Longer LK5 Pro Upgraded Review

[@samhaines829]

I've owned an lK5 fo 4 months and i love it except lately I've ran into some bed adhesion issue that I haven't been able to resolve. It may be time to move away from the glue sticks and on to something designed for the purpose. My ratings. When size and price matter, and let's be honest when don't they matter, i give it an 8 out of 10. Interface 7 out of 10. Print quality. 8 out or 10. Coparable to our Ender 7, although it' slower. Overall very happy at the price point.

[@RobertCowanDIY]

Good take on it. I think I'm just being more critical, but your assessment is in line with what I found, I just think my idea of a '10' is further off. It's a good printer for the price, no doubt.

[@Isaacrl67]

I have 2 LK5 Pro printers. I found the bed adhesion problems are almost always due to bed tramming. I never use glue stick and clean the bed with 90% isopropyl alcohol. My PLA prints stick down almost too well when the bed is level, PETG seems fine if I make sure the bed is set for 80C. The one thing that helped the most for consistency was installing an auto bed level sensor. Every dozen prints or so I will manually tram the bed again, as the springs are never going to stay exactly where you leave them. I plan to replace the springs with posts for a more ridged bed, which should allow something closer to 6 months between checking the actual bed tramming.

[@DK1105-k3c]

I picked up the standard LK5 Pro for $315 as my first printer and I have been extremely happy with it thus far. Set up/documentation wasn't the greatest experience but nothing difficult. The print size was a must for my needs and is what held me back from buying something earlier. Not experienced enough to know if it was the "right" printer for me as an entry point it's been great. The only minor complaint my electronics cooling fan has a buzzing sound that might just need to be reseated.

[@RobertCowanDIY]

Seeing at that is your first printer, you would be surprised how intuitive and user-friendly some of the higher-level printers are. I have mine in a closet and as long as the right filament is loaded, I can hit print from Octoprint and never interact with it until it's fully done. I do this for almost every print, and rarely ever need to make adjustments or tweaks, and the prints are flawless every time.

[@exeter7414]

For a beginner, I think that trial and error is helpful for the sake of experience.

[@AquaStevae]

@@RobertCowanDIY ONCE AGAIN an EXTREMELY biased reply to a person who is satisfied and happy with their purchase. I've only spent this small amount of time on your channel but you've annoyed me from almost the start. And the more I watch or read, the more of a jackass you appear to be. So, don't worry about my returning, it won't happen...

[@AquaStevae]

@@exeter7414 Don't listen to this idiot. Enjoy your printer, and find a better reviewer. He is clearly bias and rigid.

[@RobertCowanDIY]

@@AquaStevae Hey Steve (?). I make videos so I can share my viewpoints and opinions as I see it. I am not always representative of everyone that will use a 3d printer, I tend to like higher end tools and am less forgiving of minor issues. Many KZbin channels are just trying to please as many people as possible so they get the maximum number of views (and commissioned sales!). This isn't my goal. You SHOULD have a different opinion than I do, we are completely different people with different life experiences. It's OK that we see things differently! There isn't a single opinion that should represent everyone and all use-cases. I did not particularly like the Longer LK5, and I've had dozens of 3D printers pass through my shop. It's just my opinion, that's all! Some people like coffee, some people like tea. If having an opinion different than your own makes me a jackass, that's fine.

[@Brunnen_Gee]

I just picked up one of these for Black Friday at $240. I think for that price it's a steal. It's my first FDM printer in close to 10 years, something I've been itching to get back into for a long time. For the most part I'm happy, it's been printing well for me. My complaints are the build instructions are pretty lacking, and those three fans on the print head are LOUD. That's absolutely going to be my first mod, quieten that thing down. I also didn't like the spool placement, it seemed to put too much of an angle on the filament and it was wanting to spring off the spool. I moved the holder to the top of the printer and it's doing well. The Z stop switch, yeah, fully agree. I installed it where the instructions said to and it was too high, fully extending the build plate up didn't get me close to the nozzle. It was a lot of fiddling getting that working right, it doesn't help that since it only secures with one screw it can tilt left to right, which throws it off as well.

[@RobertCowanDIY]

Hey, if you like it, good for you. Just keep in mind, there are significantly better and more modern printers out there.

[@Brunnen_Gee]

@@RobertCowanDIY I'm aware. But price is a big thing for me, and nothing I found had this large of a build area for anywhere near the price.

[@TJenga]

Is it 400 or 500 in height. I just got the lk5 upgraded one in and it’s only 300x300x400

[@mauricioherrera4951]

400. confirmed.

[@pietrom2642]

Wow, im a huge fan of yours and was deciding about purchasing the printer, great work as always!

[@RobertCowanDIY]

I mean, it's not a 'bad' printer, but I'd rather save up the extra $100 and get the Sidewinder X2. Using both for a few weeks, it's hard to want to use the Longer instead. It also takes forever to heat up since nothing is insulated.

[@jrbn253]

I have already purchased the printer new to 3d printing and was overly excited by the build size not knowing much I would like to upgrade the hotend and add a bl touch insulate the heat plate and maybe get a dual gear extruder rather then dealing with switching bowden set up wanting to print hotter materials not hugely interested in flex materials any suggestions on the easiest best hotend to choose not worried about cost just so new I have no idea what is compatible extruder and hot end wise

[@Perkeletricksterservantofrher]

is the thermistor glued into the hotend ?

[@RobertCowanDIY]

I don't think so. It usually just has thermal paste.

[@Perkeletricksterservantofrher]

Nice it did just come out. Do you know any way to have it do higher temps than its max 250 ?@@RobertCowanDIY

[@RobertCowanDIY]

@@PerkeletricksterservantofrherYou need to replace the whole hotend assembly. There's a PTFE tube running through it and increasing the temps will melt it. It's not a limitation of the heater or the thermistor, it's not suited for those temps.

[@Perkeletricksterservantofrher]

I did with a creality spider V2 It fits perfect just I cannot find firmware to enable it to go to 280 degree c.@@RobertCowanDIY

[@fearofchicke]

Did you try flipping the glass bed?

[@RobertCowanDIY]

Flipping it, not sure what you mean?

[@create3designs235]

Great videos does any of this work with a 4.6 mm nozzle? How can we make this work, especially when working with PETG ??

[@RobertCowanDIY]

4.6mm? Do you mean 0.6 or 0.4? You can use any standard sized nozzle on these printers, assuming you adjust the profile.

[@wishusknight3009]

Yeah, other opinions I have seen on this one seem to be in relative agreement. Spend a little more to get the finishing touches, or go for something smaller for the same price.

[@jaymagee927]

LK5 pro was my first ever printer. I have had no issues with it. I now have 4 of them. I have upgraded the bed springs to the silicone nubs and it holds level quite well. I have since bought an Ender 3 pro and it sits under the desk collecting dust. I have more problems and issues with the ender than i have the LK5 pro. This printer should have gotten better numbers than what you share. Guess your bias or paid

[@RobertCowanDIY]

With all due respect, have you ever used a Prusa or industrial 3d printer, or just consumer-level hobbyist printers? Who exactly would be paying me? Longer sent the printer to me for free, yet I'm being honest about my impressions of it? Who's the magic man behind the curtain that's benefiting from all of this?

[@exeter7414]

I’m sure like most products, it is on an individual basis.

[@UloPe]

I forget who said it but I really agree with the sentiment: You have to decide if you want your hobby to be 3D printing or 3D printer maintenance.

[@RobertCowanDIY]

I think so many 3d printer channels are exactly that... I want it to be a tool that I can just press "print" and then get a part. My Prusas are like that. These other printers really do need some amount of oversight and constant adjusting.

[@traviscrites]

I've owned the LK5 for over a year now and have had massive problems since day #1. The first unit had a bent frame, so they DID replace it. On the replacement the Bed is warped, exactly as discussed in this video. The filament sensor was mistakenly sending out of filament errors a few times during every print until I disabled it - none of these were legit, so I disconnected and bypassed this sensor and it's hanging on the the back of the machine now. The Z-axis sensor stickers on both the original and replacement had fallen off, so I had to give it my best guess. The interface goes haywire pretty frequently and the whole machine needs to be turned off and on again. The Extruder feed is terrible with any even slightly flexible filament OR slippery (glossy) filament - it tends to skip and slip and eject everything I try (I did get a dual gear extruder, but tech support told me not to install it). I could go on all day with this list... But the absolute worst is the Hot End or heat controller. NO, actually, the worst is the tech support failing to respond (now) or resolve the Hot End issues. Right now, as I'm writing this, I'm printing PLA at "250c" - the maximum temperature - at 20mm speed. This is the MAXIMUM I can reliably print and not have it clog and fail. I'm using the fourth hot end replacement - the last two I paid for, by the way - and I've had the same experience with all of them. These are all factory replacements - nothing aftermarket has ever been installed. I can set it to 220c or even 200c and it will seem to be fine, but then I'll walk by and it shows 160c and is clogged. I'm in Arizona, USA, super-dry and the ambient temperature in the area it's printing is between 75 and 85 degrees F. Tech Support just stopped responding - I guess I'm out of warranty now, but have dozens of emails trying to work through the problems with them. Admittedly, I'm not a 3d printing expert - not by a long shot - but I DO expect things to work as they're designed to and without this many headaches. I'm not sure a replacement hot end will do anything because it seems to be whatever is controlling the heat that is failing. Again, PLA at 250c and VERY slowly, just to get anything out of it. Forget any other filaments. For these reasons, I would recommend people avoid this model - in fact, with the tech support issues I've had, I'd avoid this manufacturer entirely. I hope this helps and good luck!

[@clikzip]

No experience with 3d printers but still an interesting video. Cheers

[@kevinjohnson5176]

I don't own this, just looking to buy my first 3D printer. You are giving this a lower rating because the bed is warped and it doesn't have auto leveling. So are you trying to say that a machine with an auto leveler and a warped bed will straighten the warped bed. I don't think so. Might want to explain a little better or advise how an auto leveler would straighten the warped bed.

[@RobertCowanDIY]

You can compensate for a warped bed by creating a mesh grid in software and compensating. This is how many other companies do it. No bed is "flat" the will all have slight variances. You aren't flattening the bed, you are just compensating for it in software.

[@therandomrobert1842]

I picked one up for 160$ still waiting for it to get here

[@RobertCowanDIY]

That's a great price!

[@therandomrobert1842]

@@RobertCowanDIY turns out I got a upgraded one like yours I’m excited having this it’s my first 3d printer I got it set up and printing the first day

[@kevinjohnson5176]

good video, however would give the video 3 out of 10 due to the very many commercials to the amount of video watched.

[@RobertCowanDIY]

KZbin premium was one of the best things I ever did. I haven't seen an ad on KZbin in years and I almost forgot they exist. Unfortunately, YT has gotten a bit aggressive with the number of ads lately.

[@cidrain]

I just went to pull the hot end off of this and holy crap they don't make it easy. Screws in hard to reach locations and you have to take all the fans off to access it. Not good.

[@BestUnderPressure]

People love extremes. Seems like you always see 1/10 or 10/10 ratings. I prefer your rating system.

[@RobertCowanDIY]

Right? It's perfectly fine, but doesn't have dual z motors, doesn't have automatic bed leveling or a probe, doesn't have an insulated heated bed, has a bowden which will be bad for flexible, etc. I mean, it's "OK", but certainly just slightly above averger.

[@airgunningyup]

@@RobertCowanDIY automatic bed leveling is a double edge sword

[@RobertCowanDIY]

@@airgunningyup Nope. Being able to adjust the height to account for an uneven bed is a critical feature for a printer this large.

[@Perkeletricksterservantofrher]

its trash. and un watchable.

[@nails47]

Wow cost of this printing went up. Got it @ $288

[@charliesandersfishing]

sorry about my Angry comment but you could nitpick and things a little less

[@RobertCowanDIY]

No worries. But I AM going to nitpick, a LOT. There are hundreds of other KZbinrs glossing over the negatives and just trying to get you to buy the printer with their affiliate links. I want to give an honest and harsh review, because every other channel acts like whatever printer they got for free is the best one. There's very little integrity in product reviews lately.

[@kevinjohnson5176]

Wrote the comment below and then read the comments below. This guy doesn't even reply to any comments or questions. Most likely paid.

[@RobertCowanDIY]

Think this through. I have hundreds of videos with numerous comments, I can't respond to them all. Who is paying me? "Big 3D Printer"? Longer provided the printer for this review and no other money or product changed hands. No one else paid me for anything, I'm just giving my observations. It's not a bad printer, it just falls short of some of the other offerings out there. That being said, it's still a really good printer and capable of great results.