Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Afinia H-Series
automatically. Once your design is to your
liking, it's as easy as pressing Print.
Print quality was quite good—we were sur-
prised by how great the first print looked (the
snake). And subsequent prints like the owl
confirmed it: sharp corners, clean overhangs,
and true vertical and horizontal surfaces. Di-
mensional accuracy was off by about 1% on
our torture-test object, with holes slightly
undersized, though this might be due to
shrinkage of ABS plastic. The Afinia was reli-
able, too; we didn't have to babysit it.
Unfortunately, there is no SD card or USB
flash drive on the Afinia. You can print from
your computer via USB and disconnect once
the job has started printing, though.
The status light indicators can be confusing
if you don't have the manual in front of you,
and are a constant reminder of the lack of an
onboard control panel. The machine also
makes a loud beeping sound as it begins
printing, which reminded us of a truck back-
ing up, though it prints quietly.
Though it printed slower than many of the
printers we tested, the H-Series stood out as
one of our favorites. Straight out of the box,
using the default 0.2 mm resolution settings,
we printed some of the best-looking chal-
lenge prints.
The compact H-Series is a version of PP3DP's
UP! Plus 3D printer, rebranded for the US
market. It's got a single extruder and runs via
USB off Mac or Windows machines, with no
onboard controls except an initialize button
and a flashing status indicator. But despite
the no-frills hardware, it's a surprising little
performer that's ideal for beginners.
The printer sits about 10"×10"×14” high on
the desktop, weighs just 11lbs, and is sturdy
for transport. It ships fully assembled and
takes only a few minutes to set up. Loading
the filament, leveling the platform, and cali-
brating the machine were easy, thanks to its
straightforward documentation.
The Afinia 3D proprietary software package
slices, generates support, duplicates, and
can place multiple models for printing—all
