1 Topic by Cross_

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Topic: SD3 / SD2 reliability and support ?

I was almost ready to place an order for the SD3 when I started reading some of the maintenance posts here on the forum. Now I am no longer sure if ordering that printer is a good idea. It seems that a couple of people have received defective units and very little support from Solidoodle.

Are those just the exceptions to the rule or I should expect weeks of repair time and another $100 to find replacement parts ?

Is the SD2 more mature than the SD3 or are they pretty much identical ?

2 Reply by Manx

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Re: SD3 / SD2 reliability and support ?

hi Cross the sd series of printersare fairly reliable i have had a few problems with mine as far as dialing in the unit ets but its a good reliable design youahve seen posts from about 5 people for both the sd3 and sd 2.

For me i had the filament pully coem lose which can happen and its not a big deal

the hot end got a clog that had to be cleared and i had tog et the righttools to fix that if i hadknown what was wrong originally i could have fixed both problems in about 15 minutes

other problems were due to shipping again nor so minor but they have made an effort to correct

only 1 perso ihave seen has been supper upset and he wouldn't have been satisfied fi theyrefunded his moeny and let him keep the printer

theyhave the turn time for delivery on the sd3down to abotu 2-3 weeks which is fantastic

3 Reply by ronsii (edited by ronsii 2013-03-07 06:38:51)

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Re: SD3 / SD2 reliability and support ?

Cross_ wrote:

I was almost ready to place an order for the SD3 when I started reading some of the maintenance posts here on the forum. Now I am no longer sure if ordering that printer is a good idea. It seems that a couple of people have received defective units and very little support from Solidoodle.

Are those just the exceptions to the rule or I should expect weeks of repair time and another $100 to find replacement parts ?

Is the SD2 more mature than the SD3 or are they pretty much identical ?


       The SD3 is very much like the SD2 same basic construction and parts although there have been some changes and improvements from earlier SD2's that are incorporated in both the 2 and 3 now. The design is pretty good considering how cheap they kept it... are there things I would change? of course but at what cost...If I had designed it like the last small machine I built it would probably cost me three times what they sell it for smile The whole point of a cheap machine is it's cheap!!!

       The people on here that have had problems with the printer got here because they had a problem and were looking for a solution versus the people that have not had problems and haven't got a clue that this forum even exists... So there will be a disproportionate number of people with complaints here after all that is what the forums are for anyways... right, to help users out with knowledge and support.

       If you do have a problem with a broken or faulty printer I am sure they will stand behind it as evidenced by some of the threads on this very forum... however sometimes it can take a while either because of ship times or just a lack of replacement parts on the factory end, from the looks of things though they are getting better at timely shipping of printers and parts but it never hurts to have a 'plan B' if your are going to make the printer a mission critical device in your life smile

       I guess I should add that a certain degree of ingenuity and creativity is a big plus if you do have problems with the printer as this technology is fairly new and not real intuitive so sometimes people think they have a BIG problem and in the end it was just a little out of calibration which is very normal to how all of these types of printers work.

4 Reply by cmetzel

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Re: SD3 / SD2 reliability and support ?

Remember that unhappy people are louder than happy people.  I've had mine since August with only minor problems that I can solve myself with the guidance of these fine people.  Granted at the time they didn't seem minor but looking back it's not that big of a deal.

5 Reply by paeltz

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Re: SD3 / SD2 reliability and support ?

I've been really happy with my SD3.  I had a few calibration issues that I had to work through but were pretty easy.  If I would have followed directions and calibrated right out of the box instead of just trying to print items first it would have been a lot easier. If anyone I knew asked I'd recommend this printer with the disclaimer that it's not plug and play.  I don't think any printers in the consumer price range are at this time.

6 Reply by martin jepsen

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Re: SD3 / SD2 reliability and support ?

i've had contact with solidoodle some times now, and they have always been helpful

Best Regards
Martin Jepsen Solidoodle Danmark

7 Reply by Briggs

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Re: SD3 / SD2 reliability and support ?

Cross, my post this morning in the "support suggestion box topic" addressed many of your concerns. FYI, I am waiting for my SD3 to arrive. Good luck!

8 Reply by Charles_Xavier

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Re: SD3 / SD2 reliability and support ?

Cross_ wrote:

Is the SD2 more mature than the SD3 or are they pretty much identical ?

As a potential customer, this is the question I am particularly interested in.

ronsii wrote:

       The SD3 is very much like the SD2 same basic construction and parts although there have been some changes and improvements from earlier SD2's that are incorporated in both the 2 and 3 now.

So far this is the only direct response to that question. I guess based on this, the only reason to drop an extra $200 on the SD3 is more build space?

9 Reply by ronsii

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Re: SD3 / SD2 reliability and support ?

Charles_Xavier wrote:
Cross_ wrote:

Is the SD2 more mature than the SD3 or are they pretty much identical ?

As a potential customer, this is the question I am particularly interested in.

ronsii wrote:

       The SD3 is very much like the SD2 same basic construction and parts although there have been some changes and improvements from earlier SD2's that are incorporated in both the 2 and 3 now.

So far this is the only direct response to that question. I guess based on this, the only reason to drop an extra $200 on the SD3 is more build space?

Correct: The main difference is the build area... I guess I should have said that better in my first post smile

I have not acquired a SD3 from them yet as I have several printers here and did not want to spend the extra money as the parts I make usually fit multiple copies on a SD2 and for the odd times I need something bigger I also have a printer that does 12x12x12 smile

10 Reply by iowajames

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Re: SD3 / SD2 reliability and support ?

You could spend $3450 and buy a Gigabot if you're wanting to get daring lol.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/re3 … is-is-huge

No seriously, I agree with the folks above, I gripe alot, but overall, you can't beat it for the price!

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