Leapfrog Creatr

This printer is designed and built in the Netherlands.  Mine was made in 2012. It is great if you want to have full control of any aspect and like to tinker with settings and tweak the hardware.

Advantages: heated bed; huge build volume (about 30x30x30cm); sturdy (aluminum and steel). Dual extruder.

Disadvantages: requires manual calibration of all 3 axes; manual setup and repairs; requires basic knowledge of electronics, electric and mechanic components. Must be plugged to computer to run and print. Open print space which might contribute to warping.

Mine traveled from the Netherlands to Mexico so it was definitely not ready to print out-of-the-box. The setup was not easy, the installation was not clear and I still don't know how I finally got it to work in the end. I had to mess with some arduino, firmware updates, and other stuff.

When printing, I had no information or reference for settings. The default preset was not good and I had no idea how to find the "sweet spot" of feed, flow, temperature and speed. Lots of trial and error. Success rate for prints of about 20%.  The sensors for stopping failed and got crushed when the extruder could not stop. I printed an upgrade for the Z-sensor, it helped a lot. The biggest issue is warping and prints that lack adhesion so they come off mid-print. Calibrating the z-offset is a pain. 

Leapfrog has since released new versions of this printer with more modern and current features like auto-calibration. I learned a lot about how 3D printing and printers work by hitting my head against the wall with this one.

It is the poorest designed 3D printer I have ever seen. Dual extruder assembly is pieced together with low grade milled aluminum. Which is still too heavy to operate at the "would be" normal speeds. Sloppy craftsmanship! 

I've been working with this model since 2012 and have done some tweaks here and there. This is a handson printer which needs a little more care than the newer models on the market. The original aluminium dual extruder assembly is too heavy and will cause problems when printing at full speed. The frame however is more stiff and sturdy than a lot of other printers on the market. 

The building volume, which is huge, will not be found with other models in this pricerange.

My Creatr has run for +/- 800 hrs actual printing,  never had any major problems.

The machine is not the fastest but good product.

Done some small rework.