TLDR: The bed is huge! Not so sticky, though. Is it worth the cost for the big bed? Eh. Might be better options out there.
So, shortly after I fell in love 3D printers, I knew we needed another one for the library. All we had was the Flashforge Finder and it wasn’t producing nearly the same quality of prints as my Monoprice Mini Select. Also, the print bed on both were so tiny! My teens, catching a bit of the 3D printer bug from me, wanted to print ambitious projects, BIG projects, which the Finder and Mini Select couldn’t do (or would have to do in pieces).
So, we ordered a Tevo Tornado. The bed is huge! (300x300x400 mm) It also takes up a lot of desk space, so it was perfect for the library (and not so perfect for my small apartment).
It comes in a “somewhat” DIY kit, meaning you have to screw some bits together, but it was mostly preconstructed (unlike the Ender 3) and really, you just have to put the frame together, screw on the bed, and plug in the wires. The mainboard and screen are all housed together in a separate box that sits next to the machine. I really like how the wires are all neatly bundled into big plugs (but I can see this becoming a huge headache when it comes time to replace parts; you pretty much have to solder/UY the wires).
One big thing to look out for: It does NOT come with a spool holder! It has a print ready on preloaded SD card that you can use to print one, but I suggest you go onto Thingiverse and find a better spool holder to use (mine sits on top of the mainboard/screen housing unit). This means, for the first print(s), you’ll need to whip together some kind of makeshift spool holder. Some people use toilet paper or paper towel rollers and some filament even comes with instructions to make a spool holder out of the cardboard box the filament came in.
So, the good and bad.
Good:
- Huge print bed!
- Nice quality prints
- Uses SD card reader instead of MicroSD
- Pretty cheap at around ~$350
Bad:
- Takes up a lot of space (not bad if you’ve got the area for it, but this dude is huge)
- Print bed has terrible adhesion and prone to arriving warped
- Changing out a fan/part requires wire splicing
There’s other small things I’ve had issues with on the Tornado, but they’re common issues that you’ll also see with the Ender and any other Bowden tube FDM 3D printer. There’s heat creep, connectors slipping, fans dying, etc., but unless they’re super chronic, I won’t hold it against the machine itself.
But, my god, the print bed on this Tevo Tornado is dreadful. While huge, I have a major issue getting anything to stick to it. It’s heated and PEI plastic, but it just refuses to let anything hold on. I have to use a mix of painter’s tape and glue sticks and crossing my fingers. Lately, I had the nightmare event happen where the print stuck to the nozzle and melted a couple inches over the hotend and into the casing, destroying the cotton insulation completely. Cleaning that was a heart-pounding experience!
Leveling it is also a pain because it requires the use of an Allen wrench every time (instead of just twisting the knobs on the bottom).
Also, the hot end casing has a weird design with the fans. Any replacement fan will require a little modding to get it to screw in. I used left over soft plastic holders from a Noctua fan to hold the new fan on.
Overall, it’s not a terrible printer, but I wonder if the Creality CR-10 might be a better option for a huge build plate at a similar price. Getting replacement parts and online help would be better with the CR-10, for sure. The Tornado is, like many printers like this, a Prusa clone, so thankfully a lot of issues you’ll have with one printer will translate the same to all other printers just like it.
