[Hardware] Voxelab Aquila S2 Review: High-Temperature Filaments on a Budget

[Revo]

 

 

Just about any FDM-style 3D printer can handle PLA filament with aplomb and better models have no problem with PETG or ABS. However, if you want to work with high-temperature filaments such as nylon, which produces smoother parts that slide together better, or carbon fiber, which provides added strength, you’ll need a printer that can produce that level of heat. 

Designed to compete with and out-heat the best 3D printers, Voxelab’s Aquila S2 features a direct drive extruder that is capable of handling an impressive array of high-temperature filaments and can print at up to 300 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees more than competitors such as the Creality Ender 3 Pro. A successor to the Voxelab Aquila, the $280 FDM printer achieves its high temperatures by using an all-metal hotend, which is unique for a printer in this price range.  It also features a removable magnetic flexible PEI textured build plate and a resume print feature so that you can continue printing even after power loss.
The Voxelab Aquila S2 comes well-packed in the box in a partially assembled state. All tools required for assembly are included, along with a few spare parts and a sample of filament. A scraper to remove finished prints from the bed is also included, but because the printer has a textured flexible build plate, it should be used sparingly for only the toughest to remove prints. 

Unlike with many printers, there were no flush cutters included. If this is your first 3D printer and you don’t already have a pair on hand, you may want to pick some up. A manual is included on both the microSD card and in the form of a paper booklet with easy-to-follow assembly instructions. A filament holder is included, as we see with many similar printers. The Voxelab Aquila S2 ships with the base of the printer already assembled and most of the wiring is already in place allowing for a quick assembly. Some of the included tools are for printer maintenance later on as you continue to use it.
The printer is a basic cartesian style printer that is similar in build size to its predecessor, the Aquila. The overall build volume gives plenty of room for many different models to be printed on without the printer taking up too much space. 

The printer features a 4.3” full color display that is controlled with a dial button to scroll through the menu options. The menu is fairly simple and has just the right amount of functionality without making it too complicated. This control pad is similar to the one on the original Aquila, but is mounted vertically which gives the printer a sleeker appearance. With the large colorful button-like appearance of the User Interface, I found myself often forgetting this was not a touch screen.
The X and Y Axis belts have built-in tensioners on them, allowing for easy adjustment. After the initial setup, you shouldn’t need to make any adjustments, but if you ever do, this makes it very simple.

This printer still uses large knobs on the underside of the print bed for manual leveling, but purchasing a separate automatic bed leveling sensor and installing it yourself is an optional upgrade path and it can dramatically ease the setup and maintenance for new users. I’ll cover the bed leveling procedure in more detail further down in the bed leveling section.
This printer is able to handle higher temperature filaments. One of the ways that this is accomplished is the larger than standard sized aluminum nozzle block, allowing it to keep the hotend at a consistent heat easily. Unfortunately, this also meant I was unable to fit a standard silicon sock onto the nozzle and would have helped prevent the nozzle blob I experienced during one of the printing tests I performed. However, I have given this feedback to Voxelab and they will fix this issue by including a sock with the Aquila S2 in the near future.

The printer has a direct drive extruder in a sleek vertical package. The advantage to having a direct drive motor is that there is a much shorter path between the heating element and the extruder motor, which is necessary for certain filaments such as NinjaFlex or other TPU filaments due to their flimsiness. It also has the advantage of reducing stringing among prints because retraction works better. For the higher temperature filaments such as nylon, this also means it has a shorter path in which to pick up moisture from the air.
One of the things I am really happy to see on this printer is the addition of a flexible magnetic build plate. This is a part which I normally replace on printers that don’t come with them, as I consider it essential to good printing. The texture of this build plate is similar to that of the Ultistik line of build plates, which I have found to work very well. 

The build plate comes installed with the textured side up, but there is also a smooth side on the bottom that can be used for a smoother finish on your prints. I tried using this and found it was having more difficulty adhering to the surface without any assistance. Fortunately, there are many products that you can apply to the surface to assist with adhesion, or if you’re feeling brave, you could just use some steel wool to scuff up the surface a bit.

For ports and slots, this printer has a single microSD card slot for printing away from a computer as well as a micro USB cable port for connecting it directly to a computer.
Assembly of the printer is fairly straightforward and I found the manual to be well written. There were a few extra screws included in case anything was missing. The bottom build platform is already assembled, so it was more a matter of going step-by-step and attaching the various pieces of extrusion in the correct order. The screws came sorted in plastic, so everything was very easy to find.

The trickiest part of the assembly was the X-Axis because the directions have you flip it in various orientations while the belt is loose and woven through various slots, which can be a bit confusing if you’re not paying attention. Fortunately there are enough unique looking pieces that following along is pretty simple. While assembling, I opted to keep several of the screws loose and at the end, I went through and tightened up everything. This helped with getting everything to be square and lined up.

Leveling the Build Platform on the Voxelab Aquila S2
This printer features a manual bed leveling system out of the box, but Voxelab claims that automatic bed leveling is supported. This is most likely if you plan on purchasing an automatic bed leveling sensor and installing it on the printer yourself. For the purposes of the review we will be using the manual bed leveling to keep the experience as close to out of the box as possible.
First I started by using the included wrench to make sure the bed was not wiggling at all. There are a pair of eccentric nuts on one side of the printer that move the wheels closer or further from the track as you turn them, so no more than a half a turn should be necessary. If it feels like turning it one direction is loosening it, you will want to turn the nut the other direction.

Once the bed feels secure, you will want to use the control pad to move the nozzle to the home position, and then disable the steppers. Then you’ll want to turn the knobs on the bottom in a counter-clockwise direction to move the bed away from the nozzle if it scrapes as you move it. 

Once you can move the nozzle above all four knobs without scraping, you’re supposed to take a piece of printer paper and use that as a guide to tighten the knobs so that you barely feel resistance as you attempt to drag the paper between the nozzle and the bed.However, I had more success by just eyeballing it so there was just a tiny gap between the nozzle and the build plate. Keep going between each of the knobs. Remember that adjusting one knob can affect previously adjusted knobs. Once everything feels good, move the nozzle to the center of the bed and check that there is a gap there and that it isn’t too wide.
There were four test prints included with the printer that I received and I went ahead and printed them all. All test models were pre-sliced for printing using PLA, which I found by opening the GCode files in a text editor. Every print came out successful on the first try once I had the build plate properly leveled. The first test print I performed was using the Aquila Test Model. This was a small platform with various shapes on it that may prove to be difficult on some printers. This printed very cleanly and looked great.

If you need to print with high-temperature filaments such as those containing nylon or cabon fiber, you’ll find no more affordable option than the Voxelab Aquila S2.. The printer also includes some great features such as a direct drive extruder and a flexible magnetic bed, which go a long way in assisting with more complex prints. And, most importantly, the quality of the output is really good. 

Because the Voxelab Aquila S2 is a budget printer, it is missing some nice features such as automatic bed leveling, which would really enhance the user experience. Overall the printer is well built and once the printer is tuned, it performs well for most printing tasks.

If you are looking for a similar style of FDM printer, but don’t have the need to print high-temperature filaments, you may want to consider going with the Ender 3 Pro, which is cheaper and better supported, or an Elegoo Neptune 2 which retails for less than $200.