Simple Qidi Tech Shadow 5.5S 3D Printer – Worth Buying or Not?
ByMichael DwamenaReading Time: 7 minutes
If you are looking for a reliable budget resin 3D printer to accompany you on your 3D printing journey, the Qidi Tech Shadow 5.5S is a real contender in the market. Most current users of this machine are extremely happy with its quality, price, and features.
Qidi Technology are a staple manufacturer of high quality 3D printers, having 6 years experience, and making sure that each machine delivers exceptional performance.
This review will be showing you many aspects of this 3D printer, from the list of features, to the benefits & downsides, specifications, as well as what many customers have to say about it.
The design is one of the first things you’ll notice about it, but other things to appreciate is how easy it is to operate, and the great operating system that’s built within.
Keep reading to figure out whether the Shadow 5.5S (Amazon) is a 3D printer worthy to add to your collection, or be the first of many!
The review below by 3D Print Farm does a great job of taking you through initial impressions of this 3D printer, a nice visual of the test print, and more.
The Shadow 5.5 S puts the conventional FDM printer up to a serious amount of competition with its amazingly great details. No longer are FDM filament 3D printers the only budget method to get into 3D printing.
You can get a budget 3D printer to produce you some serious quality and dimensional accuracy nowadays.
The features of this Qidi Tech shadow 5.5S are as follows:
2K HD LCD Masking Screen
Easy-Release Film
Detailed Craftsmanship & Design
High-Strength Tempered Glass
Double Filter System Fan with Carbon Filtration
Dual Z-Axis Linear Guide
Professional ChiTuBox Slicing Software
3.5-Inch Touch Screen
Professional After-Service Team
Free 1-Year Warranty
2K HD LCD Masking Screen
The Qidi Tech Shadow 5.5S (Amazon) comes with a 2K LCD, making it an excellent alternative to other 3D printers, such as the Anycubic Photon.
This screen does a great job with increasing the speed of curing with the matrix ultraviolet light, resulting in better printing accuracy and overall print quality.
The UV-LCD functionality offers consistently high speed and precision regardless of how much of the area is being used during the printing process.
It is equipped with a high-strength tempered glass for long term durability.
The pixel density and LCD size give you a resolution at 47 microns, which is at the market standard. Moreover, you will be able to lessen the staircase effect on the print’s surface with this 3D printer.
Easy-Release Film
Ease and convenience is always welcome with a 3D printer, so the easy-release film system that is built-into the Shadow 5.5S is a great feature. The release film is smooth, durable and does the job well after prints have finished.
Detailed Craftsmanship & Design
The aluminum resin design body of the printer gives it a unique look as well as a sturdy foundation. This is something you can have in your home or office without it making the area look unprofessional or untidy.
Double Filter System Fan with Carbon Filtration
The carbon filtration system has two fans, which helps get the odor out, and it has a special filter and reduces using the odor of resins, which is sometimes hard to ignore.
I’d advise to also get yourself some low-odor resins, because there are definitely resins out there that smell a lot worse than others.
Dual Z-axis Linear Rail
The linear Z-axis rail’s main function is to provide stability to the printing process and decrease unwanted wobbling and vibrations. Compared to single Z-axis resin printers, this will provide that extra level of print quality.
Professional ChiTuBox Slicing Software
The software is new and updated while being easy to use. Many users love how it operates faster than most other slicing software, with plenty of useful features.
3.5-Inch Touch Screen
The Shadow 5.5S (Amazon) has a built-in 3.5-inch touch screen for controlling different functions of the system. Moreover, it includes a USB port that you can use for transferring the files.
This responsive touchscreen is another feature that users love to improve the 3D printing operation.
Professional After-Service Team
The Qidi Tech company is known for the service that it provides to its customer 24/7 without any hassle. You can call the customer service center and help you solve all the problems you face with the 3D printer.
The professionals sitting at the other end of the phone will help you unpack the printer, assembling it if needed, and solving any issue at any time of the day.
Free 1-Year Warranty
The Qidi Shadow 5.5S Pro comes a free 1-year warranty to put your worries at ease. It does exclude the 2K LCD and FEP film.
Has a sturdy foundation, being built with CNC-machined aluminum with a plastic alloy casing
Compatible with many third-party resins out there for more freedom
Decreases smelly odors with the built-in dual fans and activated charcoal carbon filter system
The brand-new user interface is easy to use and has simple control options
Very aesthetic design especially with the acrylic cover and color scheme
Amazing value for the price you are paying, with similar build volumes to premium resin printers
Removable build area so it can be easily removed to tend to your prints
Creates high resolution 3D prints out-the-box that will impress friends and family, as well as yourself!
Shipped with protective packaging to ensure it arrives in good condition
Comes with great customer service
Downsides of the Qidi Tech Shadow 5.5S
There aren’t many downsides with the Shadow 5.5S, illustrated by the great ratings on Amazon and other websites, but we can get a few to list down.
The calibration process has been said to be a little tricky, but as long as you follow the manual exactly, you should be able to get it right. Some people described having to spend a good amount of time to level it perfectly.
Some have reported the UV lamp can be a little weak, so prints can benefit from a slight increase in cure time.
There isn’t a warranty on the LCD screen, so if it fails in a few months or so, you’ll have to replace it without help from Qidi.
The light source is quite concentrated towards the center of the build plate, and isn’t a parallel light source resulting in prints near to the edge not getting the best quality.
Some people report that the carbon filters aren’t so effective in reducing strong resin smells. One user removed the filters, taped over the outlet holes and experience better results for reducing the odors.
The last downside would be that there is no connectivity options other than USB.
Customers are the main priority of any company, and their reviews matter as they help companies know what needs to be improved and what is causing the trouble.
The first thing you notice after checking out the Amazon page is that it has a great rating of 4.7/5.0 at time of writing.
Many customers who get this Shadow 5.5S love the packaging it comes in since it’s very secure. Then after you first uncover the 3D printer, you get to appreciate the aesthetics and sleek, professional design and color scheme.
The fun doesn’t stop there, getting the printing process up and running takes no time at all, and the printer itself is very stable so it doesn’t wobble while printing, leading to great print quality.
People love how easy the build plate is to remove and most users give it a rating of 5 stars on Amazon. You can check out the Shadow 5.5S ratings here.
The main thing a 3D printer is for is the actual 3D prints themselves, and this doesn’t cut corners. You’re getting a print resolution of up to 0.01mm or just 10 microns which is top of the line quality.
You’d think there would be a lot of fine-tuning and upgrades to get to this level of quality, but you’d be mistaken, as this is straight out-of-box results. At the price that you can get the Shadow 5.5S, it’s an easy choice for many customers out there.
Any customers that ran into some kind of issue or needed some troubleshooting, Qidi Tech have their great customer service available to help out. They will make sure you get the ideal experience as soon as possible.
Verdict – Worth Buying or Not?
After reviewing the many qualities of the Shadow 5.5S, regardless of what level you are at, this is a 3D printer worth buying. The pricing for getting into resin 3D printing has never been this good, and I’d be surprised if it gets better than this!
A resin printer that delivers amazing quality that is priced under $200 is a complete steal. If you are thinking about getting into resin 3D printing and haven’t yet taken the plunge, this is your perfect opportunity.
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