The Wanhao Duplicator i3 PLUS is a big and budget-friendly 3D printer with a boatload of upgrades and improvements.

Don’t miss:

3D printer manufacturer Wanhao USA has pulled back the curtain on a new addition to their stable, the Wanhao Duplicator i3 PLUS, which costs just $499 with free shipping.

The new printer is huuuuge enhancement of their popular Wanhao Duplicator i3 (which in turn is a derivative of the open source Prusa i3).

Topline features on the Di3 PLUS is a generous build volume of 200 x 200 x 180 mm, a steel frame, an integrated electronics cabinet (whereas before it was housed in a separate brick), a full-sized SD card slot, and a touchscreen control interface.

Check out the video for a comparative breakdown between the original Di3 and the new Di3 PLUS.

Wanhao Duplicator i3 PLUS is Extensible and Open

Other pluses for the PLUS: the machine has a heated print-bed and a custom adhesive sheet for the easy removal of completed prints.

According to the technical specs, the Di3 PLUS has a layer resolution of 100 microns, and is capable of printing with a variety of materials, including standard PLA and ABS, and exotics like NinjaFlex, carbon fiber, and much more.

On the software front, and in keeping with the open source heritage, Di3 PLUS comes bundled with a customized “Wanhao Edition” of CURA, but is also compatible with other slicing programmes like Simplify3D or MatterControl.

For 3D modeling, it’s also compatible with applications like Microsoft Visual Studio, CADRazor, Thingiverse, Sketchup, Blender, FreeCAD, Autodesk, and Solidworks.

We have to say, we’re a bit sad to see the demise of the separate power brick/control panel; it was a unique design feature. But then again, who are we to stand in the way of progress?

The new Wanhao Duplicator i3 PLUS is shipping now with 1 year parts warranty. For those folks who’ve read good things about the original Wanhao Di3 but haven’t yet taken the plunge, the new Di3 PLUS looks like a great leap forward.