Amazon.com: Customer reviews: LOTMAXX Shark V3 Multifunctional Modular 2 in 1 3D Printer & Laser Engraver w/Reduced Noise Operation, Removable Touch Screen, & Dual Color Extruders

Fast and quiet multifunction and multi-color printer!

Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2021

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Packaging and Installation:
The Lotmaxx Shark v2 is perhaps the most simple to setup and quietest printer I've used. The presentation after opening the box is very good, with all of the parts and components clearly labeled and packed safely. With the included, well written and clearly illustrated documentation, I had the print setup in about 20 minutes from start to finish. This model requires manual leveling but the procedure via the touch screen was extremely easy and I don't miss the extra 2-3 minutes that an auto bed leveler would add to each print. The touchscreen interface is excellent and a pleasure to use. After a short while I was very accustomed to navigating and dialing (touching) in the settings during prints or when queuing up prints.

Build Quality:
The extrusions on this printer are a matt gray color and look fantastic. The chassis, rollers, extruders, and touch screen are very well constructed leading to a very polished look. I like how all of the connections that you would need are external to the printer. The second extruder port, auto leveling port, USB, microSD, laser, and screen connectors are all in the front, clearly labeled and easy to access. Certainly better than having to flip the printer over and unscrew bottom covering and rerouting cables as I've had to do with other printers.

Print experience and results:
The results have been fantastic. I printed the standard included cat STL which came out great and then moved on to bi-color prints. I printed a bi-color benchy without issues using the included green and orange PLA. One thing to note about bi-color printing is that the slicing software will require a purge tower for each layer where there are multiple colors. This is to purge the remaining filament that may remain in the nozzle after switching to the alternate color. It's required for a clean print and I should add that you want to make sure that the tower is larger than the default 20mm for taller prints to prevent the tower from becoming dislodged from the print bed during operation. I was able to print a large Among Us crewman with a different color face shield and the result was amazing. I'm already thinking of a ton of different multi-color prints. I would also like to try using PVA filament for support material and see if I can make extremely detailed single-color prints with support material that you can dissolve in water.

It also prints so quiet! The stepper motors via the 2208 drivers are super silent and the fans only kick on sparingly, likely due to the excellent design and attention to passive cooling. Speaking of cooling, the dual part cooling toolhead is perfect for printing parts that round up from the print bed (bowls). Other printers with single part cooling fans have trouble with rounded, bowl shape parts since the fan is only blowing on one side of the part as it prints. This wasn't a problem with the Shark V2. Also with that additional cooling power you can print much faster. I was amazed at how fast the printer was able to complete the built-in test models. I highly recommend this printer for it's print quality, ease of setup, speed, silence, and versatility.

Drawbacks and precautions:
There is a lack of easy and intuitive belt tensioning controls. A simple threaded knob would be a great improvement on the clean design. The existing tensioning is done via loosing t-nuts and drawing the belts tight and holding this tension while tightening the screws. It is doable but could be easier. The laser attachment and included software was a little difficult to get functioning properly. The default settings in the software did not produce any output on the wood (500 power, 50mm print speed, 30mm travel). I had to increase the power to 1000 and lower the travel and print speeds to 10mm each to get the light output in the picture. I'm certain that I can get the output to look much better with some testing, but as you only get 2 wooden sheets the process would benefit from some properly tuned defaults either in the software or written in the documentation. I would also caution users regarding the filament sensors. Make sure you straighten out the end of the filament instead of attempting to insert the filament curved into the filament sensor. You could prevent the filament from going cleanly through and potentially damage the internal switch lever. Straight path for straight filament, makes sense.

14 people found this helpful

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Reid Centers

Best value printer! Very Happy.

Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2021

Verified Purchase

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This is the third 3D printer I've owned, and was bought to replace my Monoprice/Wanhao Duplicator 6. I mainly use the printers for a hobby and general tinkering, so here's my thoughts on the printer after a month of ownership:
1. Setup and assembly was very straightforward - took me about 30-40 minutes to setup everything, and assembly mostly consists of getting the gantry attached and getting the spool holders mounted. The instructions were fairly clear and easy to follow, the only difficulty I encountered was getting the spool holder arms bolts to catch in the slots on the gantry took a couple of tries. Initially, I had to level the bed several times to get it right, but once done, I haven't had to do it since.
2. Software setup - The Shark came with a custom version of Cura 4.7 for slicing, so its pretty standard and easy. The only difficulty I had was that the second extruder needed to be added in Cura manually after the initial setup and this process was not well documented (Go to Preferences -> Machine settings -> select the Lotmaxx Shark profile -> Machine settings and change "number of extruders" to 2 from the default of 1).
3. Operation - the Shark is very quiet and smooth when printing, there is hardly any belt squeal and whine when operating (my old printer was VERY noisy, so this alone is a big plus for me). The Shark uses a bowden tube for filament feed, and is fairly easy to load and unload. This design is also very forgiving of filament jams or breaks, as you can just pop the tubes off and pull the strands directly out. Again, this is much better then some other printers I've had in the past which basically are far less forgiving and require you to pull the extruder apart. Since both extruders go into one print head, just be careful to use the "unload" command to pull back the filament from the last used extruder before trying to load the opposite one, or the filament will jam.

The heated bed featured a removable magnetic buildplate that makes removing a print easy. The adhesion on the buildplate is excellent - most of the prints I've made do not need more than skirt or brim. The only complaint I have on the buildplate is the adhesion might be a little too strong - it can be difficult to remove some prints without having to flex the plate, and it has a tenancy to collect some buildup on the surface that is hard to scrape off (it does not seem to interfere with new prints, however).

4. Print Quality: Excellent - it is easy to get good results without needing to tweak the filament temperature or speed to prevent errors, making this by far the most "plug and play" printer I've worked with. I love the removable touch screen remote control - this is a great feature and makes it much easier to use

5. Extras - The Shark also comes with a laser engraving kit. While I have not used it yet, it is a nice feature that is unheard of at this price.

Bottom line - this printer is a great value for the money featuring the dual extruders and the laser engraving kit. For someone who is upgrading from an older printer like me, this is a huge upgrade versus my old one.. The printer is fast, quiet, easy to maintain, and has great print quality. If you are getting into 3D printing, this is a great model to start as it is easy to work with and operate, while still being capable enough to grow into some it's advanced features.

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C.R.

Neither 1 worked for me!

Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2021

Verified Purchase

I received my first one on Saturday and that even requested a replacement because it had been used and sent back had a different language sd card in the slot and no film on the keypad. Probably because extruder #2 never would heat up and it was supposed to pull from extruder 1, but didn’t, pulled from 2 which didn’t work. So I got my replacement. It too had been used before and had the same issue of not being able to get #2 to warm up. I found white filament in extruder 1’s tube and then when I got it out my filament would load even with the hotend warmed up. #2 machines screen cover had been removed as well.

I had watched multiple videos of folks opening their printers up, putting them together and printing right away - from extruder #1. I also don’t understand why with V2 you now have to purchase the auto leveling kit when before it came with it. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I wanted one of these really bad, but 2 for 2 being bad, is not a good sign. 😔

Sending them both back tomorrow.

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Ghengis

It will take time for you to become confident with this printer if you've never used one

Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2022

Verified Purchase

First I'd like to point out I have more than one of these. Overall the experience has been pretty good with the units. I can only speak of two negatives. The first one is the hot end needs to have a harder metal insert rather than the soft metal that is in there. I can understand if you cross thread a nozzle and you damage the threads on the nozzle but to destroy the hot end in the process is just plain silly. In order to replace the hot end you have to order from the website this could take four or more weeks. I recommend anyone that gets one of these units orders a couple hot ends to keep as spares. One thing that is silly about replacing a hot end, you have to run the wires all the way down under the base of the unit to connect to the motherboard in order to do that you have to cut all the wire wraps off of that loom and then pull the wires out and then push new wires through. This could easily have had plugs on the outside of the unit in the loom itself. I don't see the reasoning behind having to do that much disassembly for essentially four wires.

One of my units came with an auto leveler and the other did not. Regardless of whether or not your unit came with an auto level the first time you level being that you have to do it manually. This is the steps that I came up with to level my build plate first I use a regular bubble level to make sure the unit is in fact level. Then I use the manual level steps to make sure that the bill plate is high enough for the auto level to actually work. If the bill plate is too low it'll go through the auto level process like everything work it won't tell you that there's a problem. Then you end up trying to print and nothing is sticking to your build plate.

I have one pure recommendation. If you get a clogged hot end or nozzle or both you will only discover it after it's been trying to feed filament for a little bit. Since the filament is moving it's scraping the side of the filament and the debris fills the gripping teeth on the wheel that advances the filament. I recommend getting a very small fine brass bristle brush you might be able to use a toothbrush but I prefer to use brass. Then you can clean that surface on the gripping wheel. Beyond that it's a very nice unit assembly is for relatively simple. It prints fairly easy and nice personally I don't have a lot of experience with 3D printers at all. However I do have a good hardware background with mechanical printers the old impact style and line printers computer hardware in general in other words. So understanding how the machine works for me is pretty simple. I spent over 35 years in IT computer operations. I also build my own computers. Good luck with your purchase I do recommend the unit. If you're not sure if you have an auto level on your system, just powered on and if you don't show auto level in the menu then you don't have one it's that simple. If you want to just visually inspect your system look where the hot end is and you will see a small plastic nub it is color white. When you auto level it extends until it compresses on the build plate at the correct point. Once again good luck with your purchase so far I'm fairly happy with it I just don't like the fact that the parts that you order or the accessories that you order from their website take 4 to 6 weeks to get.

4 people found this helpful

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Bob

Experience makes things better

Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2021

Verified Purchase

I'm a newbie at 3D printing. I spent lots of time reviewing printers and finally settled on the Lotmaxx Shark V2 with the dual color, large print area and laser engraving being significant selling points.
I'm very much a newbie with Fusion 360, but because it's free for hobbyists that's what I'm using. I can't find any decent learning tutorials and any Youtube videos I find seem to be using different versions of software because they just don't match up with what I'm using. Due to my inexperience, designing anything is typically a multi-hour event. Then printing, adjusting, reprinting etc etc etc until I get it right.
I've successfully designed and printed many items for personal use around the house and a few things off Thingiverse all using PLA of different brands and different colors. Gaining experience, I found out PLA is not suitable for environments where the item will be exposed to heat and sun exposure.
So then I bought some ABS filament and that's where problems began. I have yet to successfully print anything using ABS with this printer. Flat objects warp and curl off the bed, a round multi-color object separated from the bed and made a mess. 235' C seems to be a good temp for the extruder, but none of the bed temps - from 85C to 115C - have helped. It got close at around 90C but then warped badly again when I tried incrementing the temp. I also had a couple of situations where the printer turned itself off when the bed temp was high, I presume an internal thermal safety was activated. I've tried hairspray and blue painters tape without any luck. I read ASA filament is better than ABS so I ordered a couple of spools. I'm also going to try the gluestick trick today after I pick some up.
The saga continues....

Edited 12-24-2021:
Ok, live 'n learn. I found adjusting heat settings makes a big difference, blame it on my inexperience. I'm using Overture 1.75mm ABS. I'm using:
- Build plate: 95C
- Nozzle: 255C
- Fan Speed: 30%
Prints are coming out nicely. I also adjusted other settings and created a profile for this ABS material so I don't have to set everything up every time.
Currently building new dash warning light housings, light brackets and various filler plates for my 1970s British 2-Seater. I'm successfully using 2-color printing.
Product support has been very helpful, though you must allow several hours or overnight for a response due to the time differences.

6 people found this helpful

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Carol_in_FL

Confusing communication due to Chinese to English translation

Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2022

Verified Purchase

Sadly, I returned my printer.
When I bought this printer, I thought that it met all my criteria for a 3d printer. One of the main criteria was that it was a relatively new version of the printer. On the surface this seemed good, but, it quickly became evident that there were still problems that needed fixing before the printer could be enjoyed. (at least by me)
The main problem I encountered was trying to interpret the broken English instructions from the Chinese responders from Lotmaxx.
Trying to update the firmware was a complete disaster. In one video the narrator was obviously very intelligent, but his lack of proper English resulted in ending thoughts in mid-sentence. He acted like opening directories and moving files to the micro sd card was a piece of cake. But that did not work in updating the printer. Now what? Do I continue with out updating? I my mind the upgrade must have been done for a reason.
One sentence in the upgrade process really confused me. It read as follows. “turn of the printer, insert the TF card to the screen card slot and then turn on the printer, waiting for the upgrade to complete.” The 1st thing was where is the screen card slot? The removable screen had a slot in the back top. Was this the screen card slot? It was about 3 times as wide as the SD card. The SD card went in but there was no way of telling if it was seated properly. When turning on the power, there was no indication that anything was being upgraded. Inserting the SD card into the SD card slot and turning on the power also did not show that anything was being upgraded. Was the term screen card slot and the normal SD card slot a translation error in giving the instructions in English? Frustration beginning to mount.
My 1st print turned out to be a flat pile of spaghetti. I have no idea why it turned out that way. I was really frustrated and disappointed that it didn’t work right out of the box.
Even I tried to level the bed I noticed that the auto leveling plunger appeared to be dabbing down into air. The bed was about half inch below the plunger. That made me think that maybe I assembled the printer incorrectly. But how could I tell. I also wondered if maybe the auto leveling system was defective or not really installed. I also, noticed that there was an empty slot labeled auto leveling that did not have any wiring provided that I could find.
When I assembled the, the actual work in putting the printer together only involved a few screws and the mechanical assemble was quite easy.
The wiring was another story. There were a few wires to plug in and those that were labeled were easy. However, there were a few that the instructions said to plug in, but I could not find them. It looked like they were now part of the wire harnesses pre-assembled, but there was no easy way to tell. This added more frustration and disappointment. Did I miss something?
To add to my disappointment, Lotmaxx has its own slicing software, but, on the FB Lotmaxx group page, they said to download the Ultimaker Cura software. I would expect that the Lotmaxx software would be better to use with their own printer, but apparently not. Why would they even mention their own software in the 1st place.
I advise everyone thinking of purchasing a 2d printer, to log onto the user group on FB for that printer and look at all the problems users are experiencing. There were so many problems on FB that were way over my head that I realized that this was the wrong printer for me at this time.

One person found this helpful

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Lucien Hulbert

Great machine...

Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2023

Verified Purchase

If you get a good one.
I have a friend that has this machine and it works well. Similar in performance to the Anycubic i3 Mega, but dual-color (one print head, two color channels).
I purchased one and mine was nothing but problems. Eventually, I determined that the board was bad and sent it back. Most likely it was damaged in shipping.
A nice machine, very fast and ULTRA quiet! I mean REALLY quiet! I kept having to look to see if it was on.

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Pedro Juan

Best out of the box printer I have used!

Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2021

Verified Purchase

This is the 8th different brand of printer I have worked with. I am very impressed with this one. I purchased the V1 during their Kickstarter campaign, so part of my review is based on the improvements to the V2.
The printer arrived well packed. Took less than 10 minutes to go from fully boxed to a calibration print. The printer feels solid, and is very easy to assemble. Small amount of leveling, which was easy, and then a calibration print. The included crocodile printed quickly and with great quality. I was happy with how quiet this printer is, better than most. The V1 was a bit challenging on the bi-color prints, if the settings weren't just right, there was jamming on the filament change. My V1 was still my go to for bi-color prints over other brands. The V2 was SO much better! First time, no jamming, just a smooth print and transition. I have been running the machine almost non stop, and it is a winner. Ran a few prints that I use as challenging prints, and it has performed well on all of them. I am going to get into some more complex bi-color prints that will be multi day prints, and am not worried about how this printer will perform. With the V1 I had a few issues, most of them on my end. Unlike a lot of companies, the customer service was fantastic. Rapid and helpful responses, and every issue was addressed and solved.
Part of the reason I took the plunge on this one was the excellent customer service. There is an eternal learning curve with 3d printers, and I have no hesitation recommending this printer to beginners and experienced users alike. In summary, this is a solid well made printer, easy to assemble, quiet, great results with no modification or upgrades.

26 people found this helpful

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ja rob

It does work good

Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2023

Verified Purchase

When I got this product, the box was messed up but I went ahead and put it together and found quite a few pieces were missing from it and when someone else put it together some pieces where put on backwards.
last month one of the motors broke but good thing I had another one.
I did contact the company about the missing parts but nothing happened, they asked if I wanted a refund
that's all. do like it!

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TODD M RUTIGLIANO

If possible I would put -5 stars for support.

Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2023

Verified Purchase

Lotmaxx customer support is ridiculous, all the issues I've had they did NOT help at all. Requested a firmware version for my printer and they send firmware for some other printer! All the help I received was from helpful friends online!
I would NOT recommend this printer or any other printer by Lotmaxx, mainly because you won't get any support from them!!!
Now as for the printer, let me just say I like my Anycubic MUCH better!
BUYER BEWARE YOU WILL NOT GET SUPPORT FROM LOTMAXX!!!

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