When I first tested the Robo R2 3D printer in late 2017, it was problematic on several levels.
It was time-consuming to calibrate, its print quality was uneven, and—worst of all—the touch screen often would not respond to even the simplest commands.
The company recently approached me with a revamped version.
It has a new operating system to make the printer more responsive and easier to set up, plus tweaks to the print bed and leveling sensor.
I'm pleased to report that the user experience is considerably better.
Print quality is improved, calibration is easier, and the touch screen is generally more responsive.
Although it falls short of unseating the Dremel DigiLab 3D45 as our Editors' Choice midrange 3D printer, the 2018 Robo R2 ($1,499.99) is a noticeable improvement over the original R2 and is, for the most part, a pleasure to use.
It's a good midrange choice when the amount of vertical printing area matters.
One Substantial 3D Printer
The rebooted Robo R2 is a tall, stylish printer, measuring 23.8 by 16.8 by 16.6 inches (HWD) and weighing 25.5 pounds.
It has an off-white frame with an open top, gently curving sides with large plastic windows for viewing the print bed, and a see-through front door with a magnetic latch.
A 5-inch touch screen is set below the door.
The build area is 10 by 8 by 8 inches (HWD), a bit larger than that of the Dremel 3D45 ($1,899.00 at Amazon) (6.7 by 10 by 6 inches), and closer to square than the MakerBot Replicator+ ($2,325.99 at Dell) , our Editors' Choice high-end 3D printer, whose build area measures 6.5 by 11.6 by 7.6 inches.
The Robo R2 has an open top, with sides that are primarily clear plastic windows.
In front is a door that you open to remove printed objects or for maintenance, and close when a print job has commenced.
The fact that, normally, only the top is open during printing greatly reduces the chances of anyone being burned by touching the hot extruder, as you would have to reach down underneath the build chamber to reach the extruder from the top when the door is closed.
The open top has one disadvantage, though: The Robo R2 (2018) is fairly noisy.
I was occasionally distracted by its sounds, even at a distance of some 25 feet.
Getting the Robo Ready
To set up the printer, I followed the quick-start guide that Robo includes.
After unboxing the unit and removing the packing material from around the print bed and extruder, you remove tape, zip ties, and clips that stabilize the extruder assembly and other components during shipping.
After that, you connect the power cord—which includes a power adapter—with the printer and an electrical outlet.
A couple of minutes after you turn the power on, the touch screen—which initially displays a Robo logo—shows a menu with three main tabs: Files, Printer, and Utility.
From the Files tab, you can select files to print from memory or from a USB thumb drive.
(A USB port is just to the left of the display.) From the Printer tab, you can control the temperature of the extruder and the print bed, as well as the extruder's position in three dimensions.
The Utilities tab lets you launch wizards to perform various setup and maintenance functions, including filament loading and Z-axis calibration.
This printer has two filament spool holders around the back.
I used only one, as the second is intended for two-color printing, for when Robo introduces a promised dual-extruder-head kit.
To load filament, you extend the top spool-holder rod downward to a horizontal position.
You then insert one end of the filament feed tube into a hole in a nearby sensor block, and the other into the top of the extruder assembly.
Once you put a filament spool onto the holder, you can feed filament from the loose end of the spool into the sensor block and through the feed tube.
You then launch the filament-loading wizard, which heats the extruder.
To feed filament into the extruder, you press a button on the top of the extruder (which requires a bit of force) while pushing down on the filament until it meets resistance.
From there, gears should pull the filament strand into the heating chamber.
Once the molten filament starts coming out of the nozzle, the loading is complete.
One nice feature of the Robo R2 is that it doesn't use proprietary filament cartridges and is compatible with other types of 1.75mm filament, in addition to the standard acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and polylactic acid (PLA) kinds.
(See our explainer for more on 3D printer filament types.) Robo itself sells 1.1-pound spools of PLA filament for $20 per spool, with specialty filaments (wood, carbon fiber, metallic, and glow-in-the-dark) for $35 to $40.
Glass-fiber filament costs $89 per spool.
These specialty filaments contain fibers or shavings of wood, carbon, metal, or glass, and retain some of the properties of those materials. Robo also sells 2.2-pound spools of PLA and ABS for $35 each.
Calibrating the Robo R2
A 3D printer's Z-axis is its vertical axis, and calibrating it ensures that when a print job commences, the extruder is placed just above the print bed, close enough to slide a piece of paper under and encounter slight resistance.
(Robo includes a "Z-Offset Tool"—a little card—for this purpose, but a sheet of paper or a Post-It should do just as well.) When you launch the Z-offset wizard, the print bed will ascend until it comes to rest a bit below the extruder nozzle.
You then move the print bed toward the extruder in increments of either 0.1mm or 0.2mm.
I was able to calibrate the Z-axis much more quickly with this model than with the original Robo R2.
Even better, once the Z-axis is calibrated, the printer retains the setting, so you don't have to recalibrate it after every print.
The rest of the calibration process, which ensures that the print bed is level, is automated.
With some 3D printers, the entire process is automated, although with many models you still have to manually calibrate the Z-axis as with the R2.
A Better Touch Screen
In the course of testing the original Robo R2 ( at Amazon) , when I pressed any of the touch screen's buttons, often nothing would happen.
After speaking to a technical rep at Robo, I got the screen to work more consistently by jabbing or poking the buttons (rather than just applying pressure), either with a finger or with the stylus that comes in the Robo R2's accessory kit.
Fortunately, with the 2018 version of the printer, it doesn't require a Herculean effort to get the screen to respond.
Normal pressure, either with a finger or stylus, is usually enough.
Sometimes, though, when working from the touch screen, the screen would freeze, and I would have to reboot the printer.
Control Software for Desktop and Mobile
For printing from a desktop computer, Robo offers an open-source program, Cura 2.5, which is commonly used by 3D printers, including the LulzBot Mini ( at Amazon) and the Ultimaker 2.
The software is easy to use, and it lets you resize, move, and save objects; load multiple objects for printing; and change the print resolution and other settings.
It has profiles for a number of filament types.
You can send files to the printer over a Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection, or load them onto a USB thumb drive for direct printing.
In addition to the desktop software, Robo offers the free Robo iOS app, which lets you select 3D files stored on Dropbox or Google Drive from an Apple mobile device, send them to the Robo R2 (or other Robo or OctoPrint-enabled 3D printer) for slicing and printing, monitor the progress of prints on multiple printers (including from your R2's onboard camera), and change or purchase filament.
Printing Test Samples
I printed nine test objects, using PLA filament supplied by Robo.
I printed two at Cura's default normal-resolution setting of 100 microns, and the others at the low-resolution setting of 200 microns.
(The software also offers a high-resolution setting of 60 microns.) The quality difference between the prints at the two settings was trivial, but it took considerably longer for the normal-resolution prints.
So, unless quality is paramount, you should be fine sticking to the low-res setting.
The print quality in our testing was consistently good to very good.
With a test object consisting of geometric shapes and raised text arranged on a near-vertical plane (the item in the center, below), the printer did very well in printing text but less well at handling areas with overhanging printed material.
Print quality wasn't quite the equal of the Editors' Choice Dremel DigiLab 3D45, but it was an improvement versus what we saw with the original Robo R2, which showed inconsistent quality in testing.
An Improved R2
The 2018 version of the Robo R2 brings a bunch of positives to the Robo feature list: a reasonably roomy build area, the ability to print taller objects than some of its peers, support for an abundance of filament types, and a good set of connection choices.
The setup process and overall operation are easier than with the original Robo R2, though I still have some issues with the touch screen.
Also, print quality is better, and more consistent, than what we saw from the original R2, though still shy of the best fused filament fabrication (FFF) printers we've tested, including the Editors' Choice Dremel 3D45.
Given its price and performance, the R2 is a good choice for hobbyists, high schools or colleges, and product designers or artists who want to work with more vertical printing space than many midrange 3D printers offer.
Pros
Fine print quality.
Supports printing with PLA, ABS, and a variety of specialty filament types.
Versatile software suite.
Mobile printing support.
View More
The Bottom Line
This revised and much-improved version of the Robo R2 3D printer, packing a roomy print area and support for multiple filament types, produces consistently good print quality.
When I first tested the Robo R2 3D printer in late 2017, it was problematic on several levels.
It was time-consuming to calibrate, its print quality was uneven, and—worst of all—the touch screen often would not respond to even the simplest commands.
The company recently approached me with a revamped version.
It has a new operating system to make the printer more responsive and easier to set up, plus tweaks to the print bed and leveling sensor.
I'm pleased to report that the user experience is considerably better.
Print quality is improved, calibration is easier, and the touch screen is generally more responsive.
Although it falls short of unseating the Dremel DigiLab 3D45 as our Editors' Choice midrange 3D printer, the 2018 Robo R2 ($1,499.99) is a noticeable improvement over the original R2 and is, for the most part, a pleasure to use.
It's a good midrange choice when the amount of vertical printing area matters.
One Substantial 3D Printer
The rebooted Robo R2 is a tall, stylish printer, measuring 23.8 by 16.8 by 16.6 inches (HWD) and weighing 25.5 pounds.
It has an off-white frame with an open top, gently curving sides with large plastic windows for viewing the print bed, and a see-through front door with a magnetic latch.
A 5-inch touch screen is set below the door.
The build area is 10 by 8 by 8 inches (HWD), a bit larger than that of the Dremel 3D45 ($1,899.00 at Amazon) (6.7 by 10 by 6 inches), and closer to square than the MakerBot Replicator+ ($2,325.99 at Dell) , our Editors' Choice high-end 3D printer, whose build area measures 6.5 by 11.6 by 7.6 inches.
The Robo R2 has an open top, with sides that are primarily clear plastic windows.
In front is a door that you open to remove printed objects or for maintenance, and close when a print job has commenced.
The fact that, normally, only the top is open during printing greatly reduces the chances of anyone being burned by touching the hot extruder, as you would have to reach down underneath the build chamber to reach the extruder from the top when the door is closed.
The open top has one disadvantage, though: The Robo R2 (2018) is fairly noisy.
I was occasionally distracted by its sounds, even at a distance of some 25 feet.
Getting the Robo Ready
To set up the printer, I followed the quick-start guide that Robo includes.
After unboxing the unit and removing the packing material from around the print bed and extruder, you remove tape, zip ties, and clips that stabilize the extruder assembly and other components during shipping.
After that, you connect the power cord—which includes a power adapter—with the printer and an electrical outlet.
A couple of minutes after you turn the power on, the touch screen—which initially displays a Robo logo—shows a menu with three main tabs: Files, Printer, and Utility.
From the Files tab, you can select files to print from memory or from a USB thumb drive.
(A USB port is just to the left of the display.) From the Printer tab, you can control the temperature of the extruder and the print bed, as well as the extruder's position in three dimensions.
The Utilities tab lets you launch wizards to perform various setup and maintenance functions, including filament loading and Z-axis calibration.
This printer has two filament spool holders around the back.
I used only one, as the second is intended for two-color printing, for when Robo introduces a promised dual-extruder-head kit.
To load filament, you extend the top spool-holder rod downward to a horizontal position.
You then insert one end of the filament feed tube into a hole in a nearby sensor block, and the other into the top of the extruder assembly.
Once you put a filament spool onto the holder, you can feed filament from the loose end of the spool into the sensor block and through the feed tube.
You then launch the filament-loading wizard, which heats the extruder.
To feed filament into the extruder, you press a button on the top of the extruder (which requires a bit of force) while pushing down on the filament until it meets resistance.
From there, gears should pull the filament strand into the heating chamber.
Once the molten filament starts coming out of the nozzle, the loading is complete.
One nice feature of the Robo R2 is that it doesn't use proprietary filament cartridges and is compatible with other types of 1.75mm filament, in addition to the standard acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and polylactic acid (PLA) kinds.
(See our explainer for more on 3D printer filament types.) Robo itself sells 1.1-pound spools of PLA filament for $20 per spool, with specialty filaments (wood, carbon fiber, metallic, and glow-in-the-dark) for $35 to $40.
Glass-fiber filament costs $89 per spool.
These specialty filaments contain fibers or shavings of wood, carbon, metal, or glass, and retain some of the properties of those materials. Robo also sells 2.2-pound spools of PLA and ABS for $35 each.
Calibrating the Robo R2
A 3D printer's Z-axis is its vertical axis, and calibrating it ensures that when a print job commences, the extruder is placed just above the print bed, close enough to slide a piece of paper under and encounter slight resistance.
(Robo includes a "Z-Offset Tool"—a little card—for this purpose, but a sheet of paper or a Post-It should do just as well.) When you launch the Z-offset wizard, the print bed will ascend until it comes to rest a bit below the extruder nozzle.
You then move the print bed toward the extruder in increments of either 0.1mm or 0.2mm.
I was able to calibrate the Z-axis much more quickly with this model than with the original Robo R2.
Even better, once the Z-axis is calibrated, the printer retains the setting, so you don't have to recalibrate it after every print.
The rest of the calibration process, which ensures that the print bed is level, is automated.
With some 3D printers, the entire process is automated, although with many models you still have to manually calibrate the Z-axis as with the R2.
A Better Touch Screen
In the course of testing the original Robo R2 ( at Amazon) , when I pressed any of the touch screen's buttons, often nothing would happen.
After speaking to a technical rep at Robo, I got the screen to work more consistently by jabbing or poking the buttons (rather than just applying pressure), either with a finger or with the stylus that comes in the Robo R2's accessory kit.
Fortunately, with the 2018 version of the printer, it doesn't require a Herculean effort to get the screen to respond.
Normal pressure, either with a finger or stylus, is usually enough.
Sometimes, though, when working from the touch screen, the screen would freeze, and I would have to reboot the printer.
Control Software for Desktop and Mobile
For printing from a desktop computer, Robo offers an open-source program, Cura 2.5, which is commonly used by 3D printers, including the LulzBot Mini ( at Amazon) and the Ultimaker 2.
The software is easy to use, and it lets you resize, move, and save objects; load multiple objects for printing; and change the print resolution and other settings.
It has profiles for a number of filament types.
You can send files to the printer over a Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection, or load them onto a USB thumb drive for direct printing.
In addition to the desktop software, Robo offers the free Robo iOS app, which lets you select 3D files stored on Dropbox or Google Drive from an Apple mobile device, send them to the Robo R2 (or other Robo or OctoPrint-enabled 3D printer) for slicing and printing, monitor the progress of prints on multiple printers (including from your R2's onboard camera), and change or purchase filament.
Printing Test Samples
I printed nine test objects, using PLA filament supplied by Robo.
I printed two at Cura's default normal-resolution setting of 100 microns, and the others at the low-resolution setting of 200 microns.
(The software also offers a high-resolution setting of 60 microns.) The quality difference between the prints at the two settings was trivial, but it took considerably longer for the normal-resolution prints.
So, unless quality is paramount, you should be fine sticking to the low-res setting.
The print quality in our testing was consistently good to very good.
With a test object consisting of geometric shapes and raised text arranged on a near-vertical plane (the item in the center, below), the printer did very well in printing text but less well at handling areas with overhanging printed material.
Print quality wasn't quite the equal of the Editors' Choice Dremel DigiLab 3D45, but it was an improvement versus what we saw with the original Robo R2, which showed inconsistent quality in testing.
An Improved R2
The 2018 version of the Robo R2 brings a bunch of positives to the Robo feature list: a reasonably roomy build area, the ability to print taller objects than some of its peers, support for an abundance of filament types, and a good set of connection choices.
The setup process and overall operation are easier than with the original Robo R2, though I still have some issues with the touch screen.
Also, print quality is better, and more consistent, than what we saw from the original R2, though still shy of the best fused filament fabrication (FFF) printers we've tested, including the Editors' Choice Dremel 3D45.
Given its price and performance, the R2 is a good choice for hobbyists, high schools or colleges, and product designers or artists who want to work with more vertical printing space than many midrange 3D printers offer.
Pros
Fine print quality.
Supports printing with PLA, ABS, and a variety of specialty filament types.
Versatile software suite.
Mobile printing support.
View More
The Bottom Line
This revised and much-improved version of the Robo R2 3D printer, packing a roomy print area and support for multiple filament types, produces consistently good print quality.
