3D Printer Review: Monoprice 3D V2

Hey guys!
I hope you have been having a good week - I certainly have. My 2nd 3D Printer arrived in the mail a few days ago. Over the past few days, I have gotten to test out the Monoprice 3D V2 Printer.

Pros
It features a nice 8in x 8in (200mm x 200mm) build area, with a heated bed platform. It can print both PLA and ABS, and Although I havent tested its ABS its PLA comes out pretty nicely.

The price is unbeatable. At $300, for this quality, this is a steal.

Another great feature of this printer is its ease of access. It was fairly easy to set up (besides the bed leveling - that took FOREVER), and its menu system makes it easy to select prints, adjust stepper motor positions, or heat the bed to custom temperatures.

Cons
Even though I bought this printer from the monoprice website - they somehow failed to send me a spool holder (which was no problem, I 3D printed it).
Also, even though I bought this printer supposedly new it came with clear evidence of having been printed on. The nozzle was jammed with someone elses filament, and a design was already printed onto the heating bed. While this is not exactly a con about this printer in general, it was disappointing. Luckily, the printer worked without a hitch so I decided to keep it - (Im a minimalist, if it works thats good enough for me :) - another possible con is the print quality. You can get much better quality with other machines on the market. However, considering this printers price ($300), the quality is outstanding and surpasses anything else near this price.

I printed out a few sample prints which turned out decently -

However, this print was not so successful -

Overhangs can also be a problem -

But now I compensate by printing upside down.

Since I use Arduino - I designed a special board for circuit and sensor testing. Its cleaner and neater than everything being a mess of wires and sensors sprawling over the ground.

!

Then I 3D Printed a basic rover chassis, which turned out ok (A little rough around the edges).

Overall, considering its price, I would give this printer 4/5 stars. Its effective, easy to work with, has a large build area, and suits my needs perfectly (as a robotics enthusiast.) There are many printers out there that can print a better quality, but nothing around this price range even comes close to the Monoprice 3D V2.

I would recommend this printer to those who either are new to 3D Printing or those who dont want to spend to much but still want to get a bang for their buck.