QIDI X-Max Review

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We’ve been looking for a solid 3D printer to make parts in a variety of materials including PC, Nylon, ASA, PBT, & more.

We got a QIDI X-Max as a low cost option. We knew it was a gamble but the community was thriving and review materials we saw showed a very successful machine. The machine was $1275 shipped and delivered. Here was a review with some higher temp materials that swayed us: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJI8tOkkCqo&feature=youtu.be

Unfortunately, we lost on this gamble. Here’s a quick breakdown:

Of my 7 printers, my QIDI X-Max is my least reliable and most problematic. It arrived with numerous problems out of the box.

You’re better served with a Prusa MK3S with a few small changes in an enclosure from our thousands of hours of print time.

The hot end design of the X-Max is laughably poor. Worse than our $299 Anycubic 4Max Pro printers. Get ready to hear the extruder click click click as it fails to consistently deliver filament.

The filament path from the reel to the hot end is terrible and requires revision.

The bed is thick aluminum which sounds nice but mine is absurdly unlevel.

There is no filament sensor.

I plan to change to Chad Wills hot end design https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3994628 . I need to take the aluminum bed and fly cut it for level. We’ve insulated the bed and need a more powerful heater cartridge. We’ve already had to replace a motherboard, a ribbon cable, and constant hot end problems because the heat break isn’t actually cooled. The filament entry is right next to the only point of heat dissipation at the top of the heat break. QIDI expects the airflow, delivered above the heat break, to work when pushed against a perpendicular heat sink with no airflow path.

Overall it’s cost us more time than it’s worth and we’ve been deeply disappointed.

We hope to improve the printer to the point of rudimentary function.

This Z Screw was loose and impacting the holding plate as delivered. A deeper well or through hole design would fix this.
The holding plate designed for Z screw retention is bent.
The filament path backs up to the primary heat disspiation surface causing constant cloges at the extruder or hot end entry.
The filament path backs up to the primary heat disspiation surface causing constant cloges at the extruder or hot end entry.
The filament path backs up to the primary heat disspiation surface causing constant cloges at the extruder or hot end entry.
A 30mm fan provides airflow to a flat plate perpindicular to the fan. No airflow is provided to the heat break at all. No idea how this was approved and put into production. They have some design revisions that do nothing to remedy the fundamental flaw.
The aluminum bed is absurdly unlevel and will need to be fly cut for good use.
Click, click, click, click goes the extruder as it can’t push the filament at even half the rate of our Prusa MK3S machines.
The magnetic sheet is nice but the material is far too aggressive with PLA which it’s designed for. You MUST set the temp low or you will be breaking parts and the sheet material on removal. I converted to PEI sheets.
Expect to modify all points of airflow. Airflow design is the worst of any printer we’ve ever used for both the part fan and hotend fan. This was later cut out more.
The suggested / original filament path immediately causes the filament to hop off the reel on Y travel moves. Expect to completely re-work this.
Wall mounting is a solid option with a filament path through the top. For hygroscopic filaments, a Polybox II or similar mounted with teflon tubes to the extruder is best. Here I’m using an idler because this isn’t the final installation location. You need a teflon tube and hole through the top.

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