You Don't Need an Expensive 3D Printer – Longer LK5 Pro

Budget 3D printers have gotten so much better over the past several years, so... do you even need an expensive 3D printer anymore? In this video I put the surprisingly capable and affordable Longer LK5 Pro to the test.

💡 Thanks to Longer for providing the LK5 Pro for review

📚 Chapters
0:00 Do you need an expensive 3D printer?
0:47 Introducing the Longer LK5 Pro
2:42 Let's 3D print some things
4:40 Upgrading my cat
5:08 3D printing for cosplay
5:53 What I think about the LK5 Pro
6:48 Answering the question

#3dprinting Budget Vs Expensive #3DPrinter

[LexxDesignD]

I had the LK4 Pro for 2 years and it was surprisingly reliable! In 2024 it's very slow but still a great machine for beginners!

[NeurotechMX]

I own a LK 5Pro, as you mentioned, some trade offs as auto level and speed, but prints reliable strong, and huge parts 😅

[ewasteredux]

This build plate is made to let go of the print after it cools so I am surprised by your statement at the opposite. I own an LK5 pro and this is my experience.

[joedogmckeel]

I am happy you have had good service out of your printer. I have spent the last 3 weeks with my LK5 Pro constantly leveling the bed. Constantly fighting the feeder wheel and stepper motor. I have wasted 3 rolls of filament trying to make it all work. I had issues with adhesion to the print bed. One print was FIFTY SIX HOURS into a 65 hour print and it just let go of the print bed. FAILED right before my eyes. There was nothing I could do but watch 3/4 of a roll of filament become trash. Last night as I went to bed the Z stepper motor stopped and 4 hours of filament caked around the nozzle. I am done with this crappy printer. I have spent more than it cost on parts to try and fix it. It is on its way back to Longer now. I hope they scrap it and not clean it up to resell. For now I need to figure out what to do with 13 rolls of filament taking up space.

Sorry to post a downer on your video but "MY" experience with the LK5 Pro is that even at a great price it was not worth the aggravation and time lost trying to make it work.
Want some new parts for it? I have 3 hot heads 3 feeder mechanisms and Bolen tubs out the wazoo.

[Rebikbok]

it's cool to see how 3d printers have changed over the last couple of years! I'll have to look into 3d printing cosplay props

[zedxspecturm]

Lk5 pro is the goat i love mine. Much less issues than my ender 3

Pla falls right off the build plate when i take the glass off the printer and throw it in the freezer. Petg i put stick glue down and its easy enough

[realhuman]

I got an artillery sidewinder x2 for $199 off their website while it was on sale

After maybe a little too much tweaking it will print near perfect sub-50 minute benchies on $15 filament. The only problem is the part cooling fan can’t quite keep up with the high(ish) speed, but that’s a $20 upgrade at most.

My point is that any relatively modern machine coming from any respectable brand can print good quality and fast if you’re willing to sit down and spend a few hours in your slicer to make it work.

[miky]

I have an extremely cheap Prusa i3, the kind that you have to assemble piece by piece and it needs recalibration of the bed and rods every print, luckily i was able to fix it a little bit with 3d printed stabilizers, in any case i confirm that i lost my sanity a long time ago

[TheNewBloodDan]

Also you could get a budget printer and upgrade it to be like a premium one over time.

[slametriyadi]

When you release to product. You can heating bed. Not use cafe for realese

[hotfix]

What is the filament you used for the trays? It's a nice speckled gray.

Good review BTW.

[BeefIngot]

I just cant in good faith recommend anyone get any printer with manual levelling in current year. This thing seems to be a relic of the past, and you can get printers with much better features in current year without spending a fortune. This one is not the bet.