The Flashforge AD5X arrives with most of its main assembly already built, so setup is closer to attaching a few modules than building a printer from scratch. Flashforge frames it as three simple steps: mount the screen, attach the spool holders, and install the multicolor IFS module. Before any of that, clear the packaging fully, pull the foam blocks out of the chamber, and set the printer on a level, sturdy surface with room on the side where the IFS module will sit.
The screen goes on first. It ships folded flat against the frame, held by a small bracket. Remove the screws holding that bracket, flip the screen up into its working position, and push until it clicks into place. From there, clear out whatever foam remains around the extruder and rails. A stray piece left behind can catch on the gantry the moment it starts moving.
The IFS module is the part that will feel new if you are coming from a single-extruder printer. It bolts onto the side of the frame with a mounting plate, then four guide tubes run from the module to the extruder, and a connector cable plugs into the port at the back. The four spool holders snap onto their mounting points, two per side. Keep the spool, the holder position, and the IFS channel it feeds all numbered the same way. Each channel retracts and feeds on its own, and the directions differ depending on which side it sits on.
Before your first job, unlock the build plate by removing the screws holding it in place for shipping. Then let the printer run its automatic leveling cycle once. It reads bed height through a pressure sensor rather than a manual probe, so there is nothing to adjust by hand, just a short wait while it measures the surface and stores the result.
Once the leveling cycle finishes and the build plate is unlocked, setup is done but the printer is not yet proven. The broader first-print checklist covers what to expect next, and the AD5X first print guide walks through a controlled single-color run before multicolor printing enters the picture. Loading the four IFS channels correctly is the step worth getting right first.