The new machine - the Replicator 2 - I know its supposed to be more sophisticated than the Rep1. I know one of the biggest differences is the Metal casing - which I guess is their idea of trying to "Bring it up a Notch". There are MANY out there in the DIY world who are not happy with the direction that MakerBot has been moving - since their newest machines - the Rep1 & now the Rep2 - are really NOT the DYI (Do-It-Yourself) machines they used to be.
Mine was a TOTAL PITA - as I had to build it from literally Hundreds of parts. The one story I tell people of the construction - was this Resistor I had to solder onto the board. The resistor was in this little package - mostly cardboard with a plastic covering. That package - it was the Size of an ANT! And - as you can guess - the Resistor itself was HALF the size of an ANT! Anyway - I digress... For me - and someone on the MakerBot mailing list kinda slammed me for this when I was complaining about some of the difficulties in building my Bot - or maybe when I had problems getting it to work right - claiming that ALL I really wanted was an Appliance! NOT to have to build and constantly Tweak a machine. In effect - he was Right - and I didn't mind the comment. Since - for me - it was about producing THINGS on the Machine - not the "Joys" of building the machine and constantly tweaking it. Even to this day - like when I was at the Maker Faire last month - I mentioned to other Bot owners that I NEVER EVER Tweak my machine - I just keep running it and printing stuff (although things do NOT always come out perfectly)! At most - I have to Lube my Rods on occasion (Sorry if that sounds so erotic - but, I do have to put Oil on the Threaded Rods that move the Z-platform Up 7 down - and also the Rods one which the X & Y axis movement occurs). Finally - to be honest - I haven't fully kept up with the capabilities of the Replicators. I know the Rep1 had a bigger Build area (which limits the size of objects you can build) - with it being about Twice as Wide as what I can build. But, MBI marketing was a bit Bogus - if you ask me - with their claims of a Build area the size of a Loaf of Bread! What I liked about the Rep1 (which I would certainly buy if I could afford to do so) - was that you could get it with TWO Print Heads. That means - print in Two different colors of plastic on one Object - which was truly an Amazing advance - OR - you could theoretically print Support Structures in your object with one of the materials being a Dissolvable type plastic. I had NO Idea that the new Rep2 ONLY prints in PLA! That's not so hot - if you ask me. ABS is better in some was than PLA - I have heard its supposed to be Stronger. PLUS - a HUGE upside for ABS for me (and, for those NOT in the Know - ABS plastic is what Legos are made out of) is that Acetone applied between 2 pieces of ABS plastic - it melts the plastic - then Re-Solidifies - creating like a Perfectly Welded Joint! And, that's Exactly how I am assembling my Dragon. The joints are SO Strong & Solid this way! I do NOT believe this is an option w/PLA. Now - the upside of PLA is the smell when its printing. The ABS stinks (and before people get TOO Crazy about that - there has been a bunch of research - and it seems its not really poisonous or too deadly to breath in). If you don't put your head Right over the Top of the Bot - then you won't notice the smell too much. Just Air out the space when you're printing - and it should be fine (although - do NOT make the room cold - as that WILL BOTCH the print jobs). However - people that print with PLA - claim it smells like Biscuits are baking! Which sound intriguing to me - although I have yet to try printing with PLA. Finally - yes - U R Right - there are TONS of New Bots coming out on an almost Daily basis. And, MANY of them are coming out as KickStarter projects (of which I am planning to run a KickStarter project soon). You should check on there. Look up the PrintRBot. Also, one by Form Labs. There is another one - I think its called PrintXl or something. Another cool one - by a former NASA engineer is the B9 Creator (also on KickStarter). Heck - its hard to keep up with all that's out there. There's another called Cubify - but, many of us in the industry have slammed that one - because of HOW the company making them I is trying to market and sell them. So - you may want to skip that one. There's also one called the Rostock. Go find a YouTube video on it. Its AMAZING - both in the way it looks AND Operates. That one - like many of the TRUE DIY Type machines are Open-Source, so you CAN Build it yourself. But, to be honest - you didn't tell me if you WANT to Build one (and be DIY) - or if you are more like me - and just want an Appliance! But, either way - definitely take a look at the Rostock - its WAY COOL!!! I talked to a dude at the Faire last month - I think he claimed you could get the parts to build one - at about $400 - more or less... Here's one I find VERY Interesting. Its called the Mojo. I like it because its So Self-Contained - and looks like it may be easily portable (which one can NOT say for most DIY printers - which many times need fixing AFTER transport!). Also, the system includes 2 print heads - for the specific purpose of dissolvable Support Structures - and even has a separate unit where you drop in your items in this unit with kind of bath - to remove the support structures. Also - I like the financial end. YEAH - its WAY More pricey than a MakerBot Replicatot 2 (which I think still runs about $1700 for 1 print head - and $2000 with 2 heads). Its like $9999 for the Mojo - but, they offer a monthly price option (leasing?) - at like $189/mo.! That part is Particularly enticing to me. And, I have even spoken to the people who make/sell it - when at my SIGGraph conference this year - to learn a little more about the machine. For me, though - in order to buy one - I MUST have a plan to recoup my $189/mo. to make it feasible. Well - this e-mail is long enough now (as you can guess - yeah - I'm excited about 3D Printing - and its always nice to see someone else interested in it!). Its probably WAY More info that most people on this list want to read about. So - Nick - if need be - and you have more Q's - hit me Off-list and I would be happy to reply. OF, if you really want - you can even give me a ring! L8r, -K- -----Original Message----- From: ProfoxTech [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Nicholas Geti Sent: Tuesday, October 23, 2012 1:00 PM I am interested in purchasing a 3D printer. There are more machines coming on the market every day. What are your feelings about the MakerBot? I see they have come out with a new machine. I am trying to find out the price. I see that this new unit uses proprietary software and only PLA plastic not ABS. Nick Geti ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kurt Wendt" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, October 23, 2012 12:11 PM Subject: RE: [NF] Dragon - a HUGE Rapid > Also - just so that you know. I am on another mailing list (similar to > ProFox) - but, its run via Google Gmail and its for owners/operators of > MakerBots. So - as I was telling people about my Dragon, on that last - > when I was working on it - or when I was having problems and looking for > advice - I had many of the people on there very interested in my > project. So - this Video is also for them - to really give them insights > into my Dragon project. > > Thanks again for your Input! > -K- _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/289ea162f5642645b5cf64d624c66a140e260...@us-ny-mail-002.waitex.net ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
