The Flsun V400 is an increasingly popular option for hobbyists and professionals looking for an affordable, yet high-quality 3D printer. Offering a build volume of 300 x 300 x 400mm, dual extrusion, auto-leveling, touch screen interface, and more, the V400 provides great value without sacrificing key features. In this in-depth review, we’ll take a close look at the specs, performance, print quality, pros and cons, and other important factors to consider about the Flsun V400.
Overview of the Flsun V400’s Features and Specs
Right out of the box, the Flsun V400 offers several features that make it stand out compared to other printers in its price range of under $500. Key specs and highlights include:
- Build Volume: 300 x 300 x 400mm – Large for its class and great for printing large or numerous small objects.
- Dual Extrusion – Allows printing with two colors or materials for more complex and detailed prints.
- Auto Bed Leveling – Automatically calibrates the print bed for consistent first layer adhesion.
- Touch Screen Interface – Intuitive 4.3” color touch screen for easy operation and configuration.
- High Temp Resistant Metal Platform – Heated print bed reaches 110°C for printing exotic filaments.
- Resume Print Function – Allows restarting a print after interruptions or power loss.
- Filament Runout Sensor – Detection of filament depletion allows pause for filament changes.
- High Speed Printing – Up to 150mm/s print speeds possible for faster prints without quality loss.
- Supports Many Filaments – Prints PLA, ABS, TPU, wood, and other materials with proper settings.
- Quiet Operation – Belt driven axes and quiet stepper motors allow quiet printing.
- Low Noise Power Supply – Provides stable, quiet power for electronics.
- Open Frame Design – Allows full visibility and access to extruder and print area.
Considering its set of features, print quality, and price, the V400 competes well with other popular entry-level printers like the Artillery Sidewinder X1, Creality Ender 3 V2, and Anycubic Mega X.
Unboxing and Setup of the Flsun V400
Upon unboxing the V400, all the necessary parts and tools are neatly packed including the printer itself, extruder assembly, tool kit, spool holder, scraper, hex wrenches, nozzles, spare parts, etc. Flsun provides good documentation like a quick start guide and online manual to help with assembly.
The process involves mounting the gantry, attaching the extruder, inserting the filament, loading the print bed, and plugging in the cables. No soldering or complex modifications are required. With the comprehensive instructions, assembly can be completed in 30 minutes to an hour even for first-time users.
Bed leveling is aided by the auto-leveling probe which measures multiple points on the print surface and makes any adjustments needed for proper calibration. This takes much of the hassle and guesswork out of pre-print preparation.
The touchscreen guides you through preheating, loading filament, and starting your first print. The menu system is responsive and intuitive allowing quick access to settings, controls, and print status. Overall, setup is straightforward enough for beginners but offers the controls more advanced users expect.
What’s the Print Quality Like on the Flsun V400?
Given its thoughtful design and dual extrusion system, the V400 can produce prints with very good quality once dialed in properly. Here’s an overview of what to expect:
- Precision – The stable metal frame, quality stepper motors, and auto bed leveling provide precision and accuracy for clean prints. Dimensional deviation is within an acceptable 0.1mm.
- Fine Details – Dual extruders allow a minimum layer height of just 0.05mm for remarkable detail on small features. The 0.4mm nozzle can handle fine details better than 0.2-0.3mm nozzles.
- Surface Finish – At standard 0.1-0.2mm layer heights, vertical walls and curves come out fairly smooth. Horizontal layers show typical subtle stepping between layers.
- Overhangs – Dual cooling fans allow better cooling to minimize sagging, drooping, and defects on overhangs and bridges compared to a single fan.
- Speed – The V400 can reliably print at 80-100+ mm/s speeds with no major reduction in quality. Great for faster prints.
- Reliability – Once properly calibrated, the V400 provides consistent prints with good first layer adhesion and low fail rates. Auto recovery features improve reliability.
- Materials – The hotend and heated bed allow printing of PLA, ABS, PETG, TPU, wood, and other materials with the right settings.
While not at SLA resin printer quality, the V400 provides very competitive print quality for its price bracket. Proper assembly, calibration, slicing settings, and filament choice help optimize the results.
What Are the Strengths of the Flsun V400?
Large Build Volume – At 300 x 300 x 400 mm, the build area is significantly larger than many competitor printers under $500 like the Ender 3 series. The extra height is ideal for large vases, figures, robot parts, cosplay props, and more.
User-Friendly – Between auto-leveling, color touchscreen, intuitive menus, and included tools/spares, the V400 simplifies most aspects of printing for beginners. Far easier than DIY kit printers.
Reliable and Consistent – Once dialed in, the V400 provides consistent print quality print after print. Features like filament monitoring and auto resume further improve reliability.
Dual Extrusion – Having two hotends allows more creative freedom with multi-color prints, dissolvable supports, and multi-material capabilities. Most competitors only have one extruder.
High Print Speeds – The V400 can print faster than 100mm/sec with minimal impacts to quality. Great for prototypes, hobby projects, or print farms where speed is important.
Quiet Operation – Between the belt driven axes, quiet stepper drivers, and low-noise PSU, the V400 prints far quieter than many budget machines.
Great Community Support – As a popular printer, there are vibrant Facebook groups, tutorials, upgrade mods, and knowledgeable users that can provide tips and advice.
For the price, the V400 delivers excellent performance, convenience, reliability, and speed along with great community support.
What Could Be Improved on the Flsun V400?
No printer is perfect, and there are a few areas where the V400 falls a little short or could be improved:
- Noisy Part Cooling Fans – The part cooling fans are quite loud at full speed. Slowing them down reduces noise at the cost of some print cooling.
- Limited Materials – Although better than some printers, the hotend still can’t print the full range of high temp exotics like PEEK, ULTEM, etc.
- Smaller Community than Creality – Not as many mods and upgrades compared to massively popular brands like Creality’s Ender 3.
- Bed Adhesion with Some Filaments – Build surface works well for PLA, PETG, and ABS but can struggle with TPU and other flexible materials.
- Filament Sensor Integration – Filament sensor pauses print but does not automatically resume. User has to manually restart print.
- Magnetic Bed Could Be Improved – The build plate sticks well when clean but magnetic adhesion could be stronger to resist warping.
- No Enclosed Frame – Lack of enclosure makes printing more sensitive materials like ABS a challenge.
While not dealbreakers, addressing these issues in future iterations could help the V400 compete even more strongly with higher-end printers. But for the price, it delivers excellent performance.
What Comes in the Box with the Flsun V400?
Flsun includes almost everything you need get up and running right in the box:
- Assembled printer frame and body
- Single extruder assembly (second extruder assembled separately)
- AC power cord and 24V PSU
- Tools including hex wrenches, nippers, nozzle cleaner, scraper
- 2 x 0.4mm brass nozzles
- MicroSD card and reader
- Spool holder
- Spare screws, fittings, terminals
- Metal print platform with magnetic PEI sheet
- 3 x Build surface stickers
- Touch screen controller with cable
- PTFE tubing
- USB cable
- Quick start guide and online user manual access
This represents an excellent value proposition, providing all required parts without having to source anything separately. Flsun checked all the right boxes to make the unboxing and setup experience smooth and frustration-free.
Recommended Upgrades and Mods for the Flsun V400
One advantage of the V400’s popularity is that there is a healthy modding and upgrade community surrounding it. Some recommended upgrades include:
- Silent Motherboard – Replaces the mainboard with a silent 32-bit board for quieter and snappier performance.
- Silent Fans – Swapping the hotend, part cooling, and PSU fans for quieter aftermarket fans reduces noise.
- Direct Drive – A direct drive mod improves flexible filament printing and faster print speeds but adds weight.
- Z Axis Stabilizers – Brackets help stabilize and square the Z gantry reducing vibration and artifacts.
- Metal Extruder – All metal extruder is more reliable than the stock plastic arm which can crack.
- Enclosure – DIY or third party enclosures allow printing higher temp materials like ABS by containing heat.
- LED Lighting – LED strips improve visibility of the print area and progress. Helpful for monitoring long prints.
- Glass Bed – Some users report better adhesion with borosilicate glass print beds. Optional but can help certain materials.
- E3D Hotend – For printing the most exotic filaments, an all-metal hotend upgrade extends temp capabilities.
With a little customization, the already capable V400 can be enhanced even further. But even stock, it performs admirably.
Flsun V400 Review Verdict – Worth Buying?
For under $500, the Flsun V400 delivers excellent performance and reliability that rivals printers costing significantly more. The large print volume, dual extrusion, responsive touchscreen interface, and thoughtful design make it a great affordable workhorse.
While lacking some bells and whistles of prosumer machines, it avoids many of the sacrifices and compromises of the cheapest budget printers. Print quality and speed are impressive for the price. The V400 manages to balance cost, performance and usability in a way that benefits both beginners and experienced makers.
For anyone looking for an affordable, user-friendly printer with professional capabilities that can grow with their needs, the Flsun V400 represents an outstanding option worthy of consideration. It has earned its reputation as one of the best value 3D printers currently available.
