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SoliForum - 3D Printing Community → Solidoodle Discussion → Another bad review for solidoodle
Hi everyone,
I found this new review of the solidoodle 4.
I understand this guy knows nothing about 3d printing but he does have a point to beginners who do purchase a solidoodle.
http://www.slate.com/articles/technolog … inter.html
I think his definition of 'moderately tech savy' is a bit different than mine 
I think his definition of 'moderately tech savy' is a bit different than mine
I laughed when I read that part especially since he had to call support instead of utilizing any of the documentation online.
'Joel' is the goto man at solidoodle support these days.. he shadowed John for a number of months and John regularly deferred to him when dealing with 'outcomes'.....
Interesting that even with the #1 tech... they ended up where they did
Some folks might enjoy making various DIY widgets at home, as a hobby, iterating their own designs and creating new products. Bully for them. I liken these early adopters to the kind of people who were on ham radios in 1923.
Aside from that, I attribute this to (again) the number one failing Solidoodle makes. Included documentation. Dont bother giving me the 'its all online and forums and 3 wikis' bull****. Its ****ing lazy is what it is. As an uneducated user, your fist response should not be to call tech support. It should be to read the manual. My toaster has 12 pages of information, yet what does the 'Doodle come with?
Just suck it up and print the damn material. Add the $1 to the $999 to cover it. I bet no one would notice. But I am pretty sure there would be a tremendous difference in customer response.
Some folks might enjoy making various DIY widgets at home, as a hobby, iterating their own designs and creating new products. Bully for them. I liken these early adopters to the kind of people who were on ham radios in 1923.
Aside from that, I attribute this to (again) the number one failing Solidoodle makes. Included documentation. Dont bother giving me the 'its all online and forums and 3 wikis' bull****. Its ****ing lazy is what it is. As an uneducated user, your fist response should not be to call tech support. It should be to read the manual. My toaster has 12 pages of information, yet what does the 'Doodle come with?
Just suck it up and print the damn material. Add the $1 to the $999 to cover it. I bet no one would notice. But I am pretty sure there would be a tremendous difference in customer response.
We include manuals with the newest machines. You should see them popping up in the next couple of weeks.
To be perfectly honest, they aren't as inclusive as you might like them to be. To really do the process justice, something on the level of a small O'Rielly book would be necessary.
However, I imagine that a manual might not have helped this so much as having better sticking for parts out of the gate. We're working on that.
We are also working on a simplified software package, and other useful improvements to the machines.
My toaster has 12 pages of information, yet what does the 'Doodle come with?
hahahaha!!!!! Truth!
To really do the process justice, something on the level of a small O'Rielly book would be necessary.
OR, you could just print out all threads on soliforum!
solijohn wrote:To really do the process justice, something on the level of a small O'Rielly book would be necessary.
OR, you could just print out all threads on soliforum!
Just as thick
Someone should put together a "Hitchhiker's Guide to Soliforum", and just include that as a manual. Start with a picture of an SD4 and the words "Don't Panic!" on the cover. It could be a catalog or index of articles and information posted online.
Between this forum and the Wiki, there's a tremendous amount of information available from very knowledgeable people. The problem is trying to sift through it to find exactly what you're looking for.
Having access to all this information and assistance is one of the highlights of owning a Solidoodle.
Someone should put together a "Hitchhiker's Guide to Soliforum", and just include that as a manual. Start with a picture of an SD4 and the words "Don't Panic!" on the cover. It could be a catalog or index of articles and information posted online.
Between this forum and the Wiki, there's a tremendous amount of information available from very knowledgeable people. The problem is trying to sift through it to find exactly what you're looking for.
Having access to all this information and assistance is one of the highlights of owning a Solidoodle.
+1
If SD doesn't have the time or manpower to compose one (or in this case, copy+paste), they should hire a couple fine gents on here to get it done.
From the review:
It’s made for people who possess ... a post-graduate degree in mechanical engineering.
I bought my Solidoodle as a sophomore in high school... I definitely did not have a degree in mechanical engineering, but largely because of these forums, I knew what to expect and have been printing mostly fine since.
—“Emergency Stop.”
This last function made me acutely aware that a powerful machine was perched upon my desk. A machine capable of generating furious heat and spitting out molten plastic—which, given my lack of expertise, could easily splash about the room and end up melting co-workers’ eyes. At this point, I decided it might be prudent to call Solidoodle tech support.
3D Printers really aren't of much use to the average person. If you don't make things, or wish you could make things, then there isn't much point to buying a machine that makes things. And it doesn't really make very much. To use the sewing machine analogy from the article, you could get a sewing machine, a bunch of thread and some fabric, but you won't be able to make a complete outfit. It won't make the buttons, zippers, elastic, embroidery, etc.
A 3D printer creates huge potential for what you can create in your workshop, but it isn't the workshop by itself. If you aren't the kind of person who has a workshop then you might not have much use for a 3D Printer.
3D Printers really aren't of much use to the average person. If you don't make things, or wish you could make things, then there isn't much point to buying a machine that makes things. And it doesn't really make very much. To use the sewing machine analogy from the article, you could get a sewing machine, a bunch of thread and some fabric, but you won't be able to make a complete outfit. It won't make the buttons, zippers, elastic, embroidery, etc.
A 3D printer creates huge potential for what you can create in your workshop, but it isn't the workshop by itself. If you aren't the kind of person who has a workshop then you might not have much use for a 3D Printer.
I agree I don't believe their will ever be a point where everyone will have a 3d printer in their home especially when
most consumers hardly use their regular inject printers.
3D printers are a tool for engineers, hobbyist and artist who don't mind diving a little into the engineering side
to accomplish their artistic goals.
IanJohnson wrote:3D Printers really aren't of much use to the average person. If you don't make things, or wish you could make things, then there isn't much point to buying a machine that makes things. And it doesn't really make very much. To use the sewing machine analogy from the article, you could get a sewing machine, a bunch of thread and some fabric, but you won't be able to make a complete outfit. It won't make the buttons, zippers, elastic, embroidery, etc.
A 3D printer creates huge potential for what you can create in your workshop, but it isn't the workshop by itself. If you aren't the kind of person who has a workshop then you might not have much use for a 3D Printer.
I agree I don't believe their will ever be a point where everyone will have a 3d printer in their home especially when
most consumers hardly use their regular inject printers.3D printers are a tool for engineers, hobbyist and artist who don't mind diving a little into the engineering side
to accomplish their artistic goals.
I agree with techbuilder... I'm not an engineer, don't think I'll ever be one, but I am an artist with tech skills. And I have an ambition to bring my mental images to life.
I always wanted to build a PPG from babylon5 but my only option was wood as metal was way out of my price range. Even if I did it in wood, I'd have to build it by hand as I didn't have a workshop with a lathe or any other motor-driven standing tools. When I learned about 3D printing, I was immediately intrigued. I didn't have to have a strong mechanical/engineering aptitude and I could bring whatever I could dream of in 3D space to reality. I was hooked. I found the money to buy it and went about learning what I could. Now that I have it, I can't imagine creating any other way. I built the PPG and am still modifying the design to make it more modular. These skills are making it possible for me to model other objects using the same modular designs.
Do I believe in a 3D printer in every household? About as much as I believed in a laser copier in every home the first time I ever saw a Xerox machine (some 30 odd years ago). Now? not really; in 20 years? who knows... the tech will take time to mature and certainly fall flat on its face for a few more years.
Those of us Makers, we pioneer the way. We can't build everything we want, but we can build a lot of what we dream!
Another B5 fan? Awesome!
...but I digress. I think that having the ability to design and print objects in plastic, complements woodworking and other craft capabilities that I have.
Bab5 was the best Sci-Fi show/story line on TV until Battlestar Galactica came along.
I think the review is fair. For the average consumer the process is daunting. Generally, people on here are up to speed from the experience of tinkering and hours of reading these forums. Johnny average just wants to click go and have his object.
And quite honestly, the field is already mature. None of the problems facing most 3d printer owners are a mystery. On the contrary, Stratasys has done quite an efficient job of solving the issues. And it does not really take $5000 to build a machine to handle them.
-Proprietary electronics using capable processing power
-self monitoring environment
-Proprietary high quality consumables
And a few other things. It would not take much to design a $1000 machine that would match the quality given a good design team and using injection molded parts for reliable manufacturing and electronics/software that uses the same techniques Stratasys uses. The only problem is the patents they hold onto dearly.
A true plug-n-play machine is not waiting for 'maturity'. Its waiting for way around the Stratasys monopoly to present itself.
I think that the biggest problem here is that the person knew little to nothing about how to make a printer work,
reminds me of that riverside robots guy that wrote a simillar review, "I can't make my printer work, therefore my printer is shit, the company that made it is shit and the whole 3d printing thing is just a joke"
Being "moderately Tech savy" is the bane of most actually tech savy peoples lives.
the phrase moderately tech savy is why just about everyone in finance departments across the world break their computers thinking that they are clever!
I hate to say it, but the first clue that the guy wasn't actually all that tech savy was his job, as a journalist.
My ex was a tech journalist, (like a real one who's been published world wide in print not just online and gets paid for it), it's not that she's not tech savy, indeed she really is and has written plenty of technical reviews etc, but I'd doubt her ability to open up a printer and just press go! and have it all work right... it's just that 3d printing is quite unlike anything else.
being tech savy just doesn't really help when it comes to 3d printers.
you either need a LOT of time to read through and search the forums here, and the google group and the reprap pages, or you need a really good guide, or someone who knows what they are doing and is really patient sitting next you!
the question about a tool kit is a weird one.
When I bought my printer I was "promised" a tool kit with it.
that statement later change to "whilst stocks allow" -because as we know many years ago the guys at solidoodle couldn't figure out how to write stock levels in their online store 
now you sell tool kits. -this is not something that people are going to think they need, so honestly, as well as a printed manual you'd be a step closer to better support if you did include everything in the box that would be needed. then instead of saying have you got xyz, you can say, use the smallest hex key on this part.
Being "moderately Tech savy" is the bane of most actually tech savy peoples lives.
the phrase moderately tech savy is why just about everyone in finance departments across the world break their computers thinking that they are clever!
lol (literally) and very true
Obviously this guy doesn't get it. For those of us who played with lego when we were little, I think we do. I just see this as the adult versions of legos.
This sounds like it is coming from the middle age "tech" fan that loves his apple products and all the "innovation", but lacks a true grasp on innovation. It's far from consumer products, but you have to have some imagination to make good use of this.
I heard this on NPR the other day. Thats a good application:
http://www.npr.org/2014/03/13/289836980 … e-in-reach
There's no excuse for these machines not having a guide. I get the argument paper is expensive but it could be a download able doc. Forums are a mess to find correct information and the get started guide in soliforum.com uses pics and examples from sd2 back when it had a plywood bed... seriously? Update that and have a startup guide and specs right there in one place so we can get started easy. Also the setup videos it tells you to do things out of order like the zstop. That should be done after leveling the bed but they have it before so once you level the bed which is the next step the zstop is out of calibration. In setting the filament feed steps in the firmware the math was wrong so anyone following that example will not correctly enter the amount of steps needed to extrude 100 mm of filament. Smh
There's no excuse for these machines not having a guide. I get the argument paper is expensive but it could be a download able doc. Forums are a mess to find correct information and the get started guide in soliforum.com uses pics and examples from sd2 back when it had a plywood bed... seriously? Update that and have a startup guide and specs right there in one place so we can get started easy. Also the setup videos it tells you to do things out of order like the zstop. That should be done after leveling the bed but they have it before so once you level the bed which is the next step the zstop is out of calibration. In setting the filament feed steps in the firmware the math was wrong so anyone following that example will not correctly enter the amount of steps needed to extrude 100 mm of filament. Smh
We've had a startup guide online for ages. On what specific URL do you see incorrect math?
Hazer wrote:Some folks might enjoy making various DIY widgets at home, as a hobby, iterating their own designs and creating new products. Bully for them. I liken these early adopters to the kind of people who were on ham radios in 1923.
Aside from that, I attribute this to (again) the number one failing Solidoodle makes. Included documentation. Dont bother giving me the 'its all online and forums and 3 wikis' bull****. Its ****ing lazy is what it is. As an uneducated user, your fist response should not be to call tech support. It should be to read the manual. My toaster has 12 pages of information, yet what does the 'Doodle come with?
Just suck it up and print the damn material. Add the $1 to the $999 to cover it. I bet no one would notice. But I am pretty sure there would be a tremendous difference in customer response.
We include manuals with the newest machines. You should see them popping up in the next couple of weeks.
To be perfectly honest, they aren't as inclusive as you might like them to be. To really do the process justice, something on the level of a small O'Rielly book would be necessary.
However, I imagine that a manual might not have helped this so much as having better sticking for parts out of the gate. We're working on that.
We are also working on a simplified software package, and other useful improvements to the machines.
I know this is an old topic. just wondering if any of the latest SD4 buyers found this elusive Manual talked of here months ago that was to be included starting some time last spring?
SoliForum - 3D Printing Community → Solidoodle Discussion → Another bad review for solidoodle
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