LABISTS X1 Mini – Entry-Level 3D Printer Review

The LABISTS entry-level 3D printer is a light weight and compact device. It is one of the most affordable and cheapest 3D printers that are available in the market. It is a very beginner-friendly printer and is very easy to assemble. If you are starting out in 3D printing this is one of the best affordable solutions to get started with.

Why Consider The LABISTS X1 Mini 3D Printer?

The main reason that makes this printer one of a kind is the money you spend on it.

This 3D printer comes at a jaw dropping price tag of under $150. You can purchase the LABISTS X1 Mini from Amazon today.

If you are a hobbyist and want to pick 3D printing as a new one, this is the best choice for you to start. It is very easy to understand and assemble. It does not require any prior knowledge in 3D printing to begin with.

Many people quit 3D printing because of the complexity of setting up the machine itself, or with some of the technical issues that can occur. A 3D printer like this will ease you into the 3D printing field, without these troubleshooting problems so you can focus on the good side of it.

Within the package of this mini printer comes with 10 meters of non-toxic PLA without a spool, USB cable, card reader, a filament holder that can hold up to 250 grams of filament, a TF card with some test models installed in it and a screw driver kit.

Features of the LABISTS X1 Mini

• Detachable magnetic platform
• One click printing
• Quick heating aluminium nozzle
• Silent printing
• Fast slicing software
• Low power consumption
• Ready to use out of the box
• Uses non-toxic PLA

Detachable Magnetic Platform

The print plate is magnetic and flexible. It can be taken out of the printer when the printing is done. Once taken out, bending the plate will pop off the print model from its surface. This will not damage your printed model and avoids the trouble of scraping done on a normal fixed print bed.

3D prints that stick down too hard on a surface are never fun, so this feature is great for people who want to quickly remove their 3D prints to get on to the next print.

One-Click Printing

Unlike other printers that have many parameters to be tweaked before printing, the LABISTS X1 Mini printer will print immediately after inserting the TF card and pushing the button.

After inserting the TF card wait for the printer to heat up. When the printer is ready it will automatically start printing. This simplicity in operation makes the printer kid-friendly to use.

This kind of feature is why it’s such a great gift for kids and anyone interested in the technical world of 3D printing, because at first, it can seem quite intimidating.

Quick Heating Aluminium Nozzle

The print head uses a highly precise nozzle which can print small features within a range of layer thickness of 0.05 to 0.2mm. This is as much as most people would need for some great quality prints, which really mimic the model at hand.

It uses a professional aluminium nozzle which can heat up quickly to an extruding temperature of 180°C in 3 minutes. This is the extruding temperature for PLA. The print head does not get clogged easily.

Silent Printing

The printer is designed to work under 60db, which means it barely produces any sound. It is much silent compared to many other printers.

Fast Slicing Software

LABISTS 3D printer uses the latest version of Cura based slicing software. The software is made with unity and has a very interactive and user friendly user interface. Cura is very easy to operate and has simple modes to quickly slice your desired models, with the option to use more complex settings.

The software is capable of switching from STL to G-code files quickly.

Low Power Consumption

The printer comes with a 12-volt adapter and it works at 30W power. This means the printer consumes very less power compared to an average 3D printer which consumes above 70W of power.

It won’t cost much at all to run this entry-level printer, you’ll only mainly have to think about filament costs.

Ready to Use Out of the Box

This is one of the advantages of this printer. Unlike other 3D printers, in which you have to spend a lot of time calibrating and setting the device, the LABISTS 3D printer comes from the factory calibrated and ready to print.

Straight out the box, the printer comes with a sample of PLA filament and some preinstalled test models. This allows you to get started after assembling it.

Uses Non-Toxic PLA

The printer only uses PLA as its print material. This is due to the availability of PLA and its requirement of low extruding temperature. This eliminates the need for preheated print bed as PLA doesn’t compulsorily require one.

One top of all that the printer is aimed at being kid safe and PLA fits this criterion, being food safe and non-toxic. A 10-meter long 1.75 mm thick filament of PLA comes with the printer.

Specifications

Hardware

• Building size: 100 x 100 x 100mm
• Printing technology: FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling)
• Number of nozzles: 1
• Nozzle diameter: 0.4mm
• Layer thickness: 0.05 – 0.2mm
• Filament diameter: 1.75mm
• Extrusion temperature: 180°C
• Printed filament: PLA only
• Printing accuracy: 0.1 – 0.2mm
• Printing speed: 10 – 40 mm/s
• Print connection: TF card, USB cable
• Bed leveling: Manual
• Hotbed: Not required as it uses PLA only
• Construction platform: Removable
• Power: 12V, 30W

Software

• Input file format: .STL and .OBJ
• Output file format: .GCODE
• Supported operating systems: Windows XP/7/8/10 (32bit/64bit) and mac OS
• Slicer software: CURA, Simplify3D

Benefits

The Price

The main benefit of using this printer is the price of it. It is arguably one of the cheapest printers available in the market. It also gives a decent quality print compared to its price. There is a PLA filament that comes with the accessories, which is included with the pricing.

Ease of Setting Up

One of the main advantages of the LABISTS X1 Mini printer is its easiness to set it up. The printer comes out of the package in 3 major parts, the build platform, XY axis and the control box.

With very few screws and wires to connect, the user’s manual or a short assembly video is more than enough to set it up. Once set up, it is basically a plug and play situation. Manual calibration is not required here as everything was set in the manufacturing process.

You can test the printer by inserting the TF drive that came with the package. This drive contains some pre-installed models in it that are ready for printing. Once you push the button the printer starts printing automatically after heating the extruder.

Unlike other printers, it does not have a lot of buttons and setting to play with. All the operations can be performed with the help of 4 main buttons on the control box.

Easy to Remove the Print

The printer comes with a flexible removable platform. This type of platform has a huge advantage over the heavy fixed ones.

In the case of a fixed platform, the print should be taken from it using force due to the adhesion of its base on the platform. After that pieces of leftover plastic should be removed by scraping it out.

When it comes to the removable platform, the platform along with the print can be taken out and it can be bent so that the print pops out free.

Non-Toxic Nozzle

The nozzles used in most of the standard printers are brass which contains a small percentage of lead. This will not make the printed model food safe even if use a plastic that is food grade.

LABISTS 3D printer uses nozzles that are made aluminum, which is safe to use.

Minimalist Design & Weight

The design is very minimal with only 3 main parts. It is very compact and lightweight. The printer weighs around 1.9Kgs which makes it extremely portable. It’s light enough where kids can carry and handle this 3D printer with ease.

2-Year Warranty

There is always a suspicion on a product this cheap that it can be poor build that won’t last long. If you have been worrying about that, the 2-year warranty on the printer will be enough to change your opinion.

Along with the warranty, they provide a lifetime tech support through the mail ID: service@labists.com.

Downsides

Small Print Volume

The printer has a print area about 100mm x 100mm which limits the print volume. Hence we can only print small models with this printer, but this is expected for such a low-priced 3D printer.

Limitation in Troubleshooting

As the printer is calibrated at manufacturing time and does not have many parameters to tweak, it leaves us with the limitation of not being able to rectify any issue that could have been done if it offered some common parameters available in other printers.

Being extremely easy to use, it lacks all the versatility offered by other printers while printing.

Usage is Limited

The printer can be used only for making less precise, less complex small prints compared to other good printers. It does not give an industry level print. Hence it should be used mainly for personal use.

You probably wouldn’t aim to use this 3D printer to set up a 3D printing business of any sorts, more so for quick projects and items around the house.

Weak Build

The printer is lightweight because most of the parts are made of ABS plastic. Many crucial joints are made of this material. Hence the device should be handled with care as it could break apart under rough use.

ABS is very heat-resistant so you don’t have to worry about heat affecting the 3D printer, but just be careful not to drop the 3D printer.

What Do People Think After Purchasing LABISTS 3D Printer

Over the past year these printers have seen a lot of sales through the internet. Most of the sales took place online so these gave us a lot of opinions on the LABISTS X1 Mini.

Most people find this very helpful as it produces good prints without any issues during the first week or so. After multiple uses the printer can start to lose its precision and produces bad prints.

Some users found the problem to be caused by the plastic gears used to move the XY part. These gears can wear of quickly over a small amount of time.

Customers often found the print material that came along with the printer was low quality. The thickness of the LABISTS PLA filament is sometimes inconsistent. This caused some problems of under extrusion.

Changing the filament to a trusted brand helped improve the quality of the print. A brand of PLA that works very well for me is OVERTURE PLA Filament from Amazon. Not only does it have great ratings, but it is clog-free, tangle-free and has amazing tolerances for smooth 3D printing.

Some people had trouble with the weak build quality of the printer. This lead to the breaking of the printer if not handled with extreme care. The software in some printers was broken and did not start extrusion.

Many users found the printer to be highly portable and light weight. Some found the small print bed as a limitation to print models that took large volume.

The customer service found mixed reviews. Some customers were satisfied with their fast response and troubleshooting guide. On the other hand some got no response.

Many customers find it impossible to find spare parts when one is broken. Many suggests on using the 3D printing software Cura instead of the default one to produce better results. There were even cases when the printer got jammed and stopped extruding continuously.

3D printing isn’t a perfect activity and you would have trouble finding someone who hasn’t had to troubleshoot some issues. The LABISTS X1 Mini isn’t exempt from this, but it is a lot less likely to occur compared to other 3D printers.

Overall the price is the main thing that attracts the customers and many consider it to be worth the price in spite of all the problems they faced. Many found it to be very beginner friendly and were able to print their first model right after setting it up.

Final Verdict

The LABISTS X1 Mini is a highly recommended printer if you are starting out in 3D printing. This will save you a lot of money as it is one of the cheapest ones available in the market.

As a beginner you will save a lot of time and start printing right away after you have assembled it. The assembling part is very simple as it requires just 3 major parts to be joined together.

Once you become more acquainted with 3D printing, you might look to expand your arsenal into a more professional 3D printer.

With this printer, you don’t have to spend lots of time researching and understanding how a 3D printer works and what parameters you need to know before printing in it.

This printer can be a quick solution for small DIY projects and can be used as a starter kit for it. One major benefit of this printer is its kid friendly build. As there is not a lot of buttons or settings on the printer, it can be used easily by kids to learn.

Moreover, it is safe for kids as it uses food-safe PLA for printing. The printer only comes in one color so keep that in mind before purchasing it.

If you want to make nice prints with the best quality or if you are aiming to make a prototype, then this printer might not be for you. If you want a cool gift or entry into 3D printing then this is a perfect choice.