Cetus MK3 review - Linear rail legend or lost opportunity?

The Cetus MK3 is a compact 3D printer that boasts high precision and quality thanks to its linear rail based motion system. In this review I put it through its paces, testing a range of different style prints, filaments and nozzle sizes.

The point of contention for me is the proprietary software, which if working well could make the printer very beginner friendly. There are some quirks and gaps which once fixed, would make this a reliable workhorse.

The other issues are the print bed system, which feels very outdated compared to other printers, and the ringing/ghosting present on most of my prints (and the ones of the Tiertime website). There is an option to setup a custom material and slow everything down, but then you are avoiding one of the selling points of this printer in having everything pre-configured.

There's a lot this printer gets right, but are the sticking points too much for a potential customer to ignore when the Prusa Mini is on the horizon?

This printer was provided free of charge by Tiertime for the purpose of making this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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[MakersMuse]

Ahhh Tiertime. I have to say, I've drifted pretty far from my liking of these machines at this point. When the first cetus was released in 2016 it really could reproduce prints better than anything else in its class, no one else was using linear rails and they used IKO which were quite rigid even with that ridiculous cantilever. But, the company really does remind me of S3D at this stage, they sat on something good and just didn't innovate and as the Prusa mini shows, everyone has caught up and surpassed them at this stage. Not only that, but they upped the price of the Cetus V3, and made all the features you'd now expect (auto level probe, heated bed, NOT locked down MCU) an additional expense. While I did have a softspot for the company and tolerated the locked down software when it was much more workable than most alternatives, I don't touch my cetus' anymore, and couldn't recommend them against newer machines on the market.

[lilhotdog]

Bro dont be afraid to say this printer sucks and is not worth the money just because Angus likes it.

[danslauter]

I can't believe that bed, I wouldn't want to use a raft every single time.

[iandawkins]

Great video as always. The price of this verses and Ender 3 and the Ender wins, I have just purchased my second Ender 3 in the UK for £105 from eBay delivered in three days from a UK supplier. It's a no brainer and at the price Ender is bringing 3D printing to the masses.

[nolandoktor]

As an owner of Mk1 and Mk2 Cetus printers I want to add a few notes that may be of use. You can prevent the z axis from falling on these machines by tightening a machine screw on the printed piece holding a one-way bearing near the z axis (on older machines this was an upgrade). Another thing to note, you do not always need to print with a raft and there is a setting to disable rafts. You can see this option around 6:07 in the video. Please do keep in mind the software is not as versatile as say Simplify3d or Cura but is meant for education and beginners to to reduce complexity and the chances of error. You can actually edit generated supports in the advanced options and selectively remove unneeded support material. Printer definitely has quirks but it just works without hassle and is extremely reliable. I think this and a Prusa mini would be the perfect combo. Cetus to do simple effortless PLA prints (probably 80 percent of what I end up needing to print) and the Mini to handle occasional more exotic stuff.

[bill]

Nice review/video Michael. I have a Cetus MK2 and have owned it for about 2 years. My MK2 has a heated bed and a removable surface, all options that are easily added. I think it's worth mentioning that Tiertime did develop a S3D Cetus profile so you can download gcode directly to the printer via UP Studio for models you have sliced with S3D. What I like about the printer is it's print quality when set to "Fine" using even a 0.4 nozzle. It really is terrific. Also, dare I say that I like having UP Studio in my arsenal of tools because I find it does some things very well, like thin wall and easy to remove supports as long as "Easy to Peel" is selected. I own other printers (Prusa MK3, Ender 3, CR10S, SeeMeCNC H2, Robo R1+) but I still find myself using the Cetus and UP Studio quite often. The new Cetus MK3, once you add all the options, is quite pricey. The MK2s where significantly cheaper when first released. I think for the money now I'd go with the Prusa Mini.

[-Gruntled]

Looking forward to your review of the Prusa mini 👍

[FranklyWry]

Another fine example of of your educating skills.

[FDpipeMan]

The cetus mk2 was my first printer and currently just got a ender 3 over a month ago. My cetus was up and running with in 1 hour and has never failed. Can't say the same for my ender 3. The cetus is a good printer for someone that is just starting. With the prusa min coming out, the cetus is a little over priced. I think the cetus had its place but either they need to add features for the price or lower the price. I have no regrets getting the cetus, if I would have got the ender first not sure I would still be into 3d printing. Now I have learned alot and personally do like my ender 3 better now but the cetus has been a printer that just works and is reliable. My not have the option to tweak like others but sometimes that more overwhelming for someone just starting.

[MonbogDecan]

I have mk2, changed processor to custom smoothie and use of my octopi, also changed to e3d titan 0.4 hot end, it prints solid now. Out of all my printers it is the most dependable.

[shawnmahoney]

No way! I just picked up a second hand Monoprice select mini v2 and I love it! I have a total of 3 now at less than $110 each it’s an incredible value. I’d love to see more videos on the Monoprice product line.

[spikekent]

Great review as always Michael. Not a printer I would buy or recommend though. Looking forward to your Prusa Mini video.

[pepe]

great review mate. boy it certainly is ringing city isn't it. wobbly wobbly jelly welly

[biziluxgames]

I preordered 2 Prusa minis few hours after they were announced and I ain't looking back

[Gareth]

I'm not sure what is meant by 'has to be on the same wifi' and the 'main computer is connected via ethernet...' unless theres some oddness in your network config, cabled or wireless connections shouldn't matter as long as its the same network...

[AudreyRobinel]

I really struggle to see how this printer is any good for the price:

-closed source ecosystem, so if you don't like their slicer, tough shit, you can't use anything else;
-forced rafts? that means you can never get a smooth bottom surface?
-convoluted bed leveling, why not simply a bl touch or something like that with abl or ubl from marlin?
-uneable to tweak the printer parameters because they don't let you do it;
-not a large build volume (not that it's too small, but if it had a large build volume, that would be one selling point for some people)
-proprietary hot end, so can't change the hotend for an E3D, can't add a olson ruby nozzle;
-doesn't seem easily moddable, and even if you do, you can't adjust the firmware :/
-not specially cheap;
-weird design (linear rail, but cantilever axis, no rigidity on extruder, belt on Z axis, are the linear rails just for show? the deflection will come from any other parts of the printer);
-no special feature to make it stand out (like this new creality that has a laser head);
-no lcd?
-has layers shifts;
-noticable ringing;
-bed surface is meh;



SO what does it have to offer that other printers don't do better? I mean, some machines have proprietary software (that's not my cup of tea) that are liked by some people, but here it does not seem to be the case...


When i compare this user experience with what the "easy" settings is in prusaslicer, or in cura, i don't see how much easier it is?
I mean, if you're a first timer in 3D printing, with a calibrated prusa, you just select PLA or your filament type, place objects on the printbed, hit slice, and save, copy on the sd card then hit print filename.
Perhaps an option to send from prusaslicer via wifi would be cool (will it be available on the prusa mini?), but here there are not that many steps, and i don't see many where a newbie would be left guessing "WTF does that setting means?".


With a good auto bed leveling, it just sticks to the bed, if you select the proper filament it will just work; the only setting you touch is layer height, and that's it...
I remember on my printrbot back then whith older slicers, when i was learning 3Dprinting, i was fiddling with countless parameters and did not understand most of them...

here with this software, will a newbie understand why there is an ugly plastic sheet stuck to his/her 3D print? will the new user understand what the layer shift is?


In my eyes, it seems a not so great offering for a new user; and for advanced users it seems outright bad for the lack of tuning capabilities. The printer seems passable in itself, but if i can't fix it, what's the point? even if i could the prusa mini seems a much better investment, or the creality ender3, cr10 new version... With an ender3, you even have spare cash to buy a e3D hermes direct drive extruder and a BL touch to make a top notch printer... and with a little more money you could even buy some MK3-like (or chinese clones) of the removable magnetic spring steel bed of the MK3...

[plazer]

My school has a Cetus and it prints petg just as well as pla without a heated bed

[DPreet]

Hi, love the video. What's the thing on the side with the screw for?

[guycobb]

I had a MK2 extended. Was one of the best printers I’ve owned thus far. Not perfect, but quite good.

[cdh]

I have the extended version of the Cetus (no heated bed) for a bit over a year, and am printing PLA and PETG, no problem. I think it could be ok for a beginner who wants an "easy entry" to get into printing (like for me - it was my first printer), but in the long run UPStudio is a bit too much of a limiting factor. It just lacks the ability to have full control over everything. I myself didn't have to pay for it (it was gifted), so I am not complaining about having to always print rafts (which you should, else it'll be difficult to get some prints off) or anything else, but would i buy it again, if it broke down? No, not really. The closed eco-system is the main reason for that. Other than that it is very precise and provides good results and possibly good as a 2nd or 3rd printer.