Lulzbot TAZ 6

I have had this printer for a little over a year and have been happy with it during that time.  Although Changing between two different dual Extruder heads and a single head depending on the job,  and recalibrating in between were not allway fun.  The new dual head version three has solved all that in one fell swoop.  It has printed everything I've thrown at it so far.  I've run ABS, PLA, PETG, Bronzefill, Copperfill, PVA, HIPS, Bridge, BluPrint, 645. And Polydissolve S1  and all of them have functioned well. There is no longer any need of changing any heads and all of them are now listed on Ebay.  I can now say that i feel good in recommending this printer to anyone.  If you are going to be printing a lot of ABS the only thing I would say is to get or build an enclosure.  These open frame printers dont hold enough heat to print ABS trouble free without one.  They now sell a tent one at lulzbot that works great.

Just buy one!

From day one I was able to print things successfully that I was unable to print on other printers I have had/tried. The dual extruder tool head is a snap to install.  Downloading and installing the profile took only 10 min.

The Lulzbot version of Cura produces very usable Gcode making printing that much easier.

I highly recommend this printer!

the self leveling can be frustrating after you’ve done a bunch of prints, so once the printhead is at temp, get a bronze wire brush and scrub the heck out of the nozzle to clean all the junk off it. The self leveling uses an electrical contact at the four corners of the build plate and calculates the z offset so that it prints level.

This printer is an absolute workhorse of a machine. With proper maintenance between prints (which is minimal, just cleaning the bed), it will churn out parts no problem. The major downside of this printer is that it is LOUD. I bought to use in my office for prototypes, but I had to build an enclosure to bring it down to tolerable levels. Otherwise, this printer is fantastic.

You can make it one the best machines out there

In a laboratory, for printing prototype parts it is OK. Is quite loud. It is better to refine the settings for each filament an print. Before you print a big object you should test the filament on a small one. Overall it is was good choice.

I highly recommend going with PLA, and one of the very large diameter nozzles! prints huge volumes in a matter of hours and you can easily hide the print lines with resin or other modeling plasters. 

I reviewed and explored many 3D Printer brands and models when I was looking for an affordable "home office" system.  I chose the TAZ 6 for its brand advertising, and (more importantly) overall its consumer reviews, which indicated the TAZ 6 would meet or exceed my needs.  My search focused on: QUALITY of Machine & Output, DURABILITY, BUILD VOLUME, COMPATIBILITY with other sources of SUPPLY & SOFTWARE and Lasting Product Relevance (representing an Industry Standard for a few years) in a swiftly advancing Technical Market.  The TAZ 6 appeared to fit all of those prerequisites.  So I made the purchase.  In hindsight, I am delighted with my selection.

It was out of the box "Turn Key" easy to set up, enabling me to print within an hour.  I had never used a 3D printer before setting up my TAZ 6.   It was SIMPLE!  Certainly the more advanced capabilities require a learning curve or possible engagement with other experienced users and/or factory tech assistance.  The learning curve was made simpler with easy to understand on-line documentation and excellent customer support.  Lulzbot deserves high marks for both!

I have printed a couple of hundred prints with wonderful results and encountered very little waste or frustration.  Failures were more "my fault" than from the equipment or software.  I have sold many of my prints and I have been able to mix my 3D Prints with Resin Cast Products that I offer.  I highly endorse and recommend the Lulzbot TAZ 6.     

Best to All,

Harry

I've had the TAZ 6 for a little over a year. It's been great - no problems with the bed, quality of the print was very nice, and even had several 2 day prints. Would have given it 5 stars across the board.

A few months ago, the LCD started to act squacky - as if a phantom was pushing the knob jumping from screen to screen. Called support and we diagnosed it was probably the LCD board ($68). Ordered it, installed it and things looked like I fixed it. A few days after warranty expired,  it started again. Contacted support and had several e-mails that really didn't help solve the issue. Contacted the Lulzbot forum to no success.

Finally, support suggested the problem was 1) the LCD board AGAIN. 2) a short somewhere in the wiring harnesses, 3) software that suddenly changed behavior, or 4) the RAMBo ($170) board failed.  #4 seemed the logical choice so I ordered it, installed it and after 2 months of no printing (and it's amazing how dependent I became on my printer!) I'm finally printing again. I also had to upgrade CURA to flash the eprom on the RAMBo. But the good point to make here is the excellent documentation online to support an adventure like this with the TAZ 6. I'm not an electrical engineer but I was able to handle this one.

I'm still impressed with the "open-source" nature of this product - all the printed parts and available in STL form, along with documentation the explains how to fix it. This reminds me of working on PCs when the PC clones were first available. 

The TAZ 6 is not cheap (nor is the TAZ Workhorse or TAZ Pro), but I've been happy with product and would recommend one if the budget can handle it.