1 Topic by Ethan Hunt

  • Ethan Hunt
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  • Registered: 2013-09-28
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Topic: Hello from Ethan

I am Australian living in Hong Kong / China.    I have factory here where we are around 2 months out from the first full production run of our new printer.    I am looking forward to hearing the types of issues facing users and the thoughts they have in respect to what they want in a printer and where the current printers on the market fail.       

We have a fully functional machine and are just waiting for the completion of our prototypes / samples which we are going to launch at Global Sourcing in HK if anyone is planning on attending.   

cheers

2 Reply by 2n2r5

  • 2n2r5
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  • Registered: 2013-05-09
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Re: Hello from Ethan

What kind of advantages does your printer have over most other printers? What kind of price point are you trying to meet? Can you give us some preliminary specs?

SD3 w/ mods:
Glass bed with QU-BD heat pad upgrade, threadless ballscrew w/ 8mm smooth rod, spectra line belt replacement, lawsy MK5 extruder, Lawsy replacement carriage, E3D hotend, Ramps 1.4 w/ reprap discount controller, DRV8825 drivers, 12v 30A PS, Acrylic case, Overkill Y-idlers, Filament alarm, Extruder fan + more.

2n2r5's Website

3 Reply by IanJohnson

  • IanJohnson
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Re: Hello from Ethan

Automatic bed leveling with a Z probe would be a good feature that no other commercial printers have, or nearly none.  There have been some experiments with delta printers, and you can find some more work on it if you google Matterhackers.  There is a fork of Marlin that can adjust Z on the fly based on the probe readings so no level adjustments need to be made.  That would be a big step in usability and differentiation.

Another is the gcode controlled fan with a ring duct around the nozzle.  You don't see that on printers for sale, but it makes a big difference with small layers, overhangs and long bridges.  People add them to their printers all the time, and there are a ton of ducts on Thingiverse, but it seems like it is never available on printers and kits for sale.

4 Reply by ITman496

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Re: Hello from Ethan

Possibly a heated chamber?  I can't remember if that's not allowed because of a stratasys patent, though.

Supply it with a bed that is good from the start, ie ceramic or glass.