1 Topic by sitewrks

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Topic: No Solidoodle Support Response

Hello, I received my SD Press on January 15, 2015.  During setup I was not able to get the printer to work. 

I contacted customer support on 1/17, and received a response on 1/20 [request #10838] - which did not address all the issues I was having with the printer.  I responded and asked for all the issues to be addressed, and received a more complete response on 1/22.  The technician diagnosed my printer's problem as having a loose set screw on the the extruder drive.  Following his attached instructions, I determined that the set screw was stuck and impossible to tighten or loosen with the allen wrench without breaking the wrench or screw.  The photos I sent clearly indicate the set screw nearly fully detached from the drive gear. 

As it had shipped this way, and is beyond my ability to fix, I replied to the technician and asked for Solidoodle to take back the printer for repair - which is covered under warranty [1/24].  It is now 2/4 and I have not heard back from Solidoodle.  On 1/28 I sent another email, as well as filling out another support request form, and have still not had any response from the company. 

I am asking that Solidoodle respond to this request.  I'm unclear why tech support has seemingly evaporated once a problem is encountered that requires you to fulfill the warranty and fix the printer.  While I could take the printer apart and attempt to fix it myself, your own warranty states that if i do this the warranty is void. 

To date the printer has not been even able to calibrate; let alone print anything.

2 Reply by thatdecade

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Re: No Solidoodle Support Response

I too have an open support request. No reply since Jan 19th.


Recent twitter posting indicate they are way behind on support requests.

Solidoodle3D wrote:

We are answering all tickets as fast as we can. We thank you for your patience in advance.

https://twitter.com/Solidoodle3D/status … 2477648896

3 Reply by sitewrks

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Re: No Solidoodle Support Response

It's unbelievable they wouldn't even send some sort of acknowledgement that they are working on it or the status of it, other than the boilerplate robo-email you get when you submit the request.  Since they refuse to speak to anyone over the phone, we're all reliant on email to get anywhere with them.  It's a limited 60 day warranty, and the clock is ticking.  It's incredibly frustrating...

4 Reply by cptskippy

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Re: No Solidoodle Support Response

I submitted a ticket asking how to obtain a replacement part and it took them 3 days to tell me that they weren't available and they would email me when they were.  I submitted a ticket Saturday night that I would have thought was rather urgent and have yet to receive any response.

It probably doesn't help that they're using ZenDesk.  If you look at ZenDesk's Twitter feed you see that it goes down almost daily.   I was trying to check on my open issue with Solidoodle and I tried to submit a support issue with another company that also uses ZenDesk, both were unavailable to me yesterday.

5 Reply by DePartedPrinter

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Re: No Solidoodle Support Response

sitewrks wrote:

It's unbelievable they wouldn't even send some sort of acknowledgement that they are working on it or the status of it, other than the boilerplate robo-email you get when you submit the request.  Since they refuse to speak to anyone over the phone, we're all reliant on email to get anywhere with them.  It's a limited 60 day warranty, and the clock is ticking.  It's incredibly frustrating...

As long as you report the issue within that 60 days you should be good legally speaking.

SD2 with E3D, SD Press, Form 1+
Filastruder
NYLON (taulman): http://www.soliforum.com/topic/466/nylon/

6 Reply by android78

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Re: No Solidoodle Support Response

DePartedPrinter wrote:

...
As long as you report the issue within that 60 days you should be good legally speaking.

The problem with that is that, if he can't even print due to the current issue, then he will be unaware of other issues until the current one is fixed.  If he doesn't get the current issue fixed until day 60, then it'll be too late to get other issues fixed under the warranty. 
I would hope that solidoodle would be more lenient on the warranty and give exceptions for this new printer.  There seem to be many production issues arising from the first batch(es) of these and I'm sure they're wanting to keep their name from becoming dirt within such a connected community.

7 Reply by cptskippy

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Re: No Solidoodle Support Response

I received a response to my support issue that I submitted Sunday morning, they're RMAing my printer and sending me a new one.  I have mixed feelings about that.

8 Reply by sitewrks

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Re: No Solidoodle Support Response

Wow; so they responded quickly to your request and are sending you a new printer.  Meanwhile i can't even get a response to the multiple requests I've sent over nearly 4 weeks.  It's great they're dealing with your problem, but I can't help but wonder what is going on there.  Are they cherry-picking support requests?

9 Reply by sitewrks

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Re: No Solidoodle Support Response

Update:  Solidoodle Customer Service contacted me today [message below].  If they're sincere and work hard to resolve these issues, and the replacement printer is as good as advertised, then I'm willing to become a believer again.  I'll post updates as things progress.


I sincerely apologize that our customer support has been lacking for the last several weeks, we have been getting absolutely swamped and we were not as ready as we thought to handle such an increase in volume. We are working diligently to address everyone's issues!

Judging by the position of the set screw in the pictures you sent, this is very clearly an error in assembly. Attached you will find an RMA form that you can print, fill out, and include with your return shipment. We will then ship you out a brand new replacement as soon as we can. You should receive a UPS return label shortly.

Again, I apologize for the poor customer service you have received in the last few weeks. I assure you that we take customer support very seriously and I am confident that once the current backlog is clear, you will not have any issues with getting a prompt response to any issue you may have.

10 Reply by atrayu

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Re: No Solidoodle Support Response

Same boat - very intermittent responses ...  My power supply fried.  Browsing the forums looking for ideas.  Maybe I should buy my own and ask for reimbursement?

11 Reply by cptskippy

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Re: No Solidoodle Support Response

You won't get reimbursement, I'm not aware of any company that would do that.

12 Reply by Dream-Cypher

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Re: No Solidoodle Support Response

for people having issues getting a response...

I responded to an email from support several weeks ago and heard nothing....  Today I logged on to their support site and saw that my response had never been received/added to the case.  I was able to enter my response directly on the support site... 

So, if you've been trying to communicate via email, be aware... their system may not work properly.  Much like their printers, it seems. sad

13 Reply by thatdecade

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Re: No Solidoodle Support Response

I have multiple support issues open.  Looking today, they are all marked SOLVED with no response!!!


This request is closed for comments. You can create a follow-up.

14 Reply by thatdecade

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Re: No Solidoodle Support Response

So I clicked the button to create a follow up ticket yesterday.  Today support closed those tickets too. No reply again, just summary closing tickets.

Do I keep creating tickets?

15 Reply by Dream-Cypher (edited by Dream-Cypher 2015-02-17 19:05:21)

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Re: No Solidoodle Support Response

The same just happened to me regarding the fact that they shipped me the wrong color filament.  I opened a follow-up and told them that if they did not respond this time I would be opening a complaint with my credit card company.

This is ridiculous.

If they continue closing cases, I'll start posting them on facebook or twitter.  They occasionally respond there.

16 Reply by android78

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Re: No Solidoodle Support Response

The press really could be enough to sink this company. Shame.

17 Reply by thatdecade

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Re: No Solidoodle Support Response

Response from twitter.

Solidoodle wrote:

Thanks for your patience. Customer Service merges all tickets when it is created by one customer. We are aware of your concerns!

https://twitter.com/Solidoodle3D/status … cmVwbHk%3D

18 Reply by Rochey

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Re: No Solidoodle Support Response

i bet when they merge, your ticket goes to the back of the line smile

19 Reply by Dream-Cypher (edited by Dream-Cypher 2015-02-17 20:14:23)

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Re: No Solidoodle Support Response

I suppose that is good to know...

You think that they would have considered putting a note on each case to the effect?  Particularly considering the backlog.

I did receive a call from Solidoodle regarding the filament order-related issue at least.  So I can confirm that they are still there.

My other requests about how to adjust the longer Y-axis belts, needing a replacement side panel, and a request for the motherboard design files (since they state in the manual that they are licensed under Creative Commons share-alike) are still pending.

20 Reply by Rochey

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Re: No Solidoodle Support Response

Dream-Cypher wrote:

I suppose that is good to know...

You think that they would have considered putting a note on each case to the effect?  Particularly considering the backlog.

I did receive a call from Solidoodle regarding the filament order-related issue at least.  So I can confirm that they are still there.

My other requests about how to adjust the longer Y-axis belts, needing a replacement side panel, and a request for the motherboard design files (since they state in the manual that they are licensed under Creative Commons share-alike) are still pending.

sales is always working...

21 Reply by thatdecade

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Re: No Solidoodle Support Response

Got a reply from support today.  Spare parts for the Press have arrived.

22 Reply by sitewrks

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Re: No Solidoodle Support Response

OK; since I started the post I wanted to give an update;
So I've finally received my printer back from the company.  Its the same printer; not a new one.  The original one that shipped had the screw on the drive shaft gear sticking out and stuck, so the drive shaft wasn't able to feed filament.  I can't really tell what they did to the printer to call it fixed -- nothing obvious except the screw on the extruder drive shaft is now engaged.

So far I've tried 5 prints on the refurbished printer and they've all failed miserably. 
On 2 of them the drive shaft screw came loose and the gear stopped feeding filament into the extruder.   They say this is 'rare' in their support literature, and tell you to get a 1.5mm allen wrench to tighten it down -- not an easy procedure since you have to feed the wrench into an awkward place on the extruder.  The other times the filament simply stopped feeding or broke.  I've had to take the front extruder plastic cover and metal extruder cover [the things w/ the thumb screws] off several times to clean out broken filament. 

I had originally bought this for my kid's school; but it arrived too late for them to use.  Not that I would ever subject them and their teachers to such a crappy machine at this point.  This is about as far from 'plug and print' as you can get.  Anyone reading this who is considering the Press should run fast in the other direction.