I’ve been 3D printing for almost 4 years now. the N2+ is the best 3D printer I have ever owned. Better prints than my Taz 5, and years ahead of my Replicator 2x. Prints at 0.3mm look cleaner and better than many of the prints I see in Facebook groups that was printed at 0.1mm.
It’s a workhorse that has allowed me to build a business printing for others. In 2 months, the printer paid for itself in paid work. I love it so much, that I purchased a N2 about 2 months after that and in January, purchased my 2nd N2+. I’m slowly replacing my other printers with these. The next couple I get will be N2’s so I can stack them on heavy duty shelving, otherwise I’d go ahead and spend the extra money for the N2+.
The touch screen is a great feature that allows you to tweak settings on the fly and there are ample ports for USB, SD and plenty of onboard memory.
If you get a jam, you can undo three thumb screws and use the included ram rod to force whatever is causing the jam out. (sometimes you need to take the nozzle off). You’ll be printing again in minutes. Other printers, like a replicator 2x take a lot longer to clear since you have to remove the long allen screw that holds the fans and extruder motor in place.
The IdeaMaker software has a ton of features. Custom manual supports, cut files in the app, and basic repair features. I used to use Simplify 3D, but haven’t used it once for the N2 or N2+.
And the most important thing - They have a great support team and a very active user community in the company’s online forum.
The hot end goes to 300°. I’ve printed Polycarbonate, Nylon, PETG, ABS, Ninjaflex and some PLA, and PLA wood, with no issues besides tweaking the temperatures.
It’s not foolproof. You still have to tinker and tweak settings for different materials, but you’d have to do that with any printer.
My only issues are:
- No out of filament detector (Makerbot was able to get this right, so others should be able to do so too).
- Bed clips - The back has brackets to hold the glass in place. The front uses office binder clips. They work, I just feel like they could have come up with a more elegant solution.
- Bed leveling for printing without a raft. The printer comes pre-leveled from the factory and is fine for printing with a raft, but if you want to print without a raft, you will need to adjust the 7 or 8 screws under the heated bed to get everything perfectly leveled. If you are fine printing with a raft, then you shouldn’t have to do anything.
- A remote app - Again Makerbot was able to create an app with remote camera viewing and a pause print function, estimated time remaining, etc. why can’t they do the same?
- BuildTak - I loved BuildTak before I owned a N2+, but the 13" x 13.5" sheets are expensive compared to other sizes, (Not Raise3D’s fault) so I buy the 12" x 12" sheets and use blue painter’s tape to go to the edge of the glass.
Issues I’ve had (that weren’t my fault):
- I’ve broken two endstop switches (one on the N2 and one on the N2+). It’s a $7 part that both times were covered by warranty. In fact, support sent me two when one broke, so I had a backup which meant a quick swap when the other endstop broke. Both times were actually caused by filament tangled on spools. When the filament broke, the extruder slammed into the switch and bent the switch. The printer will actually print with a broken x or y endstop. (you just can’t pause to change filament, since there will be no reference point).
- Thermocoupler. I did have a thermocoupler go out (the temperature sensor) after 6 months, it was technically out of warranty, but the support team went ahead and covered it anyway.
I know some people have had issues, but think most of the issues are from damage during shipping, so check the shock tag on the side of the box when it arrives.
