I like the design from K8200 but there is also Vertex K8400 with Dual extrusion. Which one would you buy today?
Where can I find photos from prints just printed with a stock K8200? Vertex uses 0.35 nozzle K8200 0.5 nozzle is there to much print quality differences? Do I need to buy Z screw upgrade (worth it?) and stand alone controller?
Today I bought Vertex with Dual Extrusion. I saw Iron Man suit really good work. I calculated about K8200 it is nice looking machine but dual Extrusion upgrade can be little expensive. Because K8200 Controller pcb limited to one extruder. I really don’t want to much tuning, I need this time for creating and designing my Projects.
With either machine once you get it tuned in I think you will be very happy with the results.
I think you won’t regret your purchase. But like any other do-it-yourself machine you have to tune it. And there are many settings to find out. If you’re prepared to explore all this, the results are very satisfactory.
And this forum is very helpful 
Congrats,
be advised, when adding the stepper drivers, make sure you pay attention to the directions of the driver boards.
the four in a row pointing to the same direction,
while the second extruder driver board is 180° turned…
A lot of people with dual head killed the driver board, while putting it wrong… including me :-))
[quote=“niyoki”]I like the design from K8200 but there is also Vertex K8400 with Dual extrusion. Which one would you buy today?
Where can I find photos from prints just printed with a stock K8200? Vertex uses 0.35 nozzle K8200 0.5 nozzle is there to much print quality differences? Do I need to buy Z screw upgrade (worth it?) and stand alone controller?[/quote]
Since I own both, let me share my thoughts;
The K8200 is the better choice IMO if you do not really need 2 nozzles (and if even you do, its possible to mod it), because its cheaper, its easier to mod (upgrade to a E3D hotend). Even though the movement speeds are certainly slower, it ends up being faster printing at medium/low quality because of its wider nozzle and thicker filament. The direct drive extruder is also much more convenient and allows more exotic filaments, especially with an aftermarket hotend with easily replaceable nozzles…
If you only intend to print fine prints in regular PLA (no soft/wood/metal/whatever compound PLA either), then the vertex may be the better choice. It is more accurate and print head movements are faster. Fine print quality ends up being a bit better. But the second print head isnt that useful, since the bowden extruder and tiny nozzle doesnt work for PVA, and without heated bed you’ll struggle with ABS or HIPS. So essentially you can only print 2 color PLA, not dissolvable support structures which I found the main attraction of 2 heads.
Of course you can also mod the vertex, add a heated bed, possibly even upgrade to all metal hotends, replace the extruders but its certainly more difficult than with the old printer, and it ends up costing a pretty penny too.
Let me put it this way: we bought the vertex to replace our 3? year K8200. But after a few weeks, we decided to keep the latter and Im still not sure Ill keep the vertex.