The Flashforge Creator 5 is the best budget tool changer currently on the market. Of course, there are only two other true toolchangers out there right now, three if you include the Bambu Lab H2C nozzle swapper. At the time of this review, the Creator 5 is on sale for $699, after a $100 discount. For that, you get a solid, open-frame Core XY machine with a 256 mm cubed build volume and four speedy toolheads that won’t waste your filament budget.

The Creator 5 is not perfect. It purges an insane amount of material when it loads, and the required prime block is surprisingly large. If you don’t use the Flashforge filament profiles, you’ll be in for a shock at the heft of the prime tower. Why? They only adjusted the filament profile for their own material. Everything purges at single-nozzle AMS levels. This setting is buried pretty deep in the slicer, and it took some time for me to find and correct it.

The printer handle high temperature materials well, which is more relevant if you opt for the enclosed Creator 5 Pro. It's still useful on the open frame machine because it loads and unloads at a higher temp to avoid clogging.

Being an open-frame printer, the Flashforge Creator 5 is limited in the materials it can print. We used the basics, PLA, PETG, and TPU for most of our prints. Since the hot end temperature can go all the way to 320°C and bed can get to 120°C we did try some higher temp filaments like PET-GF which printed fine at 310°C.

There’s no upgrade path to take the Creator 5 to an enclosed Pro, something that other companies might offer. Even though it looks like Flashforge uses the same case for both machines, there’s no fan behind the exterior grill for extra cooling, and no way to install one. However, if your plan is to print in multicolor PLA, PETG, and TPU, this is a good, no-frills machine for your workshop. It's one of the best 3D printers we’ve seen this year, and I highly recommend checking it out for your next multicolor machine.

Specifications: Flashforge Creator 5

Flashforge Creator 5: Included in the box

The Flashforge Creator 5 arrives mostly assembled. The tool heads are pre-assembled with a mounting plate. The spoolholders, touch screen, toolkit, filament coils, and quick start guide are included.

Design of the Flashforge Creator 5

The Flashforge Creator 5 is a fast Core XY open-frame printer with a simple grey case that prioritizes mechanical simplicity to keep the price down. We mainly see this in how filament is manually loaded to each tool head and requires picking up each head to physically hold down a lever while you push the material through to the nozzle.

The build volume is 256 mm³, which is a fairly standard size when compared to most 3D printers. The removable flex plate is two-sided and coated with a common PEI textured surface, which gave us no problem.

As I mentioned previously, the open frame case is not meant to be upgraded with a door or top lid. It appears to be the same one used on the Pro version of this machine, which is a great cost-saving method for Flashforge, but disappointing to the buyer when you notice there are no fans behind the vents in the body.

The X and Y axes run on beefy 8mm belts with a linear rail for the X axis and linear rods for the Y. The Z runs on three linear rods, driven by three lead screws belted to a single stepper motor.

The tool head carriage includes the extruder motor and parts cooling fan, which are shared by four very lightweight tool heads. Each tool head has a manual cutter, hot end, and cooling fan. The tool heads attach to their base with magnets and are picked up by the tool carriage mechanically by gripping the circular protrusion on the back of the tool head, and aligned by mating with three pins on the tool head carriage. This is less complex than motorized latching pins that other machines use, but during our testing, it proved to be a very reliable system.

The hot end includes the thermistor and heater, and is replaced as a unit. This is not a quick-release system, and you will need tools and a bit of patience to change out the nozzles.

The Flashforge Creator 5 has basic, static, spool holders which allow for the use of a wide variety of spool types from sample spools and coils to oversized spools and spools with dinged up rims. Since the Creator 5 does not automatically unload filament, these work just fine.

Assembling the Flashforge Creator 5

For a complex machine, the Flashforge Creator 5 is very simple to assemble. The 4-inch touchscreen plugs into a socket on the printer, with no ribbon cable to fuss with, and attaches with two screws.

The tool heads are prewired and attached to a plate, which is screwed into the right side of the printer, and the tool heads dock magnetically, also on the right side of the printer.

The spool holders are attached to the right side of the printer with a single screw each. Four nozzle blockers slot into the right side of the printer to prevent oozing. There is one cable to plug into the toolhead carriage, and it attaches with two screws.

Before calibration, there is a nice reminder to make sure you’ve removed the three screws holding the bad in place for shipping.

Preparing Files / Software for Flashforge Creator 5

The Flashforge Creator 5 requires a download of Flash Studio, which is based on Orca Slicer, which traces its lineage to Bambu Studio and Prusa Slicer. Flash Studio is stable and works fine for connecting to the Creator 5 in either cloud or LAN mode. The filaments input from the printer itself show up on the device page, but have to be manually chosen in the slicer as they do not sync up automatically.

Flashforge does not give access to the printer directly from a browser using the IP address, but does offer LAN mode if you want to avoid the cloud. Files can also be transferred manually via a USB drive.

You can access Voxelshare, Flashforge’s file sharing site from the home page of the slicer. While not as deep as some of the other file sharing services out there, it is a good place to start looking for something to print.

Flashforge does have a nice series of guides that can be accessed directly from the slicer. Information is a little light on the Creator 5 largely because it is still in pre-order status.

Leveling the Flashforge Creator 5

The Flashforge Creator 5 sets Z offset and levels the bed as part of its initial calibration, along with vibration compensation and extruder offset calibration. It calibrates the four tool heads by tapping a calibration disk hidden underneath the build plate. This takes about 40 minutes, but only needs to be done when the machine is first set up.

The printer offers to recheck the level at the start of each print. Since the printer sets the level using the tool head carriage, without the need to level each individual tool, it’s quick enough to just let it level each time.

Loading Filament on the Flashforge Creator 5

Loading filament in the Flashforge Creator 5 is a very simple, though oddly manual, process. Each tool head has a manual cutter, triggered by a lever, which also releases the extruder. To load filament, place the spool on the holder, push the end of the material into the appropriately numbered port, and hand-feed the material to the tool head. You then remove the toolhead from its dock, press the lever to release the extruder tension, and feed the material until it stops. To unload, you reverse the process.

The loading routine on the printer nicely sets the hot end temperature to match the last filament loaded, 250 °C for PLA and TPU, and 270 °C for PETG. It will then purge a rather large amount of material onto the floor of the printer.

Printing on the Flashforge Creator 5

The Flashforge Creator 5 comes with four small sample coils of basic colored PLA, which are too small to be of any real use. You should check out our guide to the best filaments for 3D printing to stock up on filament before using the Creator 5.

For my first print, I decided to jump into the deep end of the pool. I used Creality’s Cube Me tool to make a model from a photo of Dave Hasselhoff from his Knight Rider days. I used the .12 mm layer height default profile, which set an average print speed of 160 mm/s. I tilted the model 90 degrees backward to avoid supports on Hoff’s face and stuck with the default values for tree supports. The supports were very stout, but were removed with very little trouble.

The print took 8 hours 28 minutes to complete and looks fantastic. The purge block generated by the defaults was massive on this model, weighing in at 44 grams, more than the model’s 33 grams. This purge value can be adjusted in the slicer and should be refined in future software releases as well.

I used Anycubic PLA Plus in peach pink, cyan, and black. The white is Microcenter’s Inland PLA.

I wanted to test the ability of the Creator 5 to push TPU, so I loaded up some FiberFlex 40D from Fiberology. 40D is a little bit softer than standard 95A TPU, and many of the printers I test have a hard time handling it. To make it more interesting, I gave it a difficult model, the TPU air duster from Dan the 3D Printing Dad on Printables. This file will fail at the first hint of underextrusion. Using a .12mm layer height and an average print speed of 50 mm/s, the print completed in 2 hours and 9 minutes.

The duster printed great, with no leaks in the bellows, but did fail ¾ of the way up the straw. That soft TPU was way too wiggly at the top, where the model was very small.

Sadly, the extruder clogged, which required disassembling the tool head to clear.

I wanted to give the machine another shot, so I loaded up some CookieCad Sunset TPU, which has a shore hardness of 95A. This time, I was prototyping a phone bag I made in Tinkercad.

This printed at a .2mm layer height, with an average speed of 50 mm/s. The print took a little over 10 hours to print. The quality is very nice with just a little bit of stringing on the interior of the bag, which just means I should have dried the TPU before printing with it.

For PETG, I printed a Fidget Grabber I found while browsing MakerWorld. Using a .2mm layer height and an average print speed of 120 mm/s, the print completed in 2 hours 57 minutes. The print looks really good in Polymaker Silver PETG, and all of the print-in-place joints came out super clean. It’s not the most functional print, but it’s certainly fun.

Bottom Line

The Flashforge Creator 5 printed everything we threw at it (except softer than soft TPU) and did an excellent job. It will be even better if Flashforge can tone down the purge waste when loading and on the prime block. The slicer could be a little less clunky and sync filaments directly, but again, this is a small issue.

$699 isn’t exactly the cheapest price for a 3D printer, but it is currently the best deal you’ll get on a tool changer. If you want to print in four colors, but hate wasting your filament, the Creator 5 is worth a look.

Right now, our options for tool changers are limited. The Snapmaker U1 has a bit more polish and can be upgraded to be fully enclosed by slapping an IKEA tub on top of it. It is currently $899. The prosumer Prusa Research XL, which has a larger print volume and five heads, is $3,899.

Ivan Miranda has released the design files for the Mirandetta, a 3D-printed electric motorbike that breaks down to fit inside a suitcase. He has re-engineered the vehicle so that every part prints on a single 300mm x 300mm bed. The files cost $40 through his website, ivanmiranda.com, and the redesign targets makers who want to build their own rather than admire the one-off he rode at Prague Maker Faire.

Miranda built the original in roughly 10 days as a "travel hack" — the smallest motorbike an adult could ride that still packed into checked luggage. To achieve this, he relied on aluminum wheel axles and an all-metal steering column assembly, and now the released design replaces both with printed parts.

Miranda also standardized the lighting on off-the-shelf T10 automotive sockets and bulbs instead of the salvaged components in the original, cut the number of distinct screws, and constrained every part to a 300mm x 300mm build volume. He says the redesign took more work than building the first bike from scratch. The reference printer is the Prusa CORE One L, a 300mm x 300mm x 330mm machine that we've reviewed previously. Anything smaller, including the standard 250mm-class CORE One, can't fit the largest parts in one piece.

The wheels use lawnmower tires, which are normally too flat-profiled to lean on, and Miranda printed the rims narrower than standard so the tire's internal bead rings sit closer together; once inflated, the sidewalls can't splay outward and the tread rounds into a profile usable for cornering.

Braking uses floating motorcycle discs rather than the bicycle discs because the floating discs can be deriveted to open up a wider center bore that a printed axle passes through without shearing. Meanwhile, a belt drives the rear wheel, and the throttle is a 10K linear potentiometer mapped through an Arduino to the motor's electronic speed controller.

Power comes from two 36V cordless tool battery packs, making them hot-swappable and simpler to carry through airport security, while a DC-DC converter steps the 36V down to 12V for the horn and lights. Without the batteries fitted, the finished bike weighs a little over 14kg.

Users won't be folding up the assembled scooter and packing it away, though; that's only possible when the bike is fully assembled. Regardless, Miranda won the suitcase-build contest at Prague Maker Faire with the machine and plans to show it at Open Sauce. Miranda is selling the files as-is with no support, and the bike isn't intended as a production design; Miranda describes it as a "complicated hobby build."

Bambu Lab announced a major collaboration with the camera brand Insta360, featuring a “Let’s Make It” Luna Ultra Design Challenge on MakerWorld. The two companies invite fans to design and 3D print custom hardware to fit the new Luna Ultra, a dual-lens 8K gimbal camera built for vlogging. This is the first camera brand to establish an official presence on MakerWorld, the home of Bambu Lab’s file library and maker community.

Up for grabs are $11,160 in prizes, including Luna Ultra cameras, 3D printers, and gift cards. The most intriguing part of the contest is a “Mystery Grand Prize” that will go to the most inspiring concept and could be selected for development as an official Insta360 product.

Though the Luna Ultra uses AI-powered software, AI-generated designs are not welcome in the contest. Each model entry must be a new, unique, human-created design that is printable on an FDM 3D printer. Designers can download a mockup of the Luna Ultra to precisely fit their creations to the camera without needing to own one first.

• Insta360 Luna Ultra : $769.99 at Amazon

MakerWorld – and other 3D printing file sites – are already full of useful camera mods for all sorts of cameras. Tripods, clips, grips, boom arms, dollies, stands, cases, and storage systems abound for every kind of camera. Type “Insta360” into MakerWorld, and over a thousand files pop up for the company's older camera models. Most files are born of necessity, then shared for free by the photographers who designed them.

Insta360’s decision to embrace the 3D printing community and encourage fan-made mods is a refreshing change from standard corporate behavior. We’ve seen many cases of brands being overprotective of their IP and shutting down the "unauthorized" use of their name and image. Rather than presenting Bambu Lab users with a cease-and-desist letter, Insta360 is leaning into the fandom. By providing official 3D-printable mockups of the Luna Ultra only a few weeks after the camera’s launch, they are asking users to become active participants in the hype train.

“We see a shift where creativity doesn’t stop at capturing images—it extends into building and shaping the tools themselves. This collaboration between Insta360 and Bambu Lab brings together imaging and the maker community for the first time in this way, bringing creators the freedom to push the boundaries of what's possible,” said Max Richter, Co-founder & Vice President of Marketing at Insta360.

The two companies hope the contest encourages users to “move past the limits of off-the-shelf parts” and build custom gear uniquely designed for each photographer’s shooting environment.

You don’t need to have an Insta360 camera or even a 3D printer to enter the contest. The contest consists of two tracks: one for 3D printed models posted to MakerWorld and a second for creative ideas posted to social media.

For the model design challenge, contestants need to upload an original creation that fits the Luna Ultra and mark it with the hashtag #PrintForLuna.

Track 1: The Model Design Challenge

For the core model track, contestants need to upload an original creation that fits the Luna Ultra to MakerWorld and tag it with #PrintForLuna.

Three grand prizes will be awarded for physical designs:

Most Original: Wins an Insta360 Luna Ultra Creator Bundle and a Bambu Lab X2D Combo.

Best Functional: Wins an Insta360 Luna Ultra Standard Bundle and a Bambu Lab A2L Combo.

Best Aesthetic: Wins an Insta360 Luna Ultra Standard Bundle and a Bambu Lab A2L Combo.

Models must fit the Luna Ultra, and be printable on an FDM printer. Each participant can submit up to five entries per contest, and each entry must be a new, unique design. AI generated models and remixes are not eligible. Models will be judged by a committee based on relevance, printability, uniqueness, visual appeal and functionality.

Track 2: The Social Media Campaign

The social media contest is for creators who may be new to 3D printing and lack design skills to actually design and print their ideas. Entries can be based on idea concepts, sketches or written descriptions shared on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, or Reddit (r/Insta360) with the hashtags #PrintForLuna #BambuLab #Insta360LunaUltra.

Two grand prizes will be awarded for social media posts:

Most Creative Idea: Wins an Insta360 Luna Ultra Standard Bundle and a Bambu Lab X2D Combo.

Most Practical Idea: Wins an Insta360 Luna Ultra Standard Bundle and a Bambu Lab X2D Combo.

Submissions will be open from July 10 to August 9, with winners announced on August 20, 2026