment.
FlashPrint-MP also includes some example files like this twisty, snakey snake.
Printing with Monoprice Joule
Monoprice included a translucent red PLA sample coil with joules. This was a refreshing change from the boring white samples I’ve seen on other printers. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to print all the pre-sliced files on the microSD card. You’ll no doubt need more filament, so check out our guide to the best filaments for 3D printing for examples of some of our favorite materials.
Jules was really impressed when a pre-sliced file called “test” printed without stringiness or the slightest blob. You can see that it is sliced at a printing speed of 50mm/s. It took 1 hour and 20 minutes to print.
switched to Protopasta Recycled Black PLA Print another sliced sample file included with Joule. This toolbox can slide into the groove in the base of the printer. There was no stringing and the support came off quickly. It was printed in about 7 hours using a layer height of 0.2 mm and a speed of 50 mm/s.
Bendy Snake test print, Raspberry Gold Quantum from Matterhackers. (opens in new tab) The very sticky bed was just what I needed for this print as it touches the bed in many small spots. is exaggerated to 0.2 mm. Printed in 1 hour 15 minutes at 50mm/s.
I wanted to print something bigger, this supports the free ChaosCoreTech Pikachu Printed at 200% to fit your bill.this is using Matterhackers Raspberry Gold Quantum (opens in new tab), there were a few rough spots around the ears, but otherwise it’s a smooth, clean print. line is where printing resumed. It was printed in 9 hours and 11 minutes using a layer height of 0.2 mm and a speed of 65 mm/s.
PETG had no problems at all. There were a few random bits that were easily brushed off.used green gate purple rain Recycled PETG for printing ChaosCoreTech poison bottleYou can see the filling because the walls were a little thin against the translucent filament. This at 65mm he printed in 5 hours 35 minutes at a layer height of 0.2mm.
TPU was less successful, which is not surprising for single-gear Bowden extruders.printed this flexilex When Inland Black TPU (opens in new tab)This dinosaur could be cleaned up with just a little trimming. It was printed in 2 hours 50 minutes at a layer height of 0.2 mm and a speed of 40 mm/s.
Conclusion
The Monoprice Joule is a basic machine that is a good starting point for beginners wanting to try 3D printing without breaking the bank. It retails for $199.99, making it cheaper than the popular Creality Ender 3 v2 it’s being imitated. It has a lot in common with the Ender 3 series of printers, so upgrades and replacement parts are easy to find.
Joule’s biggest drawback is that it’s a “new” printer that doesn’t bring anything new. Print quality is generally good, but quality control is a bit questionable. The fact that his review of the Voxelab Aquila X2 for 2021 saw a vibration issue with the control knobs means that no one has tried to fix this problem or is using leftover parts. .
If you’re looking for a beginner-friendly cheap printer, Elegon Neptune 2S (opens in new tab), currently priced at $204, is a DIY kit with a better PEI flexible bed. Our pick for the best compact printer, the Ender 2 Pro, which often retails for $140, is a great starting point for budget shoppers.
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