26

Re: Finally A Press Video!

Friendly reminder. You are in now way required to read this thread. I  personally am basing my comments on numerous contacts with solidoodle, including personal contact with Sam himself. Not a personal friend, but a few lengthy e-mails back and fourth. Anyhow definitely more than the average customer.  This is not bashing solidoodle, this is a group of customers (At least proctor_richard and I both have pre-ordered the Press. Not sure who else has.  I have owned an SD3 for a year and half. ) who are simply discussing what's on their mind. 

With a product, if you care. You're honest.  And I have no problem with people telling me all about why they buy what they buy. 

Anyway, I started the thread to talk about the good and bad about the Press.  If someone wants to rant about legitimate concerns and dissappointments no reason they can't do that on this thread. 

Of course unless the moderators disagree.

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Re: Finally A Press Video!

@n2ri I too feel that concern for our nations prosperity, progress, etc... but I am going to halt anymore political / business philosophy discussion because I know how prone i am to wander down those paths.  Your comments don't offend me. 

@jagowilson Yeah, one of the big questions in my head is what will I be able to print in this all metal hot end besides ABS/PLA.  I imagine it's not that far away from being able to print hotter materials.. But we'll have to see what the firmware supports for temperature control.  My suspicion is it will not support anything but ABS/PLA... but you never know!

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Re: Finally A Press Video!

pastprimitive wrote:

Friendly reminder. You are in now way required to read this thread. I  personally am basing my comments on numerous contacts with solidoodle, including personal contact with Sam himself. Not a personal friend, but a few lengthy e-mails back and fourth. Anyhow definitely more than the average customer.  This is not bashing solidoodle, this is a group of customers (At least proctor_richard and I both have pre-ordered the Press. Not sure who else has.  I have owned an SD3 for a year and half. ) who are simply discussing what's on their mind. 

With a product, if you care. You're honest.  And I have no problem with people telling me all about why they buy what they buy. 

Anyway, I started the thread to talk about the good and bad about the Press.  If someone wants to rant about legitimate concerns and dissappointments no reason they can't do that on this thread. 

Of course unless the moderators disagree.

I support you 100%.

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Re: Finally A Press Video!

pcrowlz wrote:

There's way too much ranting going on here. Nobody wants to hear about why you buy this or that and some of you are making assumptions about the printers without evidence...

Solidoodle has a lot of money into these products, they have probably thought about all of your concerns. We don't know if these printers will be good or bad but until they are released we should refrain from bashing Solidoodle. A lot of people probably surf these forums for advice on whether to pre-order or not, and it's not our job to scare people away. Let the product speak for itself.

+1

Solidoodle 2 with Deluxe kit cover & glass bed with heater. and 2nd board SD2 used not 3rd and alum platform not installed yet still wood. also need cooling fan installed to board. use Repetier Host couple vers. Slic3r also have all free ware STL programs

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Re: Finally A Press Video!

the issue is...

fdm printers have been arounf for a looong time now and the have have 4 iterations all fo which have been heavily modded to include cooling fans.

cooling fan feature heavily in competitor machines. at this point in development in FDM machines not including a fan is the equilvalent of mazda turning around and saying

the new rx wont include power steering..........

SD2 - mirror bed - e3d v6 - extruder cooling fan - no enclosure.

31 (edited by leonmf 2014-10-15 13:07:47)

Re: Finally A Press Video!

proctor_richard wrote:

who would people recommend jumping over to? im hearing good things of robo printers for a similar price point

I have a Robo3D which I've talked about in the other thread.  I think they've come a long way in the last couple of years but easy to use they are not.  Let's just talk about the inherent problems with the design (which may not be an issue for you):

1. Two Z axis motors - These things get out of alignment pretty easy and are a pain to realign without a dial indicator.  FWIW, the new bed leveling system probably does a lot to prevent "throwing the nuts" which caused this to happen.
2. The Arduino board is a Taruino from Reprap Discount.  There is a known UART firmware issue with some boards that don't allow them to talk to Mac computers.
3. The Y axis is a moving component which inherently limits speed.
4. The glass bed has the heating element stuck to it.  This is... suboptimal, especially since the bed is no longer on a removable connector to the base of the printer due to fire hazard.
5. The RRD RAMPS board has an undersized mosfet for the heat bed.  Without a functioning fan on the electronics (mounted under the machine) the heat bed will cut out.
6. The dumb swoopy design of the Robo limits access to the internals and does not lend itself to easy heated chamber build.
7. The frame is almost level from an inherent construction standpoint but there is no way to level the bed.
8. Without creating a fan duct, the part cooling fan design on the R3D is just shy of worthless.
9. Have I mentioned how much I loathe geared extruders with hobbed bolts?  That's just a recipe for calibration nightmares.  (I immediately replaced with EZStruder with a quality machined pulley and never looked back.

On the upside:

1. They replaced the drawer rails with smooth rods for the Y axis and made the bed magnetic mounting.
2. They added an all metal hot end (Downside is it's the Hexagon which is, IMHO, nowhere near a Pico or E3D)
3. They added auto leveling
4. The glass bed is now much thicker
5. They added SD card support (but no LCD, easy to add)
6. They don't follow basic AC wiring standards and there is no way this printer will ever be UL or CE listed, certified, approved or otherwise endorsed in it's current form.
7. There is at least one dual extruder carriage design out there and robust community support.

I think it's a solid printer but, just like all of the other printers out there, it is not without it's flaws.  I have a Robo and am taking a bet on the Workbench because I want the dual extruders, better construction and larger buildspace.  I know I can fabricate around any shortcomings it has.  The press is a big mystery, though.  It could be amazing or it could suck.

If I were making the choice today, I'd say that the form factor of the Press is very appealing and a part cooling fan shouldn't be too hard to add.  Less difficult than dealing with the shortcomings of the Robo.

Boots Industries v2.5 Delta
Robo 3D with Pico Hot End, ViKi LCD, OctoPi, EZStruder, Precision Rods, Extended Z Height

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Re: Finally A Press Video!

Hey guys, just wanted to clear up a few things that have been mentioned here.

1. Although there is no fan included, the motherboard will have an available G-code controlled PWM header.
2. The piece on the right (if you're looking at it from the front) is part of the extruder mount. It is basically support for an acrylic cover that will be on the front so it won't appear to be sticking out as it is in the picture.
3. The probe is on the left side, as has been pointed out by the limit switch sticking out a bit. The video for SoliTouch shows the probe on a somewhat experimental SD4, and it will be on the right side on the Workbench models.

Former Solidoodle employee

33

Re: Finally A Press Video!

soliryan wrote:

Hey guys, just wanted to clear up a few things that have been mentioned here.

1. Although there is no fan included, the motherboard will have an available G-code controlled PWM header.

Will that g-code controlled header be active in the firmware and just need to be connected or will we need to map the pins and re-download firmware?

Also, count me amont the people that would have paid and extra $25 for that $5 fan so I wouldn't have to rip my unit apart the day after I received it.

Boots Industries v2.5 Delta
Robo 3D with Pico Hot End, ViKi LCD, OctoPi, EZStruder, Precision Rods, Extended Z Height

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Re: Finally A Press Video!

soliryan - thankyou for clarifying that.

please could you pass it to higher up on in solidoodle to arrange some kind of q/a session on google hangouts or something.

a 20 minute q/a hangout who do WONDERS at this moment

SD2 - mirror bed - e3d v6 - extruder cooling fan - no enclosure.

35

Re: Finally A Press Video!

leonmf wrote:

Will that g-code controlled header be active in the firmware and just need to be connected or will we need to map the pins and re-download firmware?

Yes, it will be active.

proctor_richard wrote:

please could you pass it to higher up on in solidoodle to arrange some kind of q/a session on google hangouts or something.

We're working on it. I'll keep you guys informed.

Former Solidoodle employee

36

Re: Finally A Press Video!

Seriously, thank you so much soliryan for those wonderful tidbits.  That is FANTASTIC news about the gcode controlled fan having headers on the MB, and pins already being active in the firmware. 

Also really glad to hear about the acrylic shroud that goes over the extruder.  I know some may prefer easier access to internals such as that, but I myself welcome the style upgrade.

I really liked my crazy laboratory-looking modded-to-the-teeth SD3, but the Press's attractive case, and internals was 50% of what pushed me over the edge to upgrade.  That and the auto bed compensation feature:)

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Re: Finally A Press Video!

what would be epic... SD releases the extruder dimensions so we can have an extruder fan ready from the get go...

or design it themselves and offer it as an optional extra say via a coupon code that is released to forum users

SD2 - mirror bed - e3d v6 - extruder cooling fan - no enclosure.

38

Re: Finally A Press Video!

proctor_richard wrote:

what would be epic... SD releases the extruder dimensions so we can have an extruder fan ready from the get go...

or design it themselves and offer it as an optional extra say via a coupon code that is released to forum users

+1 also on the other 2 printers, as WE are your R&D dept.

Solidoodle 2 with Deluxe kit cover & glass bed with heater. and 2nd board SD2 used not 3rd and alum platform not installed yet still wood. also need cooling fan installed to board. use Repetier Host couple vers. Slic3r also have all free ware STL programs

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Re: Finally A Press Video!

Or design it themselves and put it on their 3d model sharing website.

40

Re: Finally A Press Video!

pastprimitive wrote:

Or design it themselves and put it on their 3d model sharing website.

+9000 to this would do wonders for the credibility of the tagline of " for makers" on the wb series

SD2 - mirror bed - e3d v6 - extruder cooling fan - no enclosure.

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Re: Finally A Press Video!

I'm not sure when she's going to order but, my GF is going to buy me a Press for xmas. Just wanted to throw my name into the hat of future Press owners.

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Re: Finally A Press Video!

I decided to cancel my order.  I'm still keen on Solidoodle but I wanted to send a message (small as it is) that it is important to stand behind what you say and not wait to the last moment to keep customers informed.

What I'd like to see is them providing a free roll of filament or some other bonus to those of you that decide to keep waiting.

SD2, glass bed, MK5 setup with E3D lite extruder
NX and Solid Edge CAD user
PI, Galileo, and arduino hacker
Code Monkey and Twitter user @burhop

43

Re: Finally A Press Video!

I don't blame you.  It would be nice if they would throw some small kudos our way. Even if it was some relatively cheap thing to them, like a spare extruder nozzle, or a tool kit, Anything. I'd be happy with a nice paint scrapper to remove my parts.   

But I will say the most recent video was  much better, especially the sound. Sounded way more clean, and was printing much faster.

44

Re: Finally A Press Video!

I'd be happy with developing a fan for the press and wb and releasing the design file

SD2 - mirror bed - e3d v6 - extruder cooling fan - no enclosure.

45

Re: Finally A Press Video!

I'd be happy with developing a fan for the press and wb and releasing the design file

SD2 - mirror bed - e3d v6 - extruder cooling fan - no enclosure.

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Re: Finally A Press Video!

already saw a video of it auto leveling b4 orders began.

Solidoodle 2 with Deluxe kit cover & glass bed with heater. and 2nd board SD2 used not 3rd and alum platform not installed yet still wood. also need cooling fan installed to board. use Repetier Host couple vers. Slic3r also have all free ware STL programs

47

Re: Finally A Press Video!

mark.burhop wrote:

I decided to cancel my order.  I'm still keen on Solidoodle but I wanted to send a message (small as it is) that it is important to stand behind what you say and not wait to the last moment to keep customers informed.

What I'd like to see is them providing a free roll of filament or some other bonus to those of you that decide to keep waiting.

I'm planning to do the same. However - if anyone wants my spot in line, I'm happy to sell it instead. PM me if interested.

48

Re: Finally A Press Video!

I'd love to take you up on that if you were one of the $350 orders and you didn't want any overhead.  But I am thinking since i got mine for $400 and I am one of the earlier orders Aug 8th.  That It's probably more trouble than it would be worth. 

Also kudos to you fellows who are willing to send a message.  I admire that.

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Re: Finally A Press Video!

pastprimitive wrote:

I'd love to take you up on that if you were one of the $350 orders and you didn't want any overhead.  But I am thinking since i got mine for $400 and I am one of the earlier orders Aug 8th.  That It's probably more trouble than it would be worth. 

Also kudos to you fellows who are willing to send a message.  I admire that.

I am, and I'd only be interested in getting back what SD wanted from me ($349+shipping). Paid August 5th, order 26075.

50 (edited by soliryan 2014-10-24 14:39:52)

Re: Finally A Press Video!

Hey guys. We know there have been a ton of questions about the Press, Workbench Apprentice, and Workbench over the past few weeks and we want to address as many of them as possible. Please send your questions to [email protected] by Monday 10/27. We will compile them and post a new FAQ page next Friday.

Former Solidoodle employee