[Review]NEW QIDI PLUS4 - Maybe the PERFECT 3D Printer!

👤 Mind:This article is sourced from the popular YouTube channel of 3D printing enthusiast Loyal Moses. In this review video, Loyal details the Qidi Plus 4, a 3D printer with industry-leading features, and his authoritative review provides viewers with in-depth product analysis and experience. The Qidi Plus 4 stands out in the market with its 370°C hot end, 400W heating chamber, and spacious build volume, capable of handling a variety of projects ranging from the size of a helmet to small accessories.

Welcome to the studio; Today we are taking a closer look at one of the most impressive 3D printers that we've ever tested here in the studio: the Qidi Plus 4. This machine is not just another boring 3D printer; it is a beast packed with more industrial high-end features like a 370° C hotend, a 400 W heated chamber, and an impressive build volume that's perfect for projects of all sizes, from helmets to small little trinkets.

Whether you're a beginner, a hobbyist, or you're running a print farm, there's a lot to like about this machine, and so you'll want to stick around because I'm going to go over all of it and give you my final thoughts as well as what I think QIDI might be up to in the future. Also, for those interested, the price will shock you, and QIDI has some special early bird offers as well, and I'll have details at the end of the video.

What Makes Qidi Plus 4 Stand out in the 3D Printer Market

Alright, let's kick things off with what makes the Qidi Plus 4 stand out in the crowded 3D printer market.

Advanced Hot End Technology for Versatile High-Performance Printing

• Industrial grade high temperature hot end:The heart of this machine is its 370°C hot end capable of handling a wide range of performance materials like PPS carbon fiber ABS PTG and even other reinforced polymers like glass carbon fiber, Kevlar, things like that. This hot end doesn't just get hot; it's designed from the ground up for precision and consistency with QIDI's brand new ceramic throat, making it perfect for both casual users and those who need serious capabilities.
• Paired with the hotend is the 400-watt chamber heater:it reaches temperatures up to 65°C, and this feature is really a game-changer. We talked about that before with other QIDI machines, but it's really going to allow you to print those tricky high temp materials with minimal warping.

A Solution to Print Deformation

If you've ever struggled with prints lifting or deforming on the bill plate, this heated chamber will make a world of difference. It's all about creating a stable environment that supports your prints from start to finish. Even with regular filaments, a chamber heater is going to make a huge difference in final print results, almost negating print warping completely.

Aesthetically the Plus 4 is the cybertruck of 3D printers, I guess, if you want to look at it that way. It's pretty bold, very angular, and unapologetically futuristic-looking. It has a sleek industrial design, and that combined with an all-metal frame makes it look like it was pulled straight from an '80s sci-fi movie. A lot of machines are looking very similar to this recently, and at first, to be honest, I wasn't quite sold on the look. I think I unboxed it, went "Oh," but after a couple of weeks here in the studio, it's pretty impressive and really growing on me. I'm starting to like it.

Unique Exterior Design with Futuristic and Industrial Style📦

I think it's the sharp lines and the sheer size of this thing that give it a pretty unique aesthetic that stands out among all the other printers on the market. And I guess we can take that cyber truck analogy a little bit further with the design of the Plus 4 not being just about looking cool. I would say it probably puts function ahead of form. This machine is solid; it's definitely a two-person printer to move around, and every part of its design, from the retractable handles to the huge sturdy internal frame, screams industrial innovation. It has this unmistakable "let's just get to work" vibe or presence. It's a machine that gets me excited to print every time I walk into the studio and see it.

Dual Motor Drive System and Automatic Bed Tilt and Leveling Function

Now compared to previous QIDI models, the Plus 4 introduces some significant mechanical upgrades. It features a dual-motor drive system with automatic bed tilt leveling, which is going to help keep prints dimensionally accurate and, of course, increase reliability. No more messing around with manual bed leveling—that's gone. Of course, and it has automatic Z offset, so you can start your prints and just walk away.

Excellent Print Speed and Print Quality

Now let's talk about belts for a moment. This printer uses some pretty heavy-duty 9mm belts that are automatically tensioned, meaning you don't have to worry about manual adjustments. These belts are not just thicker; they're designed to withstand the high speeds and accelerations that the Plus 4 is capable of. By high speeds, I mean up to 600 mm/second with accelerations up to 20,000 mm/s^2. So for comparison, a lot of other 3D printers on the market are using 6 mm belts.

The build platform is a 6 mm solid aluminum plate. It is heavy-duty and designed to evenly distribute heat, which is crucial when working with high-temp filaments. Even QIDI recommends letting it heat soak for a few minutes when you're warming it up before printing, and from my experience, that little extra patience goes a long way.

Diverse Link Options and Good User Experience

The heated bed itself reaches a maximum temperature of 120°C, which is more than enough to handle a wide range of materials without any adhesion issues. Now let's dive into connectivity. The QIDI Plus 4 comes with USB, so you can drop files on it old school with a stick, or Wi-Fi and ethernet options, so you're covered no matter how you like to set up your printing environment. The 5-inch HD touchscreen is fast, super responsive, and it was easy to navigate. I found the interface to be incredibly intuitive, and everything is right there at your fingertips, and there was no lag; everything was pretty responsive.

Now using the interface to swap filaments, I found, was pretty awesome—one of the best experiences in 3D printing so far. You simply pause the print, unload, reload, and hit resume, and it handled everything just so beautifully. One of the best things about the QIDI PLUS 4 is the user experience with their updated QIDI slicer. It's been fine-tuned to be simple, fast, and, I think, pretty intuitive. I think anyone will have a pretty good level of success with it. As for profiles, it has a large number of ready-to-use filaments available, but it didn't have one for the PPS CF that they sent me, so I reached out to QIDI directly for a custom profile. They emailed it to me, and the prints were stellar.

PPS CF is a very tough, high-temperature material that resists warping, doesn't absorb much moisture, and doesn't emit harmful toxins while printing. It's a pretty unique filament, usually reinforced with glass or carbon fiber because by itself, it can be pretty brittle when pure. With those additives, it's pretty amazing stuff, which is probably why it's become so popular all of a sudden.

Good Build Volume🛠️

Now I wanted to test the capacity of the machine, like its build volume, so I printed a Star Wars bad batch wrecker helmet, but I didn't do it in regular filament; I did it in Polymaker's PPS CF. This print wasn't just a quick test; it was a full-scale commitment and took almost two spools of filament, each costing around $70. That's an expensive project—about $140—and it took about a day and a half, but the result was worth every penny. The helmet turned out amazing, which is super impressive, and look at this incredible surface quality, the detail.

Now there was some slight discoloration about halfway up the helmet, and that was because I used two spools of filament that were months apart in ordering. I think that discoloration may be caused by filament batches, different colors, or it had to do with some slight moisture differences maybe. But anyway, I think it turned out fantastic. Look at it. Oh, and I think I could have probably added an extra top layer. It looks like it got right to the crown of the helmet, and yeah, it could have been a little cleaner up there, but that's not a printer or a filament problem; that's me. I should have sliced it and added one more top layer knowing that the crown on the helmet was like that.

Now I also spent some time printing and tuning some battleship benches in QIDI's PPS CF. I was pushing the printer with temperatures ranging from 330°C to 370°C. These little prints were not just fun; they were a great way to dial in settings and just see how the material behaved at different temperatures. What I found was, of course, at 330°C, layer adhesion just wasn't quite the same as it was at 350°C. And 370°C was dang hot. Do you know how hot that is? 370°C on a hot end is nuts, and the doors that this opens for potential materials are incredible, and that we get this in a machine at home—it's crazy.

Let's not forget that QIDI also sent me over some glass-filled ABS, and these are some awesome, striking purple and green prints. The colors are vibrant, and the print quality was absolutely perfect. The profiles for these ABS glass-filled filaments that QIDI included knocked it out of the park, so it was literally just select the filament, load the filament, hit print—just fantastic experience. This is going to make an incredible prototyping machine; I just know it. I can already see it sitting in labs and workshops, and the enclosure is going to keep dirt, dust, and debris out of it, and the activated charcoal filter here in the back, the top back, is going to help reduce odors. Now it's not particularly loud with the doors and lid closed, so that won't really be a concern for home or office use, but you did know it was running. So I would say if I had to compare it to other printers, I would say it kind of falls in the medium sound range.

Innovative Features for Smooth Operation

I also printed a couple of carabiners to just see how flexible and rigid the PPSF is. They turned out as close to perfect as I think you can get. In fact, if you want to see me test these, hit the like and subscribe buttons. I was thinking of connecting a couple of tow straps to one of these carabiners or a couple of them and towing a truck, and we'll just see how it holds up. Physically, the QIDI Plus 4 is a giant machine. It measures about 505 mm by 487 mm by 550 mm—it's a tank—so this printer is going to need some space, but it makes up for it with its impressive capabilities. To help moving it around, QIDI has smartly included two retractable handles built right into the top. It's little touches like this that show that QIDI is thinking about the user experience from every angle, especially for us content creators that have to move these things around; like, this thing's been moved like 20 times now.

The door and the lid are glass, and with the super bright internal LED lights, the view inside the printer is gorgeous. Now that's great for you at home when you're just watching your prints, but for us filming, oh man, it makes for some really great shots when we're filming. Now the printer also comes equipped with a filament cutter on the tool head and a nozzle wiper, making filament changes quick and clean. Add to that a filament runout sensor and a tangle detection sensor, right? And now you've got a printer that's not just powerful but also incredibly reliable with things like that.

For those who like to keep an eye on their prints, the HD camera is there for remote monitoring and time lapses. I think it's kind of a fantastic fun little addition. It's perfect for catching those time-lapse shots and sharing them on social media, or just checking in on a long print without needing to be in the room.

One of the standout aspects of the QIDI Plus 4 is its broad appeal. This is one of the first machines that I've seen here in the studio that's really designed for everyone—from beginners to seasoned hobbyists and even print farms or prototyping environments. It's like a beginner's industrial 3D printer; it's incredible. With its wide material compatibility, including PLA, ABS, ASA, PGS, TPUs, polycarbonates, and reinforced polymers, it's a machine that can do everything.

Here's something that I think we should all keep an eye on: the way this machine purges filament out the back and incorporates a filament cutter into the tool head suggests that QIDI might be paving the way for multicolor printing. It's clear that QIDI is definitely innovating, and I wouldn't be surprised to see even more advanced features in future models or maybe upgrades for this one. So what's the bottom line? The QIDI Plus 4 is without a doubt one of the most impressive 3D printers that I've tested. It's versatile, reliable, and packed with tons of features that cater to everyone like I said, from beginners to experts.

Conclusion🎉

QIDI isn't just following; they are leading and doing amazing things in our space, and the Plus 4 is a prime example of their commitment to quality and innovation. A lot of 3D printers are kind of going the same way, right? They're simplifying; they're cutting cost; they're shrinking. QIDI is going a completely opposite direction; they're taking high-end industrial features, and I don't think they're cutting corners—they're just somehow finding a way to bring these to our market for home and office use. This is incredible.

Drop a comment below at any comparable machines that are enclosed with heaters and a hotend that can reach 370°C that are priced at $799—I don't think that you can. This is a crazy good machine at an incredible price point. As for negatives, I really hate how people throw in some low-hanging fruit negative just to appear unbiased, right? So it's like, I've got to say ten good things, but I better say three bad things for people to think that I'm being fair. It's like complaining about the location of a spool holder, and I don't really think that people make a decision on a 3D printer based on where the spool holder is. I mean, it's just a spool holder; you can move it, or just have a different one.

User experience✨

I am a total realist when it comes to these 3D printers and looking at them, and if something was terrible or unusable, I would definitely share it with you. And after using this machine for months now, off and on, I can't think of a single thing that stands out to me as something I would have changed. In fact, QIDI emailed me several times asking for feedback, and all I could say was, "this is just so impressive." That's all I could say; I didn't have any big constructive items that I would change. I think that 3D printers are coming out fast, they're coming out furious, features are changing, they're getting better, and I'm just excited to see what else is coming.

Now, what do you think about the Plus 4? Let me know in the comments below if you think 3D printers like this machine are moving in the right direction, or do you want to see something else? In fact, if there's a criticism that you can see, let me know. QIDI's going to read the comments, and they'll read it. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and hit that bell, so you'll never miss an update with new videos as I post them. And let me give a huge thank to our YouTube members and Patreon supporters for your continued support. I couldn't do this without you.

Thanks for watching—that was someone playing with my lights there on Twitch—thanks for watching, and I'll see you in the next one. So good, look at that. And I'm going to include some B-roll in the middle here, as I pop off the supports, so you'll be able to see that. Matter of fact, you'll be seeing that before you're seeing this. Such a fun machine, really cool. Anyway...