pcm81 wrote:SD's MAIN advantage over the more polished designs is that it IS open source. Lets face it, if SD was closed source (but hardware remained the same) and say it would cost $1500, most people would just buy makerbot2x or another printer.
Actually - No. The Solidoodle is already Closed Source/Hardware.
It uses Open Source/ GPL based software (and border on being in violation as they dont ship the printers including details of the GPL software they ship on it - namely the firmware that arrives burnt on the printrboard which counts as 'distribution' - a requirement when you are commercially redistributing GPL licensed assets).. but nothing that makes a solidoodle a solidoodle is open source. All aspects of their hardware is considered closed and not for public distribution. In fact - their level of hardware information secrecy borders on the paranoid. But I guess, since everything else they use IS open source (or was in the case of RH) - all they got is the mechanical hardware.
So yes, the solidoodle as it ships today uses Open Source software in the form of the firmware running on the controller - as do many many printers - but thats it. Nothing else you see on the printer is open source including all of the mechanical hardware in it entirety...
Have the community reverse engineered many aspects to allow modification and reproductions ?sure have.. in effect producing open source copies for people to use through the release of the designs into the public domain. But don't ever mistake the Solidoodle for being open source or open hardware. It is not. It purely leverages other peoples open source (Firmware, schematics for the Printrboard, the host software...) whilst keeping all Solidoodles "developed" elements closed source.
The only difference this proposition makes (running bespoke in house code as opposed to the GPL Marlin...) is that it will massively set back the printers firmware (and thus capability) development. Instead of having 1000's of printers debugging the code used on Solidoodles - they will have a handful. Instead of 100's of people debugging and logging issues and importantly, providing enhancements and bugfixes - they will have maybe 1. More aptly - instead of all the people that currently offer help and assistance, code improvements, and free technical support - everyone will have to 100% rely on solidoodle tech support.
Good luck with that. Let me know how that works out for you.
(Oh, to be fair, the other difference this proposition makes is it makes SD a darn lot more attractive to Angels, VC's and buyouts... as those parties do NOT like business bases built around open source. MBI anyone??).
Setting aside my sarcasm... if Solidoodle were proposing to properly fork marlin, clean it up for solidoodles, and use 'their own branch' as a base (like Ultimaker/RepRap UK do) then it would vaguely make a lot of sense - its more or less what we as a community have done and would be far better controlled, and far more regular in occurrence, if it was done as the responsibility of a full time engineer that had a vested interest in the whole endeavor... then THIS would work really well I would think.