i win a SD4... and my nightmare began...

if you didn't know, i won the first character design contest of solidoodles.com ... i won a SD4 pro..

i just receive it last week... a little bad surprise is that i need to pay 111$ for custom tax (for a contest prize...

why do you put the FULL price of the printer on it ?? not friendly).... it's a good think that i didn't win a car...

the opening was a good surprise... well packaging... tools bag (i wait for it since my SD2.. now i have the SOLIDOODLE BRUSHTEETH !!! ...) ...beautiful case well made... at this moment , it's "happy face"...

then i look into...  new printer head... the plastic Jigsaw puzzle is gone, and a new full metal spring loader like Mk8 extruder (makerbot) replace it...

some "butterfly"Thumb Screw  to settle the heated bed, a big Thumb Screw  for the Z screw ... the path of the cables is pretty well done ...

ok.. the hardware, the presentation and the details are pretty good... a long path was made since my early SD2...

but the quality control before shipping IS ALWAYS BAD !!!

i lost 3 hours to start the printer, and i'm not a noob...

the errors are unacceptable for a company that sells 3D printers for nearly 2 years, and for their flagship models !
and the worst, is that errors are NEWBIE ONE !.. don't tell me that you check your printer before shipping .. it's impossible.. For anybody that is not tech/ 3d printer savvy, this printer was DOA (death on arrival)...

first : the toothed wheel that drives the filament was completely full of filament bit as a result of trying to advance a blocked filament. the result is that the filament "slip on it" if you are not aware of the problem.. how do you do your print test ???
the side effect is that i discovered that it's very difficult to clean the wheel with a toothbrush ..

second : i try to home the head : it work on X axe, but refuse to go back on Y axe... after checking the cable, motor and lost 30 minutes to check anything, i found that the Y endstop was tighten so hard that the switch was completely stuck in its box (it's like something always push the button of the endstop). another time, it's IMPOSSIBLE to pass this on a test drive... I just loosens a bit the screws of the endstop, and "hourra", we are back in business.. now i can "home" all the axes.. but ...(because there is always a but...) there is again problem during the move of the Y axe on a full XY move ... the head move , then stop.. move again... the move is erratic..

third problem :  i made some calibration test print.. then suddenly, the y axe stop working.. no more move... result of a screw not enough tighten this time on the stepper motor axe . so it was the source of the erratic movement.. again, this can not pass a full test drive..

and the fourth problem: my preferred

i made a test print : not a fancy print, only 2 or 3 hours print.. (fast printing for me which prints 8/10 hours in line regularly.)
at the end of printing, I found it was really VERY hot in the enclosure of the printer .. abnormal temperature..

so i decided to check if a fan was not dead... all seem to be correct...wait... there is something behind the fan which removes heat from the inside of the enclosure.. a STICKER !!! they LET A WHITE PAPER STICKER of the full size of the fan between the fan and the body of the printer...

the fan ran at full speed for nothing, as nothing can pass this sticker... unmount the fans, remove the sticker, mount the fan in place. end of story

if I did not know the normal operating temperature of 3D printers, it is certain that something would eventually burn after some big print...

after all that problems, now the printer work pretty well... i need to finish the calibration as the printing is not as smooth as my old SD2... but it's on the good way...

SOLIDOODLE, your printers are good for the price, but for the love of god, please, TRIPLE CHECK your QUALITY CHECK, if you never had done one... these problems can be easily avoided, especially on your flagship printer