~Oct

I printed (and installed) the Mk 5 printer head bit, then a hot end fan and duct, then the E3D when I broke the Solidoodle hot end.  I haven't got the hot end fan and duct working again, but printing is already way more reliable.

Would also highly recommend a separate / higher / more effective filament spool holder, as the full 1Kg spools on the rear mounted holder have a tendency to produce so much drag that either the filament strips off in the geared drive, or the print head gets held back trying to move and jumps the whole print by 1-2 mm partway through.  I bent up some thin bar stock and hung it from a wall hook and it seems to work much better.

Its a big unknown at this point. There's no high-res pictures of prints on their page, and in my opinion there are some issues with the design from a technical point of view, namely:

Long melt zone makes retracts tough and jams more likely
Stainless is not a good conductor of heat. That means it is a bad material for a heaterblock and for cooling fins. The heater will run much hotter for a given plastic. This may decrease heater life. Their simulation shows 45C at the top of the hotend, but that's with 22C ambients. Most printers do not have 22C ambients, especially when enclosed. It is probably that you will quickly reach the Tg of PLA without active cooling, resulting in a jam.
Finally, not all Kickstarter projects ship on time (85% do not). Many do not ship at all. You are taking a big risk anytime you use Kickstarter (and this is coming from a Kickstarter creator that had a $212k campaign)

The E3D is a very popular hotend here on the forums. SO popular, in fact, that I decided to become a US distributor. Here's a link on them:

http://www.soliforum.com/topic/2584/got … nted-pics/

+1
He would really appreciate an E3D in his stocking and I bet Tim could get one out to you before Christmas and for less than if you bought direct from E3D.

Long melt zone makes retracts tough and jams more likely
Stainless is not a good conductor of heat. That means it is a bad material for a heaterblock and for cooling fins. The heater will run much hotter for a given plastic. This may decrease heater life. Their simulation shows 45C at the top of the hotend, but that's with 22C ambients. Most printers do not have 22C ambients, especially when enclosed. It is probable that you will quickly reach the Tg of PLA without active cooling, resulting in a jam.
Finally, not all Kickstarter projects ship on time (85% do not). Many do not ship at all. You are taking a big risk anytime you use Kickstarter (and this is coming from a Kickstarter creator that had a $212k campaign)

The E3D is a very popular hotend here on the forums. SO popular, in fact, that I decided to become a US distributor. Here's a link on them:

http://www.soliforum.com/topic/2584/got … nted-pics/

Is the pico all metal hotend currently at kickstarter compatible with and/or a good idea for a SD3?  I ordered one for my hubby and have been trying to get a jump start on understanding what mods/upgrades/changes are common and smart to invest in. 

Thanks in advance for tolerating my lack of understanding!