The End of my 5th Gen experience: return to sender (long read)

[Lovelyday]

I've had my 5th Gen since the start of april. On arrival it came with a loose-hanging fan/LED-assembly, which I could eventually fix myself. After a week or two of small test prints and learning the software I started doing some bigger stuff and got my first clogged extruder. 

After a week of downtime I got a new extruder, which worked for about a week. 

The third extruder I got was DOA: the printer didn't even recognize it.

The fourth extruder worked for about a week, until the moment I wanted to remove the filament and the thin string of filament broke off inside, leaving the "beads" inside, eventually leading to a clog. 

Then I got my fifth extruder, the new 6-fin design, which worked for little over a week. Even though I installed the many new firmware updates (twice a week!) and leveled it way more often than should be necessary and using a brand new roll of MakerBot PLA straight from the seal.... it started making clicking noises and... clogged.

Because I wanted to make sure that it was the extruder and not the machine itself, I got my entire printer replaced. Got the latest firmware and did some test prints, that where incredibly stringy (more than I got used to). It seemed to work better and felt a little more stable than the first printer, but during the first layer of a bigger print, the clicking returned. Because I was watching it I could cancel the print to prevent another clog. I removed the filament and wanted to do a few rounds of assisted leveling. But no matter what I tried, the printer just went in a leveling loop, trying left and right measurements up to 6 times and then giving up. I gave the nozzle a wiggle, pre-adjusted the leveling dials and tried again many times to no avail. In the end it got stuck in the homing-routine of the assisted leveling, bumping the plate against the centered nozzle endlessly with loud noises. On top of that, I noticed that the white Axon cable on the extruder looked quite wrinkled and that the LED on the print head hit the plastic front edge of the build plate when moving closest to the front of the printer.

I waited for this new generation of printers and was willing to pay the premium prize and dedicate myself to a closed ecosystem, based on the promise that "MakerBot takes the hassle out of 3D-printing"... It simply doesn't! I've used it daily for 3 months and have spend more time waiting for replacements and searching this Google Group for tips and tricks (many thanks to all of you who participate here to help others!!!!) than actually printing stuff. I'm not the kind of person that wants to go into 3D printing as a tinkering hobby, but instead run a 3D design business and want to use 3D printing as a tool to extend our services. That's not going to happen with MakerBot 5th Gen printers.

The printer will be picked up tomorrow to be refunded and I'm going to restart my orientation phase and look for another printer. Maybe the rest isn't as polished-looking as the MakerBot's design and none of them has the networked-cloud-app-store-community-ecosystem with the same level of integration. But in the end I rather have a car that drives than one that doesn't but has a funky stereo and cruise control.

I'm confident that Stratasys will eventually get their MakerBot printers to a standard that works as advertised. But I'm certain that this current printer design will not keep users happy for months, let alone years. Especially with the recently-changed support policy and the fact that warranty is only valid when using MakerBot Filament, that they're now selling on 0,9kg spools for the same price as the 1KG spools (that will run out of stock soon).

Maybe I'll give it another try when the 6th Gen comes out, but in the meantime I'm going to find another brand that keeps me printing for less money.

Again, thanks for all the help to everyone that wrote something about the 5th Gen here: not being alone really eased the pain until this (inevitable) day.

*sigh of relief*

[Bryon Miller]

Their last line was fantastic, then they tried to add all these bells and whistles but really screwed up on the extruder.  Most printers work fine once you pass the learning curve on the hardware.  Makerbot is a very bad version of the Apple of 3D Printers, all hype with nothing to back it up and the guy running the show isn't an eccentric hippie that really believes he's doing something that will change the world, he's just an insane middle aged man with a very sever case of ADHD.  The printers basically all work the same, they will all require a little tinkering.  You want to run a 3d design business, so you must already know how to use CAD or modeling software.  Get familiar with certain software packages.  If you are really running a business and clients will be providing you with files to print, get familiar with Netfabb.  If you really are running a business, the professional license is about $1,500 but this package will help you edit the files and make adjustments that will allow you to print the models properly. The basic or free versions will do a lot to get you in the right direction but the pro version will allow you access to tools to really do alot to the models.

[BTHOON]

Kudos for first trying in good faith to make it work, then giving up when it was objectively clear that you weren't going to have a solid machine no matter what you did.

I personally recommend the Zortrax M200.  It's no a 1:1 replacement, especially considering build area (the Zortrax is somewhat smaller, though not embarrassingly so), but of the four people I know who have them, I've seen and heard nothing but extremely positive experiences.   From first prints that are almost the size of the build area that go perfectly to very detailed parts with supports that don't have marred surface finish, it's a solid printer and half the price. 

Best of luck and thanks for sharing!

On Tuesday, June 24, 2014 6:02:21 AM UTC-7, Lovelyday wrote:

[Gregory Sullivan]

r2 or r2x or ff

[PlasticMan]

Ya know...

A *$39* Raspberry Pi with Octoprint will allow you to control a Marlin based 3D printer remotely via a web browser. It will also manage and serve prints. It will also, with the camera addon, not only give you a web cam but also let you record time lapse. You can also configure it with Cura and just send .stls which slice at the Raspberry Pi. Add a usb wifi dongle and it's wireless.

MBI is soooo faaar behind it ain't funny!

On Tuesday, June 24, 2014 6:02:21 AM UTC-7, Lovelyday wrote:

[Gregory Sullivan]

but that takes a lot of knowhow for trinkets and marlin is well slower then a sailfish

[George Orwell]

Jeezus.  I'm getting close to this conclusion myself.  I just received my 2nd extruder but after having applied firmware updates and updated the makerware desktop, I cannot even adjust the temperature of the print.  How am I supposed to tweak the print if I can't adjust temperature?  Different PLA colors have different ideal melt points, and sometimes you gotta find the balance that lets you stick to the plate and not make a lot of spider webbing.

Half the time Makerbot Desktop doesn't see the printer unless I reboot it repeatedly, and sometimes I have to reboot my entire PC due to some service hanging, I have no clue.  The 5th Gen has corrupted my USB stick twice for whatever reason, requiring me to reformat it.  I get homing errors even after a plate leveling that seem to be random, so I ignore and try again.  Lots of wasted TIME.  Maybe it would be nice if it could just remember the calibration settings and let me restart a print, it wouldn't take me hours to get something going.  I also couldn't retrieve my "things" today from their damn cloud storage.  It would be awesome if my objects weren't held hostage by their servers.

I'm seriously considering buying another printer brand just to have a little UP time.  There is a Wanhao dual extruder for $1200 that looks cool ( 1/3rd the price of Makerbot ) but it looks like a Chinese CLONE of a Replicator, which makes me NOT want it.  I'm probably going to get a $600 Printrbot metal simple and see how that goes.  Makerbot really burned my ass for $3200 and I just will feel really lucky if I get full use out of it.

[Joseph Chiu]

Hi "George",

> Chinese CLONE of a Replicator, which makes me NOT want it.​

I'm curious about the specific reason why that is a turn off...   Is it because it's a clone, or because you're worried about it being based off the Replicator design?  If the latter, I can assure you that your experience with the Gen5's would not directly translate to the original Replicators which basically worked...

(Disclaimer: I sometimes sell the FlashForge Creator's which are, like the Wanhao, clones of the Rep1)  

[WifiGuru10]

Eh, chinese clones. They're actually not that bad. If you want a good name brand, get a FlashForge, Mbot3D or Wanhao. I got myself a CTC clone for around $700 and retrofitted it with MBot3d board and extruder. Honestly, the replicator 1 was a fantastic design. Easy to work on, great results and inexpensive.

If I were to do it again, i'd look at a FF Creator X or the Mbot3d Grid II (love the MK10 extruders). Get yourself a bottleworks HBP and get better results with all kinds of plastics versus the PLA only Makerbot.

Anyway, I agree, I see the downfall of Makerbot. The whole point of paying $3K+ for a 3d printer is that it's plug and play, sounds like there's more issues on the 5th gen than earlier gens. Definitely a step backward, more complexity and less results.

[Nick Lievendag]

Thanks for all the replies!

In my orientation I'm currently looking at the Leapfrog Creatr HS, which has ben released one week ago. Like the Replicator 5th Gen it also has a full color LCD screen and can print directly from USB, which is important to me because I want to use it as a standalone printer. Plus it has a massive build area, which is even more important to me because I'm designing quite large stuff. For example, the 5th Gen allowed me to print a custom iPad casing. That's why most printers in this range (like Zortax and the Ultimaker 2) aren't an option for me.

Things like casings have to be done without rafts of course to get a smooth surface. I guess the size of my prints also made experiences with the 5th Gen are worse than other users: I've seen people print very small things with it, mainly in the center of the build plate, usually with raft. That will work and that's probably why the Mini can only print with a raft as a default. But the idea of calibrating and leveling a big build plate with a nozzle just doesn't seem to work in the real world. And in my opinion calibrating the build plate before EVERY print is also very time consuming, especially when the outcome of this calibration and leveling is a variable. It shouldn't be possible that when running a second (or third, fourth, fifth...) leveling procedure after a successful one, the printer tells the user to turn the knobs (quite far!) before it says it's level again... You simply can't trust the outcome of the Assisted Leveling feature, period. If you want to experience that you should do the Assisted Leveling procedure and then print this leveling-calibration print: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:317363 at 0,2mm layer height. I wasn't able to print that one consistently and I've tried every surface from blue tape sheets, to glue stick to BuildTak.

For the record: Though the 5th Gen was my first 3D printer, I've been doing 3D design for 10 years professionally. Until now that was mainly for computer animation and visual effects, but it's now extending into product design, thus the need for a 3D printer to prototype. I'm also experienced with electronics and building stuff in general. I just don't have the time to put many hours into either building of maintaining a machine.

I'm going to visit a presentation and demo of the Leapfrog Creatr HS this friday. I'm not making the same mistake again of buying a printer that I haven't seen (or heard!) in real life.

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[Andy Hudson-Smith]

I would be interested in any views on the Leapfrog Creatr HS - the previous printers seem to have mixed reviews, but the large build plate/dual extruder/fast print of the HS looks useful...

Andy

[WifiGuru10]

Haven't seen the Leapfrog Creatr before, looks pretty good. Let us know how it turns out!

On Tuesday, June 24, 2014 9:02:21 AM UTC-4, Lovelyday wrote:

[tlocane]

I had a pretty similar experience as you with the 5th Gen. I returned it after 6 weeks and ordered the Airwolf 3D HD. It has a larger build volume than the 5th Gen (12" x 8" x 12" h) and is capable of printing over 13 different materials. I have been using it now for a few weeks and love it. 

The quality is superior to the 5th Gen, leveling the build plate, while not automatic or assisted, is fairly easy with videos and instructions in the manual to support you. I only level the build plate if I notice that parts are starting to not adhere properly. I have spoken to other owners and they say once you get used to leveling the plate, once a month is more than adequate unless you move the printer around a lot. It connects thru USB and if you want to print autonomously, it has a microSD card for that. And best of all, NO clogs!!

Whatever you decide upon, good luck.

[jamess]

On Wednesday, June 25, 2014 12:15:04 PM UTC+2, Andy Hudson-Smith wrote:

I would be interested in any views on the Leapfrog Creatr HS - the previous printers seem to have mixed reviews, but the large build plate/dual extruder/fast print of the HS looks useful...

Andy

That's interesting ... bigger plate, dual extruder, fast print, 50microns, free support.. and almost half the price! 

I need look more in to this ... if reliability is better than 5th Replicator, i will go for it ... 

[Nick Lievendag]

10 microns even, though that will probably result in unrealistic print times even with this faster speed. But then I almost never printed at 100 micron with my 5th gen because it just took too long for me.

--

[Darrell jan]

Previous printers have mixed reviews, but new model has attractive features which have yet to be demonstrated. Sound familiar? Wait for reports of actual user experience.

[Nick Lievendag]

That's why I'm going to visit their HQ to get a hands-on demonstration.

But as for business innovation, I'm not a waiter and since EU warranty is covered by law, there's no reason not to try stuff. If a product doesn't deliver what's promised: send it back, get a refund and try something else. I am aware that US-warranty coverage is tighter, especially the refund period.

The best actual user experience is your own - internet user experiences tends to be either positively (tech journalism / blog reviews) or negatively (forums) biased. Especially with the small user group of consumer-level 3D printers, this makes it impossible to make informed investments in this field.

[PlasticMan]

@ Greg... What's trinkets? I've setup 2 Octoprints in Raspberry Pis so far. It takes less "knowhow" then it takes to slice and print a file. "Marlin is well slower"... maybe it is... maybe it ain't... so what? It works! It works real good too! I would warn all you x3g based bot ONLY users... There's a HECK of a lot more out there for full open source 3DP then there is for MBI bots and MBI clones. More SW, more bots, more options.  Ya don't know what ya don't know!

I can watch my bots printing long jobs in semi real time video on my smartphone. NOW and at NO extra cost beyond the Raspberry Pi and the 5MP camera.... about $60. In the meantime MBI is struggling away with FW updates and HW issues. Ya all bought into marketing BS.

[Ryan Carlyle]

PlasticMan, your evangelizing is annoying.

[Gregory Sullivan]

I'm all for octoprint, it just came out wrong... sorry

[PlasticMan]

Sorry Ryan... If i annoy you then i suggest you not read my posts. I assure you I am not doing it just to annoy you. I am doing it to point out to readers here that there are other options that DO work well and costs are quite low. MBI made a big marketing push with wifi, webcam, ARM based processor... blahblahblah... All at a premium cost and all half baked and not functioning at release... yet look at Octoprint.  Other bot makers like PrintrBot and Type A machines stayed Open sourced and now ship with Octoprint preinstalled. Buying in to the MBI marketing BS is not an optimal path to getting successful 3D Printing. 

On Wednesday, June 25, 2014 9:34:15 AM UTC-7, Ryan Carlyle wrote:

PlasticMan, your evangelizing is annoying.

[Ryan Carlyle]

I'm not annoyed about you pointing out the benefits of other systems -- although it's often off-topic and repetitive. I'm annoyed at your constant declarations that everyone here made the wrong choice of brand/hardware/firmware. I'm sure you're trying to be helpful, but you're just coming across as rude and a bit trollish. I just went through a quick search on your recent posts -- it looks like your main reason for being here and not some other group is so you can tell people how bad Makerbot is.

There are many legitimate reasons to choose Makerbot/X3G. FCC/UL/CE certification, print speed/quality with sailfish, size of installed userbase, hardware aesthetics, quality of phone support, activity of support forums, expertise and helpfulness of the Sailfish developers, availability of aftermarket upgrades, US manufacture, among others. Fine, maybe those aren't significant to you. That doesn't make other people wrong for buying Makerbot.

Pointing out other options is fine. Suggesting that people are dumb for choosing MBI is not. Not on the Makerbot Operators forum anyway. It's like walking into a Canadian bar and constantly making jokes about how dumb hockey is. People might be too polite to call you out on it... but you still look like an ass.

[PlasticMan]

@Ryan I do not think my posts are annoying. I would appreciate it if you would try not to be so inflammatory. There is no need. If you do not like what i write just do not read it.  I ain't gonna stop just because YOU are annoyed. But... thanks for the opportunity to write more!

Many people who buy 3D Printers look at features and marketing materials and simply do not know the details. MBI sticks out because MBI has brilliant marketing. The buyers pick a product because of these ads and the cool photos and have no idea after they have picked that product what the experience with other products might be like.  I know this because I was there too, just as probably most everyone who reads here. However, in the past year I have had the awesome opportunity to obtain and operate a lot of other company's 3D Printers. Companies who have stayed open source and have worked with the open source 3D Printing community. To my pleasant surprise I found quality stuff. Optimal prints without the immediate need for upgrades. Out of box experiences which were refreshingly positive. I have found open source 3D printers which also match *all* of Ryan's "legitimate reasons to choose Makerbit/x3d". The OP of this thread was about MBI's failure and the return of their product. That product was purchased based on an assumption that the marketing claims were true... they ain't. The features in the ads are assumed to be differentiators... they ain't (i.e., OctoPrint)... 

People thinking of buying into MBI's BS read here. I intend to show them that it IS BS and that there are other, better options.

[Nick Lievendag]

I took the time to write a comprehensive review about my 3-month user experience, complete with photos and videos:

http://bit.ly/makerbot-replicator-5th-generation-review

I did this so it will end up in Google Search for potential buyers to read, because I thought the tech reviews so far aren't real user reviews and positively biased.

And I want to stress again that I absolutely think that MBI will have a good product for it's intended target audience in the future, just not at time of writing.

Very curious to the Leapfrog presentation tomorrow!

--

[Fozzie]

Just read  your review. I think it was done well and was fair to MBI. Good job.

[Connor Wilkinson]

Lovelyday,  I think that the Times article you cite is a problem because I saw it do what society always does- say Kleenex instead of tissue. Because of the brilliant marketing plasticman has referenced, 3D printing and MakerBot mean the same thing in the public's eyes. Obviously that is foolish, but until someone does something truly incredible with another printer (be it in printing, designing, software, or just marketing) this trend will continue. MakerBot IS the apple of the printing industry- they'll blind the public in terms of the competition and promote their product as THE solution, which isn't bad if their solution is what it claims. That being said, I think that someone who gets a MakerBot (5th gen) and battles all of the issues people share on this thread would still give it an EXTREMELY positive review if they are not aware of all of the options and unaware of the older MB models that were more successful. I know I fell into that pit more than once, as my 5th gen is my first 3D printer ever. So it's still pretty freakin cool.

Anyway, that was all really off topic. What I mean to say with all of this is that it is fine if MB is the Apple of the print industry, so long as all their claims are backed by product. Until then, 3D printing is in danger because, like I said, "MB = 3D printer"

Your article was a good read though, and I have battle much of the same. Unfortunately, it is not my decision whether it is returned or not, so as long as I have it, I hope to try and make what improvements I can, even with the closed source. Hopefully with enough users doing just that, the 5th gen can be brought to it's full potential. And even more, hopefully whoever fixes it receives credit, even if they aren't with MB....

[Connor Wilkinson]

Also, if you could post a short write up or a link to a write up on what you see with the leapfrog tomorrow, I'd really appreciate it. I don't know that it will be available to me for a while (yay Texas) but I want to be able to show options to the owner of our MB so he'll think about changing it out.

Connor

[Nick Lievendag]

I will!

It's true about MakerBot being used as a synonym to 3D Printer, but I must say that is an American habbit. Kleenex and Xeroxing are still called tissues and photocopying here in Holland. 

If you have the time you should really read Chris Anderson's book "Makers" (http://www.amazon.com/Makers-The-New-Industrial-Revolution/dp/0307720950). It's a great book and even though it's only from 2012, Chris also chose to use the word MakerBot a lot to describe 3D printing in general. The irony is that he writes about MBI's open source mentality as one of the key differentiators that would make the rise of the Maker Movement the next Industrial Revolution. While we now know that they didn't choose the Apple route of painstakingly building an independent brand but instead choose the easy start-up-aquired-by-large-industry-giant route. Bre Pettis is by that definition NOT the new Steve Jobs. He chose not to be. Talking about him: I never really saw him in the foreground again ever since the 5th gen release.

On 26 June 2014 16:56, Connor Wilkinson <connor.a....@gmail.com> wrote:

Also, if you could post a short write up or a link to a write up on what you see with the leapfrog tomorrow, I'd really appreciate it. I don't know that it will be available to me for a while (yay Texas) but I want to be able to show options to the owner of our MB so he'll think about changing it out.

Connor

--

[Brandon Andrzejewski]

Not to encourage a flame war or anything, but +1 for Ryan's post, I completely agree.  There's nothing wrong with bullishly touting the specs and capabilities of non-MBI printers, just please try to resist ending every post in an insult.  Also, quick tip to PlasticMan, if you want people to take you more seriously drop ain't and y'all from your vocabulary.  No response necessary I just wanted to let Ryan know he is most certainly not alone in his frustration with PlasticMan's posts.

Much love,

Brandon

On Wednesday, June 25, 2014 12:57:15 PM UTC-5, Ryan Carlyle wrote:

I'm not annoyed about you pointing out the benefits of other systems.   It's like walking into a Canadian bar and constantly making jokes about how dumb hockey is. People might be too polite to call you out on it... but you still look like an ass.

[Connor Wilkinson]

Very true. I just read the "Cult of Done" manifesto for the first time, and it is about as open source and anti-apple as it could be... So the opposite of everything MB has become. And my apologies, I actually meant to say "... do what American Society does..." As in the Journal (sorry, previously I cited it as a Times article, not that it matters all that much) and American/Western Journalism in general. Just the whole "quick, label the phenomenon" sort of thing happening. Well, looking forward to what you have to say on the leapfrog. It looks really promising.

[Connor Wilkinson]

Ha I like that. "No response necessary" We have an optimist.

[PlasticMan]

Whatchya?! You no like my tawk!?

I love you too!

[Connor Wilkinson]

There it is.

[Scott Ramirez]

This makes me so depressed, the same thing is happening to me right now... I just received my Z18, extruder DOA. But who knows if that is even the real problem. Im getting the Error 13 currently.

Seems like they released a product(s) thats just not polished doesnt have any process control.

Have you guys checked out the Revolution XXL?

-Scott

[Connor Wilkinson]

I'm thinking you didn't really read through this forum prior to receiving your machines. The 5th gen was marketed as polished, sure. But this group has pretty much emphasized how premature this product is tirelessly for months. Ever since the groups pro users got (and consequently returned) theirs, we've said that the 5th gen is like older models in that it takes tweaking and is unlike the older models in that you can't tweak it. Not to mention that tweaking will only get so far, because the way they changed the smart extruder is leaving users high and dry, choosing between clogs or bad prints. All that being said, what you have is still useful. You over paid for it, and if I were you I would definitely be returning for something else, but still, our 5th gen makes parts that are accurate and require a lot of model clean up. I can't return ours because it isn't my decision, so I'm stuck between defending it because it's all I have (and I would like it to be a good thing) and hating it for what it is. Sorry you guys got stuck in the MakerBot craze. Try to spread the word to some others looking to buy and make sure they find OPEN SOURCE. It doesn't matter if they pick the &$%(*iest printer in the world, they can make it right (or at least more so than a MB) if they can make changes on their own. 

[Enginwiz]

Hello Lovelyday,

did you already visit the HQ of Leapfrog and see the new Leapfrog HQ printing?

[Nick Lievendag]

I did! And it was very nice.

I know reviews of the original Creatr are mixed but after some research I found that the reviews got better in the time the machine was on the market and the people at Leapfrog told me that there was a big difference between the first an recent batch and they're constantly tuning it.

I really liked the over-engineerd sturdiness of the printer. It's incredibly big and the parts are also big. For example, the 5th Gen Replicator's z-movement is done by one small threaded rod in the back. It's supported by two non-threaded rods, but they're all close together and I found the plastic assembly of the 5th Gen's build plate very flimsy and prone to movement. The Creatr is supported by 3 big threaded rods: 2 in the front and one in the back. Their build plate sits rock solid.

The Creatr HS seems like an evolution of the original Creatr, but a bigger step. They added a 4 inch color LCD and control knob and USB port like the 5th Gen has, making it standalone. This is a must-have for me. And they replaced the direct-drive dual extruder with bowden extruders to save weight and increase accuracy and speed. I know this makes it incompatible with flexible filament, but that isn't important for me.

I'm also looking at the Replicator 2 and the Ultimaker 2. But the first one is officially discontinued and I don't like the path MakerBot has chosen. The switch from 1KG spools to 0,9KG spools for the same price is one example of that. And though I know that the Ultimaker 2 has proven itself over time, it's build plate is to small for my needs (I must be able to print an iPad case) and they recently pushed the release date of their expected Dual Extrusion Kit from mid 2014 to late 2014, while I think the current state of the 3D printing industry demands existing manufacturers to step UP their R&D if they want to keep up with new players. Also the UM2 uses 2.85mm filament and the Creatrs use 1.75mm of which I still have a dozen barely used -overpriced- MakerBot 0,9kg spools that I must be able to use to make up for the investment.

Please keep in mind that one of the reasons Leapfrog came on my radar is that their HQ is a 30min drive from where I live in Holland. The MakerBot reseller in Holland is great and give better support than MBI itself, but of course they rely on being supported and stocked by MBI. My replacement Smart Extruders came from their stock of printers, because they just didn't get spare extruders from MBI (at that time... things might have changed). So being closer to the actual manufacturer feels like a wiser choice in this industry. 

Everything combined the first impression was good enough to win me over. I'm not a safe player and I don't mind trying new things at all. I was one of the first people to have the 5th Gen and if I choose to get the Creatr HS I'm one of the first users too. That makes it a great comparison. I'm now in the final phase with the Creater HS. Just asked them a few last essential questions (mainly related to the on-screen interface, because the site has no info about that) before making the final decision to buy one.

If I do buy the Creatr HS, I plan to write an on-going journal of my experiences with the printer, especially compared to my experiences with the 5th Gen. I will post the link here of course.

On 2 July 2014 18:02, Enginwiz <engi...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello Lovelyday,

did you already visit the HQ of Leapfrog and see the new Leapfrog HQ printing?

[Jetguy]

FWIW, Leapfrog was a design that I was largely inspired by for the Z axis on all of my current crop of 3D printer designs. The 3 leadscrew method for larger build platforms beats a cantilevered shelf hands down. Further, even the new Z18 only uses 2 leadscrews,

 

The only issues I ever noted was not inlcuding an LCD on early ones, and a some general extruder feeder issues that would be trivial to solve IMO.

 

I would own one ecept that at the time, they weren't readilty distributed in the US.

 

With that said, the situation has changed, the machine is even more improved and there is some US distribution.

Unfortunately, I've also just built my own machines even larger than the new one in that time.

[Nick Lievendag]

Good to hear Jetguy,

I guess the US export will just take a little time because of legal and certications.

I guess they also addressed the extruder feeding problems you mention by redesigning a new bowden-style extruder. I do hope that also reduces the noise a bit, because the Creatrs I've heard operation are quite loud. Otherwise I'll just make an enclosure for it, since only the top and a bit of the front is still open. Will save some energy related to heating too.

Hope they answer my last questions soon...

I'll keep you updated.

[Nick Lievendag]

Order placed! Now we wait. Site says <4 week lead time... but I know how those things go!

[jamess]

Please share your experience when you receive it !

I'm so tempting to order....

...

[Nick Lievendag]

You guys will be the first to know!

[BruceA]

Lovelyday

Good luck with the Leapfrog, I have one and bought it after reading another members praise for it even thorough he does not own one (should have told me something). Personally I have found it to be the biggest piece of c@#p ever, it's only true function in life would be as a boat anchor! It is an older model but when I contacted Leapfrog as to the possibility of upgrading it they admitted it was not a good model but as it was built in Romania it was not worth fixing and offered to sell me another one WTF!!! I do hope for your sake they have a better one now.