I purchased a used Solidoodle, which arrived a few weeks ago. The box was slightly crushed, but the packing inside was spectacular, solid, both around and inside the printer.  However, when I opened the printer door, the printer was totally trashed.  The two vertical Z bars had been pulled down far enough that they slipped out of their sheet metal restraints.  The entire Z axis system, including the bed, had fallen forward, hard enough to hit the print mechanism.  The two side supports for the print mechanism were broken in half, and the vertical threaded rod that handles the Z axis movement was snapped in half.  Brutal. Hard to imagine how anyone could have subjected the box to that much force.

I received my new/purchased Solidoodle just now.  The top of the box was also crushed.  When the box was opened, the packing material (peanuts) was about 2 inches below the top of the box.  I imagine that the box would have survived better had there been more peanuts on top of the printer.  The printer was wrapped in 3-4 layers of large bubble wrap.  When that was removed, I opened the door with trepidation.  The printer appears to be unscathed, although there was essentially no useful packing material inside the printer.  The bed was most of the way up (not a good idea, since that increases the load on the Z axis lever arm) and the print head was centered (also not a good idea, since it was well within striking distance of the Z axis rods). There were no tie-downs to attempt to restrict movement of any of the components during shipping.  I guess I was just unlucky the first time, and lucky the second time.

Still, the printer appears to have survived.  I have not fired it up, but expect that the mechanical systems are intact.

We are glad you received the printer intact!

I received my new/purchased Solidoodle just now.  The top of the box was also crushed.  When the box was opened, the packing material (peanuts) was about 2 inches below the top of the box.  I imagine that the box would have survived better had there been more peanuts on top of the printer.  The printer was wrapped in 3-4 layers of large bubble wrap.  When that was removed, I opened the door with trepidation.  The printer appears to be unscathed, although there was essentially no useful packing material inside the printer.  The bed was most of the way up (not a good idea, since that increases the load on the Z axis lever arm) and the print head was centered (also not a good idea, since it was well within striking distance of the Z axis rods). There were no tie-downs to attempt to restrict movement of any of the components during shipping.  I guess I was just unlucky the first time, and lucky the second time.

Still, the printer appears to have survived.  I have not fired it up, but expect that the mechanical systems are intact.

Since I dont have mine yet, just is all just guessing. But it may be wise to un-bolt the print head from the carriage, wrap it in bubble pack and tape it down against the frame. This should take any loading off the rails and I would think prevent any damage if droped hard. But like I side, it's just a guess.

This may help. The worst possible damage occurs with the wooden Z axis platform.

I talked over with the workplace I'm interning at the moment and if I ship it to the company, who will be playing with it a little too, the fedEx costs drop to a more reasonable ~$40.

So I'll go with that plan of the higher quality shipper FedEx.

I have noticed that USPS will cost me ~28 to ship from CA, while Fedex/UPS will cost $67 and be a day or two faster. Does anyone have experience knowing if the latter is worth it?

The failure mode was that when the printer was dropped, the weight of the bed pulled the two vertical Z rods out of the sheet metal at the top, causing them to fall forward and strike the extruder, breaking both of the side mounts, and snapping off the threaded Z rod near the base.  The bed was most of the way up, so there was a lot of weight cantilevered out held up by the Z rods. You need to try to reduce the load on the Z rods and get the extruder out of the way.  To that end,

1) place the bed at the bottom, so that there is as little weight hanging off of the vertical bars as possible.  You probably can do this by hand if necessary, rotating the threaded rod. Make sure there is enough packing material under the bed so that it cannot move down if the printer is dropped.  It is the weight of the bed that pulls the Z rods out of the sheet metal.

2) place the extruder as far towards the front as you can, so that the Z rods cannot hit the extruder if they do come loose

3) pack the inside so that the Z rods cannot move towards the front of the printer.  If possible, place a piece of stiff foam or cardboard along the top to keep the Z rods in place.  The foam/cardboard should go from the front of the printer all the way back to the Z rods, as one stiff piece.  Keep the foam/cardboard in place by filling the cavity below it with packing material.

Perhaps others on this forum will have additional recommendations.

Thanks

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