26 Reply by AdamMcCallister (edited by AdamMcCallister 2013-04-30 09:53:23)

  • AdamMcCallister
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Re: To Solidoodle, or Not to Solidoodle

Oh man I was making one earlier in the mods section actually. depends on which one you got from the general idea ive gleamed from the collective intelligence of the forum. The only reason for the s3 over s2 is for the added 2in, so unless you needed that, I would assume s2 will be fine.

Its wonderful to see so many new and old members here.

My purpose is for 2-15cm mechanical pieces for prototyping and general childish fun. I dont need the highest resolution, and don't expect it, and will generally spend my time working on print speeds and fill levels and supports.

However, I'm getting the s2 500$ and so my first mod will be a heated bed. my ultimate goal is to find a very thin ceramic plate compared to floor tiles that people have used successfully and replacing most of the wiring and a cooling fan on the z axis motor.

Next is brilliant and I wouldnt have thought of it, but a cardboard box that fits over is probably the best cost/value enclosure there is. I would staple/adhere some mylar to it I think, if i find i need something more than what cardboard is giving me.

My next goal would have to be that 0.05mm or better print ability. I firmly believe anything is possible, and I seriously can not stress it enough that nothing solidoodle has done has convinced me to buy one. I assumed I'd run into one or get a message back but havent.

However, my original requirements were price and wait time. And mostly price. It comes made of steel and assembled, so can't really beat that; noone is that I've found, at least. Ive looked everywhere and considered every option including just paying a company to build and ship me what I wanted, but this is just so wonderful a product with a good, but clunky business model. They seem to at least care and try, and are engineers. I have faith in them to find what they do wrong and fix it.

My exact response aha! I had Credit Card in hand about to buy it, and realized no warranty... read that one guys blog where everything broke and no support... buttt i dont think this was around then or he never came at least.

I really cant stress it enough that especially your success elmoret convinced me. Ive thought about using kickstarter if I ever had something worthy, and Ive only seen good responses so far. I would appreciate a little write up about that site somewhere on here. I have been for a while deciding on how to best get products to market and the best would be KS or licensing, and I'm allowed to do both.

apollogies for spelling and grammar. once i found hacks and mods i wasnt able to sleep.

27 Reply by lawsy

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Re: To Solidoodle, or Not to Solidoodle

Staffordknot wrote:

Lawsy are you saying you wouldn't buy a s3?

The main reason I wouldn't is the massive delay from ordering to receiving. I recently had to choose a second 3D printer for work and I went with a printrbot mainly for this reason and a few frustrations with SD support. Having said that, I would still be happy to recommend a Solidoodle to someone if they were patient.

The bed thing can be improved greatly without too much expense.

lawsy's Website

28 Reply by rov.design

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Re: To Solidoodle, or Not to Solidoodle

Ive been using the solidoodle for over 8 moths now and i can say im very unhappy with the machine its constantly failing and solidoodle now wont offer me any help, we planned to use for our kids classes but we have decided solidoodle is just not worth the money we would rather pay double and have the support from makerbot how silly we were


AdamMcCallister wrote:

After extensive and exhausting research I've come to the conclusion that this machine has the best features for the price, and I dont get to mess it up while putting it together. However, I've noticed several recurring issue.

The least reported would be computer problems, things I am confident I can fix.

The extruder, on the other hand, seems flawed by design? Not sure how common it is on other machines, but it seems a fair number of customers have had 0 support and broken machines arrive. The lack of a warranty (completely dumbfounded by that) only increases my concerns.

I feel a large portion of these users suffer from a lack of proper understanding of the device in order to properly maintain it, however. A large number of used lower than recommended temps for bed and hotend, which causes the obvious problem. Im also seeing a lot of feeding/motor issues having been posted, and Im curious if it is because of the way it is designed.

Its listed as having a spring to feed the extruder, correct? If that fails (which is common experience with springs, for me at least) then I can see why more would get clogged; it would be solidify in sections and burn in others, double clog. This would be an issue Im not sure how I would approach fixing, if it exists. Im well versed in mechanics and machine design, so I think I could fix a broken most things, but this concerns me.

Also not really an issue, but the wait time is lengthy. If I wait 8 weeks and get a broken printer without any support... I can't imagine what I could do to recover my losses. I'm an engineering student in my third year wanting the Solidoodle for prototyping and accurate, mechanical pieces that simply can't be found in the plumbing section of Lowes Hardware, and I consider my purchase of a printer to be an investment, something financially positive in the long term.

I believe those are all of my concerns. If any experienced users, and preferably Mr. Johnson himself, have any advice, recommendations, and point me towards known flaws and solutions.

ps I love what you guys are doing, whether I purchase from you all or not, you guys have a GREAT business strategy. Completely fits perfectly in the niche of consumer quality/price.

Russell Kjell Coffield EngTech CTech
www.interspec.org

rov.design's Website

29 Reply by Staffordknot

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Re: To Solidoodle, or Not to Solidoodle

My warrenty is my credit card company... You have 500 days in e uk to claim your money back on defective items

30 Reply by ronsii

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Re: To Solidoodle, or Not to Solidoodle

Staffordknot wrote:

My warrenty is my credit card company... You have 500 days in e uk to claim your money back on defective items

So, who decides if it is defective? and if so does it matter if the defect was caused by misuse/ignorance or manufacturers defect? I guess I am just curious but I have seen adverts here in the usa also from cc companies offering warranties on products bought with their cc.

31 Reply by Staffordknot (edited by Staffordknot 2013-05-04 07:35:42)

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Re: To Solidoodle, or Not to Solidoodle

Well i can't remember all the in's and out's but there is various bits of legislation in the uk. We have sale of goods act and consumer credit something or other. Basically we have 12 months to return any item if its defective from manufacture. Basically anything ordered on credit or debit card we have 10 days from delivery to return it if we dont like it. We also get this 560 days or so to ledge a complained about the product not exactly sure what it covers or doesn't this bit. But basically if the product goes defective in the first few months you have to try and resolve it with the supplier, keep copy of correspondence sent dates etc, failing a resolution you log it with your credit card company, they take back from the suppliers account the money and return the money to the buyer, it is then the suppliers problem to resolve the issue if they dont you keep the money, write a letter to the supplier asking them to arrange to collect the product in a reasonable timescale or replace, repair etc. not so sure what happens after a couple of months, i dont think they give you the money straight back there is a longer period to resolve it, but the rules are in place to protect the buyer not the seller. Its worth noting if you start modifying your product that you probably loose these rights, but if u can put it back to how it looked before lol.

I have have done this on at least 10 occasions when all else fails over the last 20 years, i've always got my money back and on several occasions got to keep the product.

I've never bought from overseas and had to cancel but i did pit a hotel telephone bill in dispute from st lucia and it was refunded and never heard anything from them.

Usually your item is insured also free of charge but check first. You are also protected that if the product never turns up i.e. the company goes bankrupt prior to shipping you get your money back.

32 Reply by nlancaster

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Re: To Solidoodle, or Not to Solidoodle

I have had my SD3 for about 2 months now.  Other then some not very good help form Solidoodle support, which I expected, on some bent z-guide rods. I have been very happy with my machine.  I cannot recommend more highly heated glass with hair spray.  Just do it, don't even bother trying to print on the kapton tape.

Keep in mind price vs performance vs time assembling.  You can build as capable machine for about the same price, but I know of no all inclusive kit for it. You will have to pick and match and assemble yourself.  Or you can get a SD3 or SD2 and have a machine ready to do "basic" printing out of the box, and with a few really easy upgrade from the forum have a very capable machine.

33 Reply by DesignerFred

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Re: To Solidoodle, or Not to Solidoodle

Doode L it.... smile

www.designerfred.fr      before: Solidoodle 2 + E3D v6 now: MeCreator II and OLO 3D

DesignerFred's Website