Flashforge Finder 3D Printer Review

 7.6/10

The Flashforge Finder is one of the most affordable semi-enclosed, ready-to-print out-of-the-box 3D printers on the market. Boasting its own branded filaments and slicer software, the Finder was one of the easiest printers to set up that we have reviewed. However, we were disappointed in its average print quality, and users will quickly outgrow its small build volume and lack of material support due to the lack of a heated bed. The Flashforge printer is aimed at beginners looking for an all-in-one ecosystem or educators looking for a safe, reliable printer that is easy to set up.

The most affordable semi-enclosed, ready-to-print out-of-the-box 3D printer. The Flashforge printer is aimed at beginners looking for an all-in-one ecosystem or educators looking for a safe, reliable printer that is easy to set up.

 7.6/10

Manufacturer: Flashforge

The Pros

The Cons

Small build volume
Can only print PLA due to the lack of a heated bed
Experienced users will find the Finder very limited due to the lack of upgrades and support for 3D party slicers and filaments
Print quality is outclassed by its competitors
While it has silent stepper drivers, its loud fans negate any advantage they have
Larger and heavier than its competitors due to its enclosed nature

Paul Chow

Co-Founder & CTO

Published on July 23, 2022

Amazon.com Disclosure: As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Flashforge made a name for itself as an affordable clone of the Makerbot, one of the first consumer 3D printers on the market. However, many of its popular models were close to $1,000, putting it out of reach for many hobbyists and educators.

The Flashforge Finder wanted to address this with their own version of an affordable enclosed 3D printer. Coming fully assembled out of the box and with its own ecosystem of slicer software and in-house filament, Flashforge is trying to capture the beginner, hobbyist and educator market. At $299, it directly competes with popular players such as the Creality Ender 3 V2 and the Prusa Mini. In this Flashforge Finder 2020 3D printer review, we will be taking a deep dive into the 3D printer’s strengths and weaknesses and comparing it to the competition.

Key Features To Look For In A Great 3D Printer

You might think the print quality is the more important feature to look for in a 3D printer, and you would be partly correct. Regarding the Flashforge Finger 2020, we scored it 6/10 for a couple of reasons. When we tested its ability to resolve details, we noticed there wasn’t proper cooling. As a result, we noticed the overhang section drooping down and hindering the print quality. We also printed multiple calibration cubes to see the consistency of the Flashforge Finder, and we did notice slight differences between the surfaces, which indicated the extruder is inconsistent.

Once you know if the print quality is up to your expectations, the next thing to look out for is safety! The Flashforge Finder has guards that protect your fingers from the hotend, an enclosure that hides any wires that may be exposed, a seal hotend and more! We love this printer when it comes to safety. However, due to its enclosed nature, a lot of the parts & components are also proprietary, which makes it hard to find replacements. You will need to contact Flashforge directly to service your printer, which might be an inconvenience to some.

Lastly, you want to ensure that assembly will be quick and easy (unless you’re a veteran and assembling is easy peasy for you). The Flashforge finger comes factory assembled and only requires the user to level the bed, which only requires 3 adjustment screws, and you’re off to the printing races. The only downside is that Flashforge doesn’t give clear instructions on how to level the bed, but the accompanying built-in leveling wizard will take over after screwing in the 3 screws. It took us around 20 minutes from unpacking to get everything ready.

76

Overall Score

Ranked #30 of 37 Printers

Learn more about our 3D printer review methodology.

How We Researched This Printer

The Flashforge Finder belongs to the small form factor family of 3D printers that typically specializes in a full-featured printer in a tiny footprint. With many of these types of printers, the Flashforge Finder packs features that are usually only available to higher-end and larger 3D printers.

This Flashforge printer is special out of all the small form factor 3D printers because it comes fully assembled and partially enclosed from the factory, with no other 3D printer having this feature set in its price range. This makes it an excellent choice for educators who want a safe and ready-to-go printer for their classroom.

We subjected the Flashforge Finder to a series of 3d prints to test its capabilities in a series of harsh printer environments. We also travelled to its community groups to ask questions and get a feel for what its community is like and more. To get a better idea of its performance, we compared it to other printers like the Creality Ender 3 V2 and the Monoprice Select Mini Pro,

As an education-facing 3D printer, we asked a teacher with no 3D printing experience to try the Flashforge Finder out and see if they could do some test prints without any help.

This is a must-read for anyone looking for a beginner-friendly 3D printer, so don’t skip out on this! Choosing the right small form factor printer can be the difference between a pleasant user experience, great quality prints and a poor user experience with terrible prints and lots of repairs. We’ve carefully done our research to make sure you have the right information to make your 3D printer purchase!

Printer Setup

The Flashforge Finder comes factory assembled and only requires the user to level the bed before printing. Requiring only 3 adjustment screws to level the bed, the Flashforge Finder seemed deceptively easy to level. Unfortunately, Flashforge does not provide very clear instructions on properly levelling the bed and requires the user to fully tighten down the level screws before starting the built-in leveling wizard. It took us about 20 minutes from unboxing to getting the printer fully leveled.

In comparison, the Ender 3 V2 and Prusa Mini took about 1 hour to set up as they are partially assembled kits.

Print Quality

The Flashforge Finder has a small build volume of only 140mm (l) x 140mm (w) x 140mm (h). Because of this, some of our test models had to be scaled down to fit the print volume.

We tested the Flashforge Finder in 4 major areas: the ability to resolve details, z layer alignment, dimensional accuracy and print repeatability. For the tests, we used stock 0.2mm layer height settings in the Cura.

We tested the Flashforge Finder’s ability to resolve details by printing several different models. These models included the standard test model Benchy, a Mandolorian figurine and a calibration cube. Unfortunately, proper cooling was a major weakness of the Finder. From the Mandalorian figure, we noticed that overhang sections tended to droop due to the cooling fan not cooling the molten PLA fast enough.

We also tested the z-layer alignment of the Flashforge Finder by printing a 120mm tall tube. Quality control and design of the z-axis assembly dictate the consistency of the z-axis of a 3D printer. If the lead screw in the z-axis is off or bent even by a fraction of a degree, ribbing artifacts known as z wobble will manifest on the 3D print. A tall smooth object such as a tube will exaggerate any z wobble in a 3D printer, luckily, we did not see any z wobble in our 120mm tall tube.

To test dimensional accuracy and print consistency, we printed a 20mm calibration cube 20 times to see if there are any differences between the different cubes. We noted that our cube measured 20.3mm (l) x 20.3mm (w), which makes the Flashforge Finder slightly below average for dimensional accuracy. We also noticed that between the first and twentieth calibration cube, there were slight differences in the surface finish of the flat walls of the cube. This indicates that the extruder on the Flashforge finder is inconsistent.

The Flashforge Finder is outclassed by its competitors in terms of print quality. Both the Ender 3 V2 and Prusa mini have prints that show more consistent extrusion and better cooling performance. The Finder’s build area was not big enough to accommodate prints larger than 140mm in height, a definite downfall.

Print Experience

Setting Up Prints
Flashforge has its own in-house Flashprint slicer program, which makes slicing and loading files to the Flashforge Finder incredibly easy. Once connected to the WiFi network, Flashprint had no issues finding the Flashforge Finder and wirelessly transferred our files to the printer. We also used a USB flash drive to transfer some test files and found no issues.

One major issue with Flashprint is the lack of advanced control over the print profile. Users can change the number of perimeters, amount of infill, nozzle temperature and other basic parameters. However, settings to fine-tune print quality and supports are nowhere to be found. Advanced users would have to look into creating their own profile in 3rd party slicers such as Cura and Slic3r to gain access to advanced settings.

Once print files are loaded into the Flashforge Finder, it is incredibly easy to start prints. Navigating on the colour touchscreen is easy thanks to the large icons and intuitive menu layout.

Noise Level
We found the Flashforge Finder 3D printer to be average in terms of the noise level. It uses a Flashforge branded silent stepper driver to make the movement of the machine very quiet while in motion. However, we found the hotend fan and board cooling fan to be quite loud, with the machine outputting 50db while idle and while printing. This is the same db as the Ender 3 V2 and Prusa mini at full speed. The Prusa mini, however can be as quiet as 40db when it is not printing at full speed

Flashforge Ecosystem
The benefit of the Flashforge ecosystem is that the user should have a seamless printing experience since Flashforge provides both a slicer and filament. However, if a user decides to go outside the Flashforge ecosystem, they may become frustrated with the little support provided in terms of 3rd party slicer support or filament profiles within Flashprint.

Filament Roll Holder
The Flashforge Finder has a convenient filament holder for its own branded filament. However, many 3rd party filament spools will not fit, and users will need to provide their own filament holder if their roll of filament does not fit.

Non-Heated Bed
One of the biggest limiting factors of the Flashforge Finder is the lack of a heated bed. While this can be considered a safety feature, it limits the Flashforge Finder to just PLA filament. Users who would like to try other common filaments such as ABS, PETG and TPU for their strength, heat resistance and flexibility will be unable to do so without a heated bed. Competitors such as the Ender 3 and Mini can print those types of filaments thanks to their heated beds.

Hardware

The Flashforge Finder has a build volume of 140mm (l) x 140mm (w) x 140mm (h), an overall size of 420mm (l) x 420mm (w) x 420 (h) and weighs in at 11kg. Compared to competitors, such as the Ender 3 V2 and the Prusa Mini, it sports a much smaller build volume and takes up more space and weight. However, unlike any other machine in its class, the Flashforge has the advantage of being a semi-enclosed machine with a bright red plastic outer shell. This makes it much safer to operate, and the shell protects the machine from accidental bumps and reduces the chance of accidentally touching the hotend.

Subjectively, we found that the Flashforge Finder is a far better-looking and more professional machine compared to the Creality Ender 3 V2 and the Prusa Mini. The enclosure helps to give the image of a polished machine, whereas the Ender 3 and the Mini cannot hide cables that are otherwise exposed. We felt that Flashforge won for its design.

Safety Highlights

Semi-Enclosed
The plastic frame around the Flashforge Finder serves a few purposes aside from looking good. First, it reduces the chances of accidental bumps to the build plate or any other moving component. Secondly, and maybe most importantly, it guards the hotend against accidental finger slips. The enclosure allows Flashforge to hide any wires that may be exposed on an open frame, reducing the chance of wires getting caught by accident.

Sealed Hotend
The Flashforge Finder comes equipped with a sealed hotend with no exposed wiring except for a single ribbon cable. This prevents the user from electrocution and protects the printer from any accidental wiring tugs. However, this is detrimental if repairs are needed to the hotend assembly.

Maintenance

Find Replacement Parts
As the Flashforge finder uses several proprietary parts, replacement parts and components are not easy to come by, and users need to contact Flashforge directly to service their printers.

Accessing the Control Board
The control board, motors, hotend and other components are difficult to access as they are all internal and protected by plastic guards. Maintenance is not often required due to the components being protected from dust and stray pieces of filament.

Features & Upgrades

Removable Glass Build Plate
The Flashforge Finder features a removable glass build plate that is great for users. Having a flat surface is critical for 3D prints to succeed, and glass is generally very flat. The fact that it’s removable allows users to quickly swap out build plates to start a new print after finishing one. This reduces the chance of the bed losing its level since the force of removing prints from a non-removable bed can throw off the printer level.

The Prusa Mini also comes with a flexible, removable build plate, making print removal incredibly easy. Whereas the Creality Ender 3 V2, on the other hand, does not come equipped with a removable build plate.

Colour Touchscreen
This 3D printer comes equipped with a 3.5” colour touchscreen, unlike other affordable printers that come with a monochrome LCD. Navigation is simple and intuitive thanks to its easy-to-read menus and large icons. Any beginner to 3D printing will find this feature especially helpful.

WiFi Connectivity
Another feature that sets the Flashforge Finder apart is the inclusion of WiFi connectivity. Users can upload and monitor prints from Flashforge’s Flashprint slicer software. If WiFi is unavailable or needed, the Flashforge Finder can use a USB flash drive to load and print files.

Upgrades
The Flashforge Finder uses several proprietary parts in its hotend assembly and control board. At the time of this writing, there are no official upgrades available to the Flashforge Finder.

Community Support

The Flashforge Finder lacks community support since it is nowhere near as popular as the Ender 3 or Prusa Mini. There are a few Facebook groups and forum sections where users can find solutions to questions they may have.

Facebook
Thingiverse

Due to a combination of proprietary parts and lack of community support, there are little to no mods or upgrades available to the Flashforge Finder.

Final Verdict

The Flashforge printer is aimed at beginners who want an all-in-one ecosystem or educators looking for a safe, reliable printer that is easy to set up in the classroom. However, competitors such as the Ender 3 V2 and the Prusa Mini outclass the Finder in print quality, print volume and the ability to print materials other than PLA. We feel that many users will quickly outgrow the Flashforge Finder’s small build volume, filament limitations and lack of 3rd party support. If having a semi-enclosed printer with an ecosystem of filaments and software is not your top priority, we recommend the Creality Ender 3 V2 or Prusa Mini as an alternative for an entry-level 3D printer.

Technical Specifications

Build volume: 140mm (l) x 140mm (w) x 140mm (h)
Printer size: 420mm (l) x 4200mm (w) x 420mm (h)
Weight: 11kg
Enclosed print area: Yes
Display: Colour touchscreen
Drive type: FDM Direct (ptfe)
Filament capability: PLA
Connectivity: USB type A, WiFi
Drivers: Flashforge branded silent stepper driver
Build Surface: Flashforge build sticker
Heated Bed: No
Bed Leveling: Assisted manual
Nozzle diameter: 0.4mm
Maximum hotend temperature: 240 °C
Maximum movement speed: 150mm per second
Maximum XY accuracy: 0.2mm
Minimum Z height: 0.1mm
Number of extruders: 1
Filament diameter: 1.75mm
Supported materials: PLA
3rd party filament support: Yes
Operating System: Windows, macOS, Linux
Supported Slicers: Flashprint, CURA
Supported File Types: STL, OBJ, M3F

Disclaimer
3DGearZone.com is a professional review site that receives compensation from the companies whose products we review. We test each product thoroughly and give high marks to only the very best. We don’t guarantee, however, that our suggestions will work best for each individual or business, so consider your unique needs when choosing products and services. 3DGearZone.com is independently owned and the opinions expressed here are our own.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Sources
1.Flashforge.com, “Zhejiang Flashforge 3D Technology Co., Ltd” Accessed July 26, 2022.

Paul Chow

Paul’s been prop making since 2012 and has garnered an extensive experience in woodworking, CNC machining, 3D modelling and printing experience. Getting his first 3D printer in 2016, he dove deep into the world of 3D printer building, repair, upgrading and tinkering. He has built, tested and upgraded dozens of printers ranging from large & small, resin or FDM and ready to print fully custom builds.