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Best Voxelab 3d Printers in 2023: Buyer's Reviews and Guide

Steve Guide
  Mar 22, 2023 5:35 AM

The success of Creality inspired competitors to use similar solutions in their designs, with an emphasis on reducing the cost of the product. Among the opponents, Voxelab promised to make great 3D printers.  

As a result, Voxelab has become an island of budget devices in a sea of more expensive printers. And the Voxelab Aquila is one of its first machines. 

Roughly speaking, this is an open-design clone of the Ender 3, available at a very attractive price. After that, the company continued to produce Voxelab Aquila X2 to compete with Creality Ender 3 V2.

Now let's also analyze and evaluate the best Voxelab 3D printers. The results will show you if they are worthy of being an equal competitor to Creality!


Top Picks


Reviews

In this section, we select the best Voxelab 3D printers of 2022. Of course, this manufacturer owns more than six models. But, the lists below are typical representatives that gain the most orders and reviews.

#1. Aquila - Best For Automatically Resume Printing 

1. Voxelab Aquila 

Important Specifications

  • Dimensions: 18.9 x 20.47 x 24.41 inches

  • Weight: 22 Pounds

  • Material: Metal

  • Operating System: Windows XP/7/8/10, MAC OS

Product's highlights

The Voxelab Aquila is one of its first machines. Roughly speaking, this is a new alternative to Ender 3 and Anycubic Zero, available at a very attractive price.

Here we have a nice bright color screen and a simple user interface. It doesn't look dated like the bulky dot matrix LCDs commonly found on these printers.

This machine has to be very easy to use and understandable for newbies. And the user interface with its grip gets the praise it deserves.

The Aquila comes with a 32-bit board with quiet drivers. This 3D printer definitely won't deafen you.

But the meaning of quiet drivers is a little lost due to the rather loud fans and the print head, especially when it changes direction. Not super loud, but don't expect complete silence.

Textured glass usually provides good adhesion. The substrate under the glass on Aquila heats up to 212°F, and the hot end reaches a temperature of 482 °F. 

All exotic high-temperature materials cannot be compatible with Aquila, but there will be no problems with the popular materials such as PLA and PETG.

If your house has a sudden power outage, Voxelab Aquila will remember its last position and resume printing after the power comes back. Just hope the lights turn on quickly as this feature won't prevent the bed from cooling down, which means your print may just slide off the glass.

The printed volume of Aquila 8.6 x 8.6 x 9.8 inches is on a par with its counterparts in the price category. It's not large, but it is the same volume as many printers in this segment.

Aquila has the same function as any device in the Ender 3 line and is much cheaper. Most of the troubleshooting and upgrade parts are interchangeable with the Ender 3. Overall, we can recommend Aquila and know you will love it too.

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What We Like

  • Exceptionally low cost

  • Very easy to use

  • PLA and ABS perform well on a glass print bed.

Things to Consider

  • Low temperature

#2. Aquila X2 - Best For Silent Printing 

2. Voxelab Aquila X2 

Important Specifications

  • Dimensions: 22.44 x 15.12 x 8.43 inches

  • Weight: 21.78 Pounds

  • Material: Abs, Pla, PETG

  • Operating System: Windows XP, Mac

Product's highlights

In our evaluation, the Voxelab Aquila X2 is now a direct rival to the Creality Ender-3 V2. Compared to the original Aquila, this machine has significant hardware upgrades with a 32-bit motherboard and silent stepper motor drivers.

The Settings menu has several options, including temperature control and preset temperature profiles for ABS and PLA and motion control. This menu shows the filament sensor's functionality and allows you to change the language, although only English and Chinese are available in the base firmware.

Aquila X2 employs Prusa kinematics, in which a moveable table controls the Y-axis. The glass table is fixed on two aluminum brackets to the heating element of the table.  

The maximum table heating temperature is 1100, allowing refractory PETG and ABS to work. It uses the standard CR10 hot end from the Ender-3, with a maximum heating temperature of 2500°F.  

Voxelab's proprietary VoxelMaker slicer comes with the Aquila X2 SD card. Cura is also compatible with Aquila X2. To use Cura, you must first build an Aquila X2 profile using the instructions included on the SD card.

We found the paper clips that came with the printer to be unstable. When you push on one of the sides, the glass plate will shift, which might cause layer displacement when printing. We chose to use ecclesiastical clips to reinforce the fastening.

We conducted a 22-hour stress test. The model is a complicated vase with many retractions due to the projecting ribs on the vase's surface. 

This test used translucent Esun PLA and set print parameters of 215/600 and a speed of 60 mm/s. Modeling this vase was not a difficult task for Aquila X2, and it maintained all geometry.

Yet, the printing procedure used a lot of filaments, which is unusual for PLA. Transparent PLA, like PETG, has components that modify the look of filaments. 

So the visible remnants of the "spider web" on the vase were a bit distressing. But that's because we improperly chose the material.

The Aquila X2 resembles the Ender-3 V2 in appearance. But, there are some flaws, such as weak brackets on the heating table and a less-than-ideal placement for switching the hot end. 

These flaws are readily rectified and possibly forgiven considering the price of Aquila X2. Overall, the Aquila X2 has proven a capable long-distance travel companion.  

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What We Like

  • The printer operation is whisper quiet

  • The large LCD interface is bright and easy to read

  • VoxelMaker software is simple to use

Things to Consider

  • There is no profile for Cura

#3. Aquila C2 - Best For Fast Heating 

3. Voxelab Aquila C2 

Important Specifications

  • Dimensions: 22.25 x 15.6 x 8.3 inches

  • Weight: 20.1 Pounds

  • Material: PLA

  • Operating System: Windows XP, Mac

Product's highlights

We own a Voxelab Aquila C2 and a Ender 3 Pro, and we prefer the Aquila C2. Most modifications that fit on the ender three pros are compatible with the Aquila, and the setup was similar to that of the ender three pros.

However, it is significantly quieter than the Ender 3 Pro. It has a glass build plate, which aids in the creation of a uniform and even initial layers.

It also comes with the Y-axis 4040 extrusion standard with the Ender 3 pro edition. The X carriage also contains threaded holes for a BL Touch, and Voxelab offers precompiled firmware, so there's no need to create it yourself.

It came beautifully wrapped, the build quality was far above our expectations for the price, and installation was a breeze. This machine uses the Creality kit to update the Bowden tubing and fittings right away.

Pneumatic fittings and new aluminum leveling nuts and springs were also used in this approach. FYI, the springs are fantastic, but we had to relocate the Z-axis limit switch before leveling.

If you put in some effort, you'll end up with a printer that's far better than anything else in this price range. Flashforge manufactures the Voxelab Aquila C2, and these products are more or less proprietary.

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What We Like

  • Heatable printing plate with minimal noise

  • Much filaments volume

  • Anti-power failure function

Things to Consider

  • Uneven printing bed 

#4. Aries - Best For Metal Printing 

4. Voxelab Aries 

Important Specifications

  • Dimensions: 22.25 x 15.6 x 8.3 inches

  • Weight: 20.1 Pounds

  • Material: PLA, PETG

  • Operating System: Windows XP, Mac

Product's highlights

The Aries is another FDM printer from Voxelab with more additional features than Aquila. It's more expensive than Aquila. So we're trying to find out if it's worth its higher price tag.

This machine has a cube-shaped plastic design that reminds us of FlashForge Finder. The body of the printer is tough and sturdy.

The rear of the printer houses the power connector and extruder. We are not a huge fan of glossy black plastic. 

It scratches easily and collects fingerprints. The printer has a large touch screen and USB port on the bottom front. On the left and right sides, there is nothing worth mentioning. 

Unfortunately, we didn't see a USB port for connecting Aries to a computer or Raspberry Pi, which can be a problem for some users. It means that using OctoPrint or Klipper will not be possible due to this limitation.

At Aries, we get the same type of hot end found in other printers with a similar Creality style PTFE tube design. It means that the maximum safe printing temperature is around 240C. The PTFE tubing will decompose faster, releasing harmful vapors and clogging the hot end if you exceed this limit.

On the right side of the carriage, there is a 4010 radial fan for cooling the model and a 4010 fan for cooling the hot-end radiator. When the printer is not in use, it will turn the fan off. 

When you start heating the nozzle, though, it immediately switches on and emits a lot of noise. We hope that Voxelab will start using more silent fans in the future. 

The airflow is good when it comes back to the hot-end fan, but some come out through the bottom of the hot-end casing. It helps with PLA printing because it improves the model's cooling, making ABS printing an impossible task. 

We have tried printing ABS several times, adding little glue to the table for better adhesion, and each attempt fails. The layers begin to peel off due to the airflow created by the hot-end cooling fan. 

Of course, you can fix this by gluing aluminum or Kapton tape on the bottom, but ABS printing is not possible in the standard configuration.

An interesting feature of Aries is the location of the Z end switch. Instead of the standard attachment point, as in most printers, the Aries optical sensor is located at the bottom of the printer. 

We like this solution because you can add a final G-code to start the printer after printing is complete, making it easier to remove the model from the table. The disadvantage is the time it takes for the printer to perform the startup calibration due to the longer travel time.

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What We Like

  • Fast and dependable Wi-Fi connection

  • Easy bed leveling 

  • The partially covered frame keep your fingers away from moving parts

  • Motion mechanism that is sturdy and well-built

Things to Consider

  • Loud cooling fan

#5. Proxima - Best For Resin Printing 

5. Voxelab Proxima 

Important Specifications

  • Dimensions: 9.06 x 7.87 x 16.14 inches

  • Weight: 13.2 Pounds

  • Material: Resin

  • Operating System: Windows XP, Mac

Product's highlights

The Proxima photopolymer 3D printer with a 2K matrix is useful for both experts and beginners because of its inexpensive pricing and good printing accuracy.

Proxima will delight those who have it the first time with the good print quality, especially when printing on FDM/FFF printers. 

The Proxima will not disappoint makers familiar with photopolymer 3D printers. It is comparable to the quality of products obtained from most other photopolymer makers.

0.05 mm or 50 microns is the standard pixel size on the XY plane. And the minimum layer thickness is 0.025 mm or 25 microns along the Z-axis. As a result, the printing is stable; reproducibility is high.

The Proxima supports a 2K resolution of 2560 x 1620 pixels on its 6-inch display. The pixel size is 50 microns (0.05 mm) at this resolution. 

The minimal layer thickness is 0.025 mm. It is the standard resolution for most hobby photopolymer printers. 

Many expensive printers have a 4K matrix, and some even 8K, which is frankly unnecessary for household and hobby use. If you want the highest possible accuracy, consider higher-resolution printers like FLASHFORGE 4K, ELEGOO Ultra 4K, and Proxima 8.9 Pro 4K

The main advantages of the printer are high accuracy at a reasonable price. So Proxima is intended for the hobby and is especially recommended for beginners. 

Accuracy is adequate for printing miniatures, décor pieces, and home goods. For a little investment, you receive a gadget that can print high-quality products for years to come.

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What We Like

  • Low price

  • Good equipment

  • Straightforward instructions

  • Very good print quality

  • Ease of operation

  • Robust construction

  • Easy and fast calibration

  • Support for different slicers

Things to Consider

  • Annoying beep 

  • Cannot change settings and dwell time while printing

#6. Polaris - Best For Rubber Printing 

6. Voxelab Polaris 

Important Specifications

  • Dimensions: 9.06 x 7.87 x 16.14 inches

  • Weight: 13.2 pounds

  • Material: Resin

  • Operating System: Windows XP, Mac

Product's highlights

The Polaris 2K Color LCD 3D printer is a printer for working with photopolymer resins. Featuring a 2K (2560 x 1440 pixels) LCD screen and minimalist design, it is easy to use and Ideal as the first printer for 3D printing enthusiasts.

This machine is the junior model, and it costs a little less than Proxima 2K. Proxima works more smartly due to the mono screen, full-fledged anti-aliasing with support for grayscale. 

There are practically no layers visible. Here, of course, you can see them a little stronger, but the print is quite worthy.

Proxima has a screen without a protective glass on top so that there is less gap between the model and the screen and the ability to get the best print quality. 

Leveling the build platform on a resin 3D printer is vital for the calibration process. It necessitates a build platform that rests flat against the masking LCD to generate an evenly-cured layer. This operation can be time-consuming, but the Voxelab Polaris' two-bolt leveling mechanism makes it quick and easy.

The leveling method is similar to that of the Elegoo Mars 2 Pro in that it comprises a few basic stages. To begin, unscrew the two bracket bolts, drop the platform until it is flush with a piece of paper between the masking LCD and the build platform, then retighten the bolts and set the Z = 0.

During our testing of the Polaris, we had no calibration difficulties. This simple leveling method will please you with proper printings.

Polaris works with all 405nm resins on the market. However, the printer manufacturer recommends using a resin made by Voxelab for ideal 3D printing results.

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What We Like

  • Convenient and lightweight

  • Translucent cover allows you to easily and safely observe the printing process

  • A quick and accurate alignment system

  • Simple user interface

  • 2K LCD screen guarantees a clarity of details

Things to Consider

  • Small print volume


Buying Guides

To choose a good and reliable machine, you need to know several important criteria as below. 

Printing Technologies: FDM and SLA

Let's start with the more common FDM/FFF technology. Its principle is very simple: the filament is fed into an extruder, which melts at a certain temperature. Depending on the type of material and the diameter of the nozzle, the machine will form a solid 3D model in different ways. 

The technology is so simple that now the market offers devices of quite acceptable quality. Aquila is the pioneer of Voxelab, while Aquila X2 and Aquila C2 are its upgraded versions.

Photopolymer 3D printing has evolved in parallel but in a completely different way. The photopolymer resin becomes solid under the influence of a light source and forms a 3D model. 

The intrigue is that the light source can be different: SLA (laser through a system of mirrors), DLP (digital projector), LCD/mSLA (LED lamp through an LCD).

The Proxima and Polaris series products are typical representatives of this LCD printing technology.

Voxelab has developed 4K resolution on Voxelab Proxima 8.9 and Proxima 8.9 Pro. This feature helps print works to be accurate down to the smallest detail.

Dimensions Of The Print

Another factor to consider when selecting a 3D printer is the size of the prints you intend to make. Among Voxelab machines, Aquila allows the largest print volume of 8.6 x 8.6 x 9.8 inches.


Compare

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2
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TOP Choice
3
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    8.6
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  • Brand
    Voxelab
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4
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    8.6
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    Voxelab
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5
  • SCORE
    8.6
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  • Brand
    Voxelab
6
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    8.6
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  • Brand
    Voxelab
7
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    8.4
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    Voxelab
8
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    8.2
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    Voxelab
9
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    8.2
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    Voxelab
10
  • SCORE
    8.0
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  • Brand
    Voxelab
11
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    7.6
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  • Brand
    Voxelab
12
  • SCORE
    8.6
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  • Brand
    Voxelab
13
  • SCORE
    8.2
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  • Brand
    Voxelab
14
  • SCORE
    8.2
    BP Score

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  • Brand
    Voxelab
15
  • SCORE
    7.9
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  • Brand
    Voxelab

Last update on 2023-03-22 / Affiliate links / Images, Product Titles, and Product Highlights from Amazon Product Advertising API


FAQs

 

We'll answer a few of the most frequently asked questions right here. Don't miss any of them if you want to get more experience choosing 3D printers!

Is The Voxelab 3D Printer A Decent Choice?

For beginners, Voxelab machines are terrific 3D printers at an affordable price. It's not perfect, but it's an excellent example of a low-cost FDM 3D printer that may be much better with a few tweaks. Aquila is the top-rated model, and you should give it a try.

Is The Aquila Better Than The Ender 3 V2?

The Voxelab Aquila is an acceptable Ender 3 V2 replacement. It's less expensive and provides good print quality without breaking the budget. There isn't much of a difference between the Aquila and the Ender 3 V2 regarding specifications.

How Long Does Aries Take To 3D Print Something?

Since the construction of the 3D printer is very stable, the print bed leveling also lasts a long time. After 11 hours, Aries will create complete 3D models.


Conclusion

FDM models emerged as the leaders in the rating as a result of a comparison of qualities and tests:

Here are our three best Voxelab 3D printers:

We recommend reading user reviews while deciding which 3D printer is the best. Hopefully, the information in this post will assist you in making your own decision.

Thank you for reading!


4.7
3 ratings