Single or Double?

Not many printers give you this decision to make at the ordering stage. Upon the point at which you’re about to purchase your D12/230, you’ll be given a choice – one extruder or two? It also seems to be Happy Hour at Wanhao, as opting for the double will only cost you around $10 more.

Just $10 extra for the ability to mix colors and even filaments in one print? That seems like a pretty good deal, honestly, especially as the printer could also potentially have the ability to print you soluble supports with PVA –  it’ll get up to 260°C in the nozzle and 105°C on the bed. Only testing will confirm this, though, of course, but Wanhao offers a separately purchasable tent enclosure as those temperature-sensitive filaments work best in stable, toasty conditions.

Bed Space

While we’re on the print bed topic, we should point out that the Wanhao D12/230 gives you a build volume of 230 x 230 x 250 mm to play with. The print bed itself has one of those detachable magnetic sheets on top of a heated aluminum plate. Recently tempered glass has somewhat asserted itself as the go-to print surface, as it is less prone to nozzle damages when incorrectly leveled and provides generally good adhesion. With the flexible spring steel plate, removal of prints is an easy and fun thing to do, though. Plus, we do like the imprinted scale.

Leveling is manual here, and you’ll have big rotary knobs under the bed to help you get it lined up.

Filament Sensors

Yay, great! Filament sensors can be really handy, telling you when the filament has done itself a broken and preventing your printer from finishing your print with air.

One small problem, the sensors are located well away from the actual hot end, meaning there’s plenty of room for them to become broken after the sensor has already given the filament the thumbs up. Not ideal. The sensors are attached via universal joints, though, so you can find the best angle to guide your filament through strain-free.

Belt Tension Adjustment

Another handy feature is the inclusion of manually adjustable belt tensioners for the X and Y-axis, allowing you to fine-tune your printer with ease when assembling and ensure your prints are still coming out looking fresh down the line. A feature we would hope to find on any 3D printer, tbh.

It’s Oh So Quiet

Wanhao claims this is a very quiet 3D printer. They said they’ve used special quiet fans, quiet belts, and quiet TMC2209 stepper motor drivers as well. How quiet it really isn’t stated, but with any luck, this one should be pretty hush.

Touchscreen & UI

A handy 5-inch touchscreen is provided for you to poke some instructions into. Wanhao states it to be running a new UI, including model preview, which sure helps to sort through the files that will probably accumulate over time on your microSD. You can also connect the printer to your Wi-Fi and send files via the proprietary Cura-style slicer. You are not confined, though, and can use multiple slicers with the printer.