QIDI Max4 Review: 390 mm Large-Format with a Heated Chamber

The QIDI Max4 is a large-format enclosed CoreXY printer with a 390×390×340 mm build volume, a nozzle that hits 370 °C, a 120 °C bed and an actively heated chamber up to 65 °C. QIDI Technology showed it at Formnext 2025, units started shipping in 2026, and it starts at $1,099. It is built for people who need to print large functional parts in engineering materials in one piece, without gluing.

The verdict in two words

In short: it is one of the best large enclosed printers in its price class. The huge build area, a high-temp hotend and a genuine active chamber make ABS, ASA, nylon and carbon-fiber composites print reliably. AppleInsider scored it 4.5 out of 5 and AndroidPCTV 90 out of 100. The downsides are honest too: with the external Polar Cooler it gets noticeably loud, and the software is still rough at launch. This is not a first printer for a beginner — the price, size and weight are aimed at experienced users and small print farms.

Specifications

Unboxing and what's in the box

The box is heavy: 40 kg net at 558×578×612 mm, so unboxing is a two-person job, and the Combo with the QIDI Box weighs even more. The printer ships factory-assembled, and you are about 5 minutes from your first print, guided by animated prompts on the 5-inch screen. AppleInsider called it "very easy to get to your first Benchy after opening the box."

The case is all-metal. At its core is a CoreXY frame with 10 mm 1.5GT belts and FOC closed-loop stepper motors: a linear rail on the X axis and two independent lead screws on Z. That motion system is what delivers the stable geometry across the large bed that we cover below.

The print head uses a bimetal nozzle rated to 370 °C. The stock nozzle handles most jobs, but for abrasive carbon- and glass-fiber composites you should fit the tungsten-carbide version — it wears far more slowly.

Print quality

Geometry is a non-issue. On a calibration cube, iXBT measured deviations of just 0.01–0.03 mm, with no Z banding and no ghosting on complex surfaces. Overhangs hold clean to about 80°. The surface is smooth — AppleInsider's reviewer wrote that on QIDI's matte PLA "you had to go looking for the layer lines." If your first layer still misbehaves, we cover causes and fixes in a dedicated first-layer adhesion guide.

The one caveat of a big bed is cumulative error on large parts. Per iXBT, over 100 mm the X deviation reaches −0.23 mm, and at the 145 mm maximum up to −0.33 mm, so you should compensate dimensions on big models in the slicer. A 3DToday reviewer caught one through-layer shift during a 15-hour 250×250×300 mm print — a one-off, but it can happen on multi-hour jobs.

Materials and the active chamber

This is where the Max4 shines. Active chamber heating holds up to 65 °C via a separate 500 W PTC heater — the whole envelope is heated, not just radiated from the bed. Combined with the 370 °C nozzle and 120 °C bed, that lets you print ABS, ASA, nylon, polycarbonate and PA-CF, PC-CF and PPS-CF composites with virtually no warping. 3DTechValley noted the bed heats evenly from center to edge, and ABS comes out without lifted corners.

The enclosure plus 3-stage filtration (a G3 pre-filter, an H12 HEPA and activated carbon) partly trap fine particles and odor when printing ABS and ASA. It is not a substitute for real ventilation — for the health side and proper workshop airflow, see our piece on fumes and ventilation.

Speed and noise

Travel speed reaches 800 mm/s, with real-world print speeds around 600 mm/s at up to 30,000 mm/s² acceleration. A PLA Benchy finishes in 18 minutes. Noise comes with a caveat: it is 56 dB in normal use, but 62 dB with the external Polar Cooler running (AppleInsider compared it to "an angry Roomba in the room with you"), and up to 65 dB with the QIDI Box active. One more note: that reviewer's Polar Cooler hose started to crimp after 4–6 hours — fixed with a printed riser available on the QIDI Wiki.

The Polar Cooler mainly helps with fast PLA: it cools the nozzle area directly so soft plastic does not clog the hotend. For engineering materials with a hot chamber you turn it off instead. If you plan to push PLA hard, the unit is worth it; if you mostly print ABS and nylon, it is quieter without it.

Software and ecosystem

The ecosystem is open. You can slice in QIDI Studio (a Bambu Studio fork), as well as OrcaSlicer and PrusaSlicer. The printer connects over Wi-Fi (2.4 and 5 GHz), Ethernet and USB; the firmware is Klipper-based with a Fluidd web UI, so you can drive it straight from a browser by IP, with no mandatory cloud. The 1080p AI camera catches print failures and spaghetti.

The weak spots are software. The mobile app is mostly for checking on a print remotely, and the camera feed runs at a low frame rate. On early firmware, over-the-air updates did not work and had to be installed manually. QIDI is actively refining the software, but it shows at launch. Multi-color comes from the QIDI Box: 4 spools, and up to 16 materials and colors when chained.

Pros

• Huge 390×390×340 mm build area — large enclosures and functional parts print in one piece, no gluing
• High-temp package: 370 °C nozzle, 120 °C bed and a 65 °C active chamber for ABS, ASA, nylon, PC and CF composites
• Accurate geometry and clean walls: 0.01–0.03 mm deviation on a cube, no Z banding and no ghosting
• Smooth surface finish — layer lines are barely visible on matte PLA
• Open ecosystem: QIDI Studio, OrcaSlicer, PrusaSlicer; Wi-Fi, Ethernet, USB; no mandatory cloud
• 1080p AI camera, filament runout sensor and power-loss recovery
• Easy start — about 5 minutes to set up with on-screen prompts
• Reliable: AppleInsider logged 200+ hours and over a kilometer of filament with no serious failures

Cons

• Noticeably loud with the Polar Cooler — 62 dB versus 56 dB normally (up to 65 dB with the QIDI Box)
• Cumulative error on large parts: up to −0.33 mm over 145 mm, so big models need compensation
• Rough software at launch: weak mobile app, low camera fps, no OTA updates on early firmware
• The Polar Cooler hose tends to crimp — it needs a printed riser
• Big, heavy and not cheap: 40 kg, over 0.5 m on each side, starting at $1,099
• Not for beginners: needs a dedicated power circuit (1,350 W peak) and experience with engineering materials

How it compares

Within QIDI's own range, the closest relative is the QIDI Plus4: the same active chamber and high-temp hotend, but a smaller bed (305×305×280 mm) at half the price. If you do not need the large format, the Plus4 is the better value. The direct size rival is the Creality K2 Plus at 350×350×350 mm, though it costs more. And the Bambu Lab X1C at the same $1,099 wins not on volume (just 256 mm) but on a polished ecosystem and quiet operation — yet it has no active chamber, so nylon and polycarbonate are fussier on it.

Who the QIDI Max4 is for

The QIDI Max4 packs industrial-class capability into a desktop case: a big bed, a hot hotend and a genuine active chamber. It is built for experienced users, engineers and small print farms that need to print large functional parts in ABS, ASA, nylon and composites in one piece. Its strength is large single-color prints in demanding materials; its weak spots are the noise with active cooling and the rough software at launch.

A beginner just getting into 3D printing should skip the Max4: the price, size and weight are aimed at people who already know what they want from a printer. But if your job is big engineering-material parts without gluing and without warping, the Max4 is one of the strongest options in its price class.

FAQ

Sources

• QIDI — official Max4 product page and specs
• AppleInsider — QiDi Max 4 review (4.5/5)
• AndroidPCTV — QIDI MAX4 Review (90/100)
• iXBT — QIDI Max4 review: what the large format brings
• 3DToday — QIDI Max 4: first print, first errors
• 3DTechValley — QIDI Tech Max 4 Review (2026)