I have a monoprice select plus 3d printer, and had a monoprice select v2 before that. I returned the v2 because of what everything on the internet suggested was a bent z lead screw (I watched the UPS guy drop the box on its side twice on the way up my driveway). They came out with the plus just a week after I bought the v2, so instead of getting a replacement, I returned the v2 and ordered the plus.
The v2 has a display-only lcd and a rotary dial to navigate the menu system, so getting around was a slow. The plus, on the other hand, has a touch screen lcd.
The plus has the control board and power supply integrated into the base, whereas the v2 had it in a separate box set to the side.
The v2 seemed to be right on the money as far as x/y/z measurements went. But as far as I can tell, the only option for adjusting those steps/mm is to change the firmware. The plus has the adjustments in the menu. BUT there seems to be a bug in the firmware that throws out the extruder temperature PID settings or something if you adjust the steps/mm, so that my temperature started oscillating between 187 and 201 when set to 195.
The plus doesn’t display x/y/z coordinates as it prints. X and Y may be mostly useless, but I tended to watch Z as an indicator of where it was in a print. The v2 also displayed mm measurements when moving the extruder via the menu, so that you could move a precise distance (ie, if you are calibrating your steps/mm). The plus just has a + and - button you click, and no indication of how far that is supposed to move. Also, the v2 would stop at the end stops when moving via the menu, whereas the plus will try and continue through. Maybe not a big issue on x and y, but since z has two motors, one jams against the end stop and the other continues on until the x axis is crooked. Then you get to relevel the axis again.
Physically, the only thing I have wrong with the plus is a rattle under the bed. The v2 rattled the bed, which is mounted on springs on both models, but just touching the bed would stop it (thus proving it’s the bed). The plus has a rattle, but it isn’t the bed itself. I suspect that it is the bracket running from the Y axis up to the bed. The Y axis is mounted well below the bed down with the electronics. But I haven’t completely removed the bed and bet mounting plate to get in far enough to check screws.
So, my problems with both models really come down to differences in the menu. I used the menu to move the head quite a bit with the v2, simply because it was easier to do that than find the menu entry to disable the motors. But I have just been avoiding that with the plus, so maybe it’s not an issue. I can’t calibrate the extruder on the plus without writing my own gcode or hooking it to a computer, since I can’t extrude a given amount of filament through the menu. I miss the z display output, but I’m living without it. So maybe none of those matter.
I know the wanhao printer that the monoprice is a rebrand of has custom firmware, and this plus printer has either it’s own custom firmware, or the same firmware as the wanhao, but rebranded. I don’t know whether the board is also custom. So I’m concerned that the support for modifying the firmware and such may not be as readily available in the future (I know it isn’t now) as it is for the v2. The v2 used, as far as I know, the identical firmware as the wanhao, and there seems to be a large community. I also think that if I ever want or have to replace the board, it will be much harder to do in the Plus than the v2.
In addition to the things listed above, the firmware uses “sava” as text for save, and the auto-level feature only hits two adjacent corners. It looks like it goes to a third corner, but doesn’t stop.
I’m getting ready to try and at least see if there is an updated firmware from monoprice. As far as I can tell, there isn’t. So my options then are to either update it with the wanhao firmware, hope that works, and hope it doesn’t void my warranty, or try to RMA it for the v2. I’m leaning toward RMA’ing it simply because my gut feeling is that the that both the wanhao and the monoprice Plus printers may not be as “mature” as the v2, and that there may be more issues besides firrmware down the road. And even if just firmware, the wanhao latest update added the bed leveling, and the monoprice already has it. So either it’s messed up on wanhao as well, or the monoprice may not have the same firrmware. If not the same firmware, it may not be the same board and the wanhao firmware may not work. Monoprice rebrands as much as they can, but if a vendor gets an exclusive license to something, the manufacturer can’t sell that to monoprice. So it’s possible that wanhao has an exclusive license on the board and fimware, and monoprice is just using the chassis.
So, after all of this ranting talking myself into just going back to the v2, what do y’all think? Is there something I’m missing that would lead any of you to stick with the plus over the v2?
If you ever get curious to take the bottom off, take a picture of the board and a closeup of the micro-controller chip and share it here…