Solidoodle Visit

I was in New York last week, and stopped by Solidoodle for a factory visit and some lunch.   When passing by the station where they run test prints, I had to stop and take a picture-

There were glass plates lying around here and there as well, so hopefully that is something they will be able to include in the future.  I didn't see any R&D projects testing in the printer farm, that stuff is literally behind closed doors.  However Sam did mention that they have been working on auto leveling.  Now that it is supported in Marlin, and other companies are beginning to include it, I would consider it mandatory for the next SD.  They are the most interested in upgrades that increase ease of use and the ability to print things, so he was open to the suggestion of adding a nozzle fan.  There are some prints you can't really do without one, unless you waste plastic by printing a throwaway object at the same time to allow small layers to cool.

Sam pulled my old printer off of a shelf.  I originally had a Solidoodle 1, which developed a bent drive rod or something.  Rather than try to fix it, he had let me trade it in for a SD2, which was about to launch.  Turns out my SD1 was printer #6, and the SD2 which replaced it was also #6.  They only sold about 20 of the original Solidoodle before releasing the SD2 6 months later.  They went from 20 printers sold over 6 months which were assembled in a kitchen, to receiving over 1000 orders in a few weeks for the SD2.

Sam asked what they could do to improve the relationship between the company and the customers, and I encouraged to him to be more open about what they are working on to improve the printer in future updates.  They don't have to worry about SEC regulations, and their competitive advantage is more in the, factory, the supply chain, and their ability to produce assembled printers at a low price point than any IP.  Customers are doing a lot to improve their Solidoodles, and by being more open they can work together with their user base.