What would you rate the Wanhao Duplicator i3 3D Printer? If you rate it low, please explain why, and what a better printer would be.
I’ve seen them print and for the money I’d rather have that than a makerbot any day of the week. The hardware is pretty much reprap type hardware so it can be repaired as such if you need to.
@Michael_Scholtz I have one, and was wondering what other people thought of it. I’m considering getting another, and would like suggestions on what would be better. 
The new generation blue ones seem very nice. But are you opposed to building your own?
Read this review for high ranked printers, Wanhao is not involved ! https://www.3dhubs.com/3d-printers/
I’ve seen the Di3 in person, they’re decent for the money, but you’ll want to make several changes. The heater wire outside the hot end gets hot, even above the motor such that it makes filament soft up there. So that should get fixed. There’s a WanHao Google group where people trade improvement tips to make it run in top shape.
@Jeff_DeMaagd We have found out how to fix that problem. Simply turn the fan to full, and it will take care of the problem.
@Alex_Freed
I don’t know if you understand what I meant. This guy demonstrates the problem I was referencing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nixzRk_83bY Turning the fan on full won’t fix that.
@Jeff_DeMaagd Sorry, but at the current time, I cannot watch YouTube videos. Could you please explain it a bit more? From what I’m understanding, the filament is getting too soft before it reaches the extruder. Is that true?
The wire that goes to the heater is hot. It shouldn’t be that way. Only the wires inside the heater should be hot. You can melt filament by having it too close to the heater wires that come in at the cable chain exit.
@Jeff_DeMaagd Oh, ok. That happens on our printer too, but it hasn’t really been a problem as the filament never gets too close to it. I’m sorry, but I don’t know what to tell you.
Well, I’m going to suggest replacing the heater. Lead wire shouldn’t get hot like that, and I call it a safety concern, because that means the lead wire is getting at least 60˚C outside the wire jacket. The crimp connecting the wire has broken on one of the local owner’s machines too.