What makes a good review? Technical knowledge? Image quality? Verbiage? Honesty? Yes, but there’s an order.As a reviewer of 3D printers, I have wanted to prioritize not making “ads” for companies, but also not bashing them for their mistakes.How do I balance these two extremes? Ethics and personal morals.
Getting The Printers To start, I need to get a printer to review.In every case, whether I am approached or I approach them, I ensure all printer manufacturers agree to have no influence over the review.They cannot see the review until it is published, along with everyone else.
Every company and I agree that I will receive a 3D printer solely for the purposes of a review.The only time I contact the manufacturer between the agreement and letting them know it’s done is if there are any issues or complications.For example, I reached out to Peopoly to get help diagnosing a failed linear motor on the Y axis.
For the Prusa CORE One, I asked to get a textured PEI sheet so I could test TPU without ripping apart the smooth PEI sheet.Accuracy Test from the Formlabs 4L The Testing In my testing, I try to keep all the reviews as consistent as possible.I test tolerances, accuracy, quality, speed, and noise level.
I also discuss price and repairability.I try to offer a perspective that aligns with not just a hobbyist, but a small business or even a large business.I want to convey the possibilities of having a given printer (let’s call it X) in a small print farm or a support role for your business.
CF-PETG Printed on the Peopoly Magneto X Writing The Article I write all my notes about each machine’s performance, advertised capabilities, and realistic capabilities.I then take these notes and condense them into paragraphs that I have an AI like Gemini or Grok review and suggest grammatical improvements.AI doesn’t ever change what I have to say or create anything new.
I use it only for grammar and punctuation.Dual-Color Shift Handle from the Flashforge Guider 3 Ultra Article Review and Publication Once I have an article ready to go, I upload it as a draft, and several editors can review it and act like an AI, provide me with tips and suggestions, and submit my draft to be published at a future date.Once the article is published, I email the article link to the manufacturer of X printer and that is it.
I have been asked many times to remove the article or to make changes.I have not and will not make any changes or remove any article that I am asked to change or remove.The only changes that I do consider are if any spelling errors or typos are caught.
Otherwise, all opinions are mine and mine alone and stay.All images courtesy of Orville Wright.Subscribe to Our Email Newsletter Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from the 3D printing industry and receive information and offers from third party vendors.
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