Kidoodle MiniBox A1 Review – Kid-Friendly 3D Printer

The Kidoodle MiniBox A1 is a 3D printer designed to kickstart your child’s 3D printing journey. It has normal 3D printer capabilities with a toy form-factor so kids can easily use it. It is the perfect companion for kids to help bring their imagination into reality.

This will be a simple review of the Kidoodle MiniBox A1. We’ll go over various aspects of the printer such as its features, specifications, benefits, downsides, and unboxing process. Keep reading!

Features

• Fast Print Speeds
• LCD Touch Screen
• Kidoodle App and Slicer
• Dual-Band WiFi Connectivity
• PEI Magnetic Build Plate
• Quick Assembly
• Resume Print Function
• Advanced Safety Functions
• Direct Drive Extruder
• Online Catalogue for Models

Fast Print Speeds

One key feature of the Kidoodle MiniBox A1 is that it can print at high speeds. It has a maximum print speed of 600mm/s which allows it to complete a 3D benchy in just 21 minutes. Although at this speed, there is a little loss in quality in the printed model. But most kids aren’t really concerned with the details on the print.

This particular feature comes in handy when you consider how impatient kids can get. Completing the models in the shortest available time is very important to them due to their short attention span.

LCD Touch Screen

Another great feature of the Kidoodle is its LCD touchscreen. Its bright and colorful display is sure to grab the attention of kids. It was specifically designed to be user-friendly so that kids can easily find their way through the printing process.

The LCD’s UI is fluid and very functional. You can easily tweak the printer’s settings and select the model you want to print using the screen.

Kidoodle App and Slicer

For added control, the Kidoodle printer comes with a mobile app that you can install on your phone. Once you download the app, you can scan the QR on the LCD screen to download it or you can install it directly from your phone’s app store.

After configuring the app, it will give you remote access to the printer’s controls just like the LCD. You can also record your children’s prints and manage multiple 3D printers on the app.

The printer has its own slicer called Kidoodle Slicer that is based on Cura for printing. This slicer is much simplified since it’s meant for kids.

Its functionality is a little limited because you can only tweak a few settings like the nozzle temperature, layer height, enable supports, etc. You can also adjust the orientation and size, and create duplicates of the model. You can install the Kidoodle Slicer from the USB drive that comes with the printer.

Dual-Band WiFi Connectivity

You get dual-band WiFi compatibility (2.4/5.0GHz). This allows you to enjoy the benefits of both network bands. It also helps prevent network congestion as you can switch between both bands.

You are sure to either enjoy the network stability of the 2.4GHz band or the fast speeds of the 5.0GHz band during file transfer. For a 3D printer labeled a toy, this feature definitely is no child’s play when you consider that some more expensive printers do not support this feature.

PEI Magnetic Steel Plate

The PEI magnetic steel plate is another important feature of this machine This is because it does not come with a heated bed which is necessary for optimal bed adhesion.

This is why a PEI magnetic steel plate is used instead. It has a gritty surface which increases its adhesion properties and anti-warping properties during printing. Even without a hotbed, you can still print materials like ABS and PETG by applying glue on its surface before printing.

Once you’re done printing, you can easily pop off the bed and flex it to remove your models with ease.

They do give you a second plate which is good, but the durability isn’t the best. After taking one of the models off the bed, it took a small chunk out of the bed with it.

Quick Assembly

It comes already assembled from the box. You only need to attach its accessories and power it and you’re good. For a product designed for kids, this is good practice. It doesn’t require any bed leveling, but you may need to adjust the Z-offset before you begin printing.

Resume Print Function

Like most 3D printers out there, the MiniBox A1 has the “resume print” feature. This is a very key feature as it helps continue a print session when power is restored after an outage.

Because the thought of watching kids have power outage mid-print and having to start over again would have been a worrying sight to behold.

This feature would help save time, filament cost, and the cost of electricity required to restart the print all over.

Advanced Safety Features

The makers of this 3D printer definitely had the best interests of kids at heart by incorporating safety features for kids. Children can be very inquisitive and unpredictable because they can just decide to place their hands on certain areas of the printer while it’s working.

This is why they designed the 3D printer to make a loud beep once the door of the printer is opened. Also, it stops printing and it immediately reduces the nozzle temperature.

There is also a child-lock feature that can be used by parents to limit the capabilities of the printer.

Even with these safety features, Kidoodle does not recommend leaving kids unsupervised while the printer is in operation.

Direct Drive Extruder

Another great feature of the MiniBox A1 is that it has a direct drive system for printing. This allows it to print various types of filaments including flexible filaments like TPU, since most of their toys will require TPU filament. Also, with this system, kids can easily insert and swap filaments from the nozzle unlike in Bowden systems.

Online Catalogue for Models

Kidoodle has an online catalog of models that can be printed, at a touch of a button. It has 6 different categories including; construction, toys, animals, numbers, cartoons, and traffic which kids can select from. If they are indecisive, they can randomly select a model and find out what they’ve selected once it’s done printing.

Specifications

• Technology: FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling)
• Print Volume: 100 x 100 x 100 mm
• Printer Size: 312x 312x 352mm
• Extruder Type: Single
• Printing Platform: PEI Steel Sheet
• Nozzle Diameter: 0.4 mm
• Layer Precision:  ±0.1mm
• Layer Height: 0.1-0.3mm
• Max. Print Speed: 600 mm/s
• Printer Weight: 2.5kg
• Power Input: 110/240V
• Connectivity: SD card, USB cable and WiFi
• Display: TFT Touchscreen
• Max Extruder Temperature: 260°C
• Slicer Software: Kidoodle
• Supported Filaments: PLA/PLA+/SILK PLA, PETG, TPU, ABS.

Benefits

• Light, compact, and portable.
• Very large, colorful, and intuitive touchscreen for easy use.
• It comes pre-programmed with models that you can print and an online library to also choose from.
• Fitted with rubber felts to help dampen the vibrations during printing and ensure stability.
• Kids will find it very easy to use
• Great companion for kids as it can help bring out their creativity.
• There are safety protection features put in place to ensure smooth operation.
• You can upgrade the filament spool holder to hold 1KG spools with the G-code provided in the USB.

Downsides

• It doesn’t have a heating element under the bed, although the glue stick helps compensate against adhesion issues.
• The bed size is only big enough to print miniatures.
• At high print speeds, it can be very noisy.
• The USB it came with didn’t have the folder in the right place so the files didn’t show up. You have to create a folder called kidoodle with lowercase k on the root folder.
• The slicer might be a little too simple. Supports are only one button and can’t add manual support or a stronger support setting.
• The filament scraper can come loose quite easily and it’s tricky to put back on with the small spring and small space.

Here’s an example of the supports failing on a model I imported into the slicer. This one support has to hold this section up until it gets to the main body. Unfortunately the model fails there.

Unboxing & Assembly

The Kidoodle 3D printer comes in a very handy, compact, and lightweight box. When you open the box, you will see the 3D printer and its accessories, well-packaged with styrofoam and transparent plastic bags.

After taking all the contents out of the box, you should have the following on your table.

• Kidoodle 3D Printer
• PEI sheet
• USB drive
• PTFE Tube
• Filament Rack
• User Manual
• Tool Bag
• Power Adapter
• Platform Glue.
• 250g Filament

The printer is pretty much assembled straight from the box. It just requires a few tweaks to get it running. The user manual is really easy to follow.

• Remove the adhesive stickers on the plastic bag so that you can access the 3D printer.
• Open the printer’s door and remove the pieces of Styrofoam blocks.
• Remove the rear cover and remove the Styrofoam blocks there as well.

• Attach the filament holder to the back of the printer and hang the filament spool on it.
• Insert one end of the PTFE tube provided, to the back of the printer and the other end through the top cover of the printer and into the nozzle head.
• Insert the filament through the PTFE tube till it gets to the nozzle.

• Connect the power cable to the mains and plug it into the printer.

At this point, the printer should power up and begin its booting sequence. You will be asked to scan the QR code on the screen so that you can download the Kidoodle app.

With the app installed on your phone, simply pair the app to your printer and you’re good. You should be able to control the printer with your phone once the app is set up.

You can check out this video from Kidoodle as it goes step-by-step from unboxing to assembling.

Customer Reviews

One user said that the Kidoodle 3D printer is a very easy 3D printer to use and he only sees it as a toy for kids to get into 3D printing. He also said that having someone around who knows how to use a 3D printer is highly recommended, especially at the beginning. Because they have to ensure the printer’s settings are optimal. For example, getting the right Z-offset, positioning the PEI plate correctly, detecting clogs in the nozzle, etc.

You can check out this video from Figure Feedback which gives a detailed review about the Kidoodle 3D printer.

Here’s another video from Geek Detour as he goes from unboxing to sharing his print results with his daughter.

Print Quality

The print quality of the Kidoodle MiniBox A1 is pretty good overall. I’ve put pictures of the models below. Some models have a bit of banding and show the layer lines quite a bit, especially the silk filament.

The surface I’m using for the 3D printer isn’t the most stable, so having a more stable surface can help to improve print quality.

The Kidoodle MiniBox A1 is a nice 3D printer for kids, simple, has safety features, and produces decent quality at high speeds.

There are still some upgrades I think are needed but for a first version of this 3D printer, it’s a great start. I’m looking forward to seeing how things progress and I’d recommend it as a good 3D printer for kids.