Received my unit yesterday – but due to work obligations (work, yes!) I had to just leave it in the box.  However this new generation is amazing and awesome!  Ten minutes out of the box I was printing a test part (keychain fob) and a greeting (Hi!) in PLA.  The small keychain fob is the Cubify icon.

This new 3d printer has some amazing features.  It automatically levels the build plate, and automatically measures the z-height for nozzle clearances.  While there is no live feed camera, there is a very useful icon of the part being built shown on the color touch screen (and remotely via the client app).  As the build progresses, the icon turns from black and white to green like a progress bar on software installations. The nozzles are integral to the cartridge so they are replaced with a new one each time you replace a cartridge.  Users of Cube 1 and 2 machines will recognize the menu structure of the Cube 3, but now the menu top level scrolls across the screen.  Over-the-air firmware updates are now included, so you don’t have to hook it up to your computer for keeping that up to date.

The build plate is now aluminum with a white plastic coating.  Careful!  The coating seems soft but you still use Cube Glue and wow, does it stick!  Be patient and soak your part in warm water to soften the bond.  And by the way, do that in a non-steel container – the magnets are embedded in the build plate this time and they are strong!  I managed to get the build plate stuck in my square metal (iron) cake pan and removing it was not easy.

This machine is also quieter than the Cube 2 yet still makes some noise, but the level is nothing objectionable.  And the light show it puts on during calibration is quite fascinating.  Speed seems fine – a 3″ rook took 6.5 hours at 70 microns.  The result was incredible.  The layers were barely perceptible.

I’ll be updating this in the next few days with some pictures and build samples to show, but based on my first experience, this is definitely the best one out there!