Introducing the Solidoodle 4 (Page 4 of 5)

So if I order a SD4 today, which extruder would I get?  If its not the metal one, I'll wait to order.

We have fully switched over. We typically do not announce these changes before they happen. If you are hearing about it, it is already the standard.

The main idea is that if you ever see one of these changes in the field, it is already on every new Solidoodle. Some people get very upset, and believe that we apply the changes to only select printers. We tend to make changes wholesale across the product.

We typically did not announce large changes to the machine, because we spent a lot of the last year or so catching up with big issues. Our PR folks didn't want to focus on technical issues, and we were always rushing to implement the latest fix before a problem became large.

Kyla, our new marketing professional (you might see her at official events) is trying harder to keep everyone abreast of *significant* technical changes. We eliminated hose clamps from the machines earlier this year, but I'm not sure that's worth a press release at the moment.

One thing we are working on rolling out is a more publicly visible version control system, so that you (and support) can see exactly which revision your machine is based on the serial number. 

I hope that clears things up.

I'm not sure if anyone's posted anything about Cura yet, but I just unboxed my Solidoodle today and plugged it right into Cura 14.1.  I was printing 5 minutes later.  It's the Ultimaker software, but since it's Marlin/Sprinter based, it's all over running this Solidoodle 4.  I need to do some tweeks on my configuration as the extruder appears to be feeding a little generously, but I'm pretty stoked that my hunch payed off and I'm cranking out a print already.

A shaft collar.

Yeah, I've figured out that I have an SD4 with an SD3 extruder assembly on it.  I've contacted customer support to see how I can obtain the production SD4 parts.

Why would a company employee need to ask a customer how a problem was handled? This is not a large company.
This is a pretty major component of the printer. I can live with all the loose screws I had when mine arrived but if mine had arrived with a problem plagued extruder when the replacement one was being used in some, I would have been sending the printer back if it was not replaced. I don't understand why you shipped any of those extruders on a new model when the new extruder was obviously available. This was also a marketing opportunity missed. "The new solidoodle 4 with the new and improved extruder" rather than sorry folks who waited months for your new printer! we had some old stock to burn up so you got stuck with the old ones. It also seems like a retrofit being made for the old extruder would both generate goodwill and a little cash flow. Then again, it would also be nice not to have people tell you how to run your business. I think most here do so with good intention and are trying to be helpfull.

If hypothetically, support had failed I would have offered to help.

I'm also extremely happy with my SD4.  I find the biggest challenge is not with the printer itself, but with the varying quality of filament I buy.

I keep making tweaks to try and achieve better prints (especially perfect circles), but I would characterize my present results as 'Very Good'!  The output from my SD4 looks much better than the vast majority of what I see on the internet.

Solijohn read the "dented circle" topic.... and is only one of my problems non yet solved.

Keep me informed, I'll stay on them.