Additionally, you can upgrade the hotend in the future if you plan on doing a lot of printing at higher temperatures. This is handy if you don’t want to have to regularly troubleshoot issues with your hotend. Belt tensioners Answer: A typical 3D printer uses 50 watts of electricity per hour. However, with 3D printers, you’re going to need much more power since they print non-stop for longer periods of time. As a result, you’re going to see a much larger electric bill. Most 3D printers require 120 volts of power, so don’t be surprised when your power bill arrives in the mail. Is the Voxelab Aquila 3D Printer Right for You? If you choose one of the bi-metal hotends, you will also be able to replace the hotend fan with a more silent variant. The good news is that it works very well with PLA, but if you start printing at more than 240 degrees Celsius for long periods of time, you’ll start to notice degradation in the tube and a foul stench in the air. The Voxelab Aquila printer is a great option for anyone who wants to save some money while getting their feet wet with 3D printing. Its specs aren’t going to blow you away, but the unit gets the job done for 3D printing hobbyists or beginners. The screen interface is nice, as is the ability to update the firmware.

This printer is a staggeringly good value, professionally made quality product that has more functionality than the much vaunted Ender 3 v2. Aquila is a straight forward BD printer based on open source technology. It allows for flexible upgrades and various modifications. Meanwhile, you are able to choose your favorite software as VoxelMaker, Cura and more. You’re not going to get anything fancy with this 3D printer. It looks a lot like any other budget option you might find on the market. It’s not going to blow you away, but it will get the job done. There is no front drawer on the device and the unit’s screen is set to landscape mode. Printing volume You cannot possibly be serious. Fixed-level print surface? That will only make leveling a true nightmare. Voxelab advertises the Aquila X2 as being compatible with the Ultimaker slicer app Cura, so I created a profile based on the Creality Ender 3 to test it out. This isn’t a difficult process, but it’s not something I feel that a beginner should be expected to do after purchasing a printer.

This Creality Ender 3 clone is really loud, without much to shout about.

In this article I will cover some of my recommended Voxelab Aquila upgrades which should improve your printing experience while keeping the costs low. With its carbon crystal silicon build plate, the Aquila C2 ensures fast heating to 60℃ within minutes. This innovative plate provides strong adhesion and excellent bottom-layer print effects, enhancing the overall quality of your prints. Experience the world of 3D printing with the Voxelab Aquila C2 FDM 3D Printer. This versatile printer combines high-quality performance with user-friendly features, making it the perfect choice for beginners and enthusiasts alike. One of the coolest features about the Aquila printer is that you’ll get a nice, color TFT screen with the unit. The screen has a white user interface with red accents. Unfortunately, it’s not a touchscreen, so you’ll have to use the hardware buttons to navigate through the menu. The screen is responsive and fast, which is nice to see since the printer doesn’t offer many advanced options or additional features. PTFE hotend

Also OctoPi? Only at staggering cost. A Raspberry Pi capable of running OctoPi is now just stupid expensive. It’s much cheaper and simpler to just buy a cheap secondhand Linux desktop computer and run Pronterface on it. Finally, there the BLTouch that’s recommended by everyone. I added this to the guide just so you know this can be a solution for easier bed leveling, but in the free section I will tell you about the free alternative which can be used (manual mesh bed leveling). In my opinion, a BLTouch is not needed for small format printers like the Voxelab Aquila but it can be a helpful upgrade if your print surface is not perfect, and you don’t want to mess with MBL. There’s a huge list of added features, like Manual Mesh Bed Leveling, the possibility of adjusting the screen brightness, tuned PID settings and custom menu colors. The X and Y-axes both feature a tensioning knob located at the end of their respective extrusions. These knobs add or subtract tension from the X and Y belts, which is critical for making prints without ringing or muting detail on sharp corners.

If you decide to flash a custom firmware on your Voxelab Aquila, then you will notice that it’s recommended to mount the LCD in a vertical orientation. This vertical LCD mount on Thingiverse should do the job. But if changing the firmware is not on your Voxelab Aquila upgrades list then changing the screen orientation won’t help. V-slot covers I covered the Octoprint installation in this article, so if you have a Raspberry Pi laying around, there’s no reason not to give Octoprint a chance because it’s an excellent addition in the free Voxelab Aquila upgrades list. You’ll love it! Wrapping up The Voxelab Aquila X2 feels like a printer that can’t quite decide where it should be positioned in the market. The silent stepper drivers and large color LCD screen would indicate a more premium machine, but the loud fans and sub-optimal software experience make this printer feel somewhat unfinished. Voxelab offers a Creality style hotend with its printer, where the PTFE tube enters the nozzle. The hotend is one of the cheaper models on the market, which is to be expected with a 3D printer at this price point. The printer’s surface is held in place with two metal clips, which lets you remove the glass if you need to. This is a handy feature for cleaning up after print jobs. One item to note is that the Aquila does not have insulation material beneath the printing bed. Power supply

Make sure you read the documentation carefully before flashing a custom firmware, to ensure that you understood all the steps needed, and you have the correct files at hand. It’s also important to format the SD cards as recommended in the flashing guide, for a successful firmware upgrade. Vertical LCD mount If I needed two printers I'd buy another. And yes 'TOM' it does know what it's about. It is a budget version of a good solid enthusiast's machine at a startlingly good price. With no significant technical compromises to hit the price point!When your Voxelab Aquila 3D printer is sitting idle, it will draw around 9 watts. When it’s heating up, the wattage bumps up to 240W, which then levels off to around 90W once the print job starts. Noise Well, 'Tom's' views seem a little elitist..... 'can't decide what it wants to be', where is his confusion? Large Build Volume: Print bigger and more ambitious projects with the spacious 220 220250mm build volume. There’s also the possibility of adding an extra 3510 radial fan and print this mount to have dual fan cooling for your printer. Direct drive conversion