5th Gen, big problems, anyone else?

[Alan Van Ryzin]

Just got a 5th gen yesterday, I also have a rep 2.  Its really great, but have been having tons of problems with it, kinda disappointing.

First off the obvious software/firmware problems, like the scrolling screen, trouble installing firmware, maker ware desktop not finding the printer, etc.

The first major problem started with constant homing errors, as well as z axis grinding sometimes, so I called support they told me to check the extruder nozzle and to push on it and see if it retracts and then comes back out, well, mine when pushed on would stay "in" and not pop back out like its supposed to, causing the sensor to not get tripped correctly, hence the homing errors.

Upon inspecting closer I could see that the metal housing ring around the extruder is rubbing against the lower ring of the extruder, like metal on metal, causing some friction, it was actually scoring the aluminum ring on it, I applied a tiny bit of oil to the housing and it freed it right up, hopefully for a while and not just for short term.  So that fixed the homing errors, then I could get the build plate level.

Next problem (and more serious) was when I go to actually print something, it draws the first layer pretty well, then when it goes to finish filling it in, it does this weird offset and overlaps its previous sections, then goes to do another outer perimeter, this time adhering to the newly created shape it made with the overlapping part.  Im really hoping this is just firmware issues that will be resolved next week, and not apart of something larger like a hardware problem.  Anyone else having these issues?  Im waiting for makerbot support to open up again so I can call them on monday.

Overall its a nice machine, but there seems to be some either quality control issues or software issues, im hoping its just software.  Another note, is as a soon as I opened the box the big knob's metal cover fell off, the glue was sloppily applied.

Thanks

[spineytoad]

Have you contacted makerbot about this, if so, what did they say, I have one on order also and want to see how the company works with you. Thanks

[TimW]

I am having major issues with mine.  The "smart" extruder is already jammed and I cannot get filament to load.  I have a whopping 10 hrs or so of good printing before it clogged up tight.  It clogged a few other times and I was able to unload and reload to fix it.  I was shocked to see the printer didnt "pause" like they said it would if it ran out of materials.

I also had issues with the homing and the tech support said "whack it on a stack of magazines" referring to the extruder..

Oh and look closely at the belt by the extruder carriage.  Yes that is a belt rubbing on the carriage.. Wonder how long until the belt is shot??

Anyhow I plan to ship mine back...

-Tim

[spineytoad]

I wonder how many have been shipped, probably the only posts we see here are the bad and disappointed type, if there have only been 3 shipped, we are hosed, that's 100% failure, I hope they've shipped a LOT more than that so we know that most are good, but not knowing how many have shipped all we can guess by is what is being posted.  Bummer.

[David Kessner]

The super un-scientific survey of the Makerbot Operators group says:

9 people here self-report that they have Gen5 machines.

2 people have or are in the process of returning their bot due to technical issues.

5 people self-report that they are having some sort of major issues (updating firmware, etc.)

2 people have not reported anything that I would arbitrarily categorize as "major".

0 people have reported a flawless out-of-the-box experience.

Again, this is unscientific but does not bode well.

-DK

[Brian33433]

I tend to wonder how a company like Dell will handle things if they start getting an influx of calls and returns. Makes absolutely no sense to me with the company merger with Stratasys and 2 some what performing machines in there lineup why they would rush the new machines. I figured this would be there chance to get it right. Oh well hope they get things working better and we start hearing better reviews.  

[Dan Newman]

On 17/03/2014, 10:33 AM, spineytoad wrote:
> I wonder how many have been shipped, probably the only posts we see here
> are the bad and disappointed type,

... who also know of this list and are willing to post. That's probably
a *small* subset of the total number of people who have ordered 5th Gen
bots. After all, MBI has sold approx 25K Rep 2/2X's and I
don't think we even see 250 distinct Rep 2/2X owners posting here.

Dan

[Alan Van Ryzin]

Im glad this post finally got approved, I was beginning to worry, anyway here is an update;

Over the weekend I managed to find and fix the offset printing problem, it appears the printer head was able to move back and forth on the x axis, I looked further into it and found a part that wasn't fully attached I pushed it in and now it doesn't have the "slop" as seen in this video;

https://www.dropbox.com/s/quk7ybibq0ayx9s/2014-03-16%2010.22.48.mov

For the other errors, yeah still happening but I suspect its mostly software.  The homing errors seem to be caused still by the extruder getting stuck and not popping back out, but the tiny bit of oil I put on there helped a ton, I did a bunch of good quality prints so far, so I'm happy.

I think they can fix the extruder getting stuck in software, if they just tell the nozzle to lift a few times before homing possibly? 

[Alan Van Ryzin]

what I've found that causes the extruder to get stuck.  I need to clean mine as the oil i used seems to have gunked up from the heat.

[Ryan Carlyle]

Contented users don't generally search the internet for forums where they can talk about their printers.

The population here in MOG is basically hardcore 3d printing enthusiasts and people with printer issues. It's not exactly an unbiased sample.

Normally this mix results in pretty good community tech support. Unfortunately, the closed design, and desire of the local power-users to wait until the issues are worked out before ordering, has created a situation where many potentially-user-fixable issues result in printer returns. Eventually people will figure out "field fixes" that add to the collective knowledge-base. I'm hearing a lot of stuff that sounds like simple lack of factory lubrication, and confusing getting-started workflow for the firmware upgrade. That has to be frustrating, but I feel like people have unrealistic expectations for a "launch day" product in what is still a very young field of technology.

Of course, there's also some issues that are clearly build / design problems MBI needs to address, such as the progressive axis offset issues some people are seeing. My hope is that these are "one assembly guy sucked at his job" or "frame tolerance is off" type problems that are easily fixed in the long run. Every printer returned with a REAL issue gives MBI an opportunity to do a post-mortem and improve the design/construction.

Basically we're in "wait and see" mode right now. MBI printer launches have always been rough... none of the "regulars" here have been surprised by anything they've seen so far I don't think.

[Dan Newman]

On 17/03/2014, 1:30 PM, Alan Van Ryzin wrote:
> Im glad this post finally got approved, I was beginning to worry, anyway
> here is an update;
>
> Over the weekend I managed to find and fix the offset printing problem, it
> appears the printer head was able to move back and forth on the x axis, I
> looked further into it and found a part that wasn't fully attached I pushed
> it in and now it doesn't have the "slop" as seen in this video;
>
> https://www.dropbox.com/s/quk7ybibq0ayx9s/2014-03-16%2010.22.48.mov

The odd thing is that other folks have shown prints which skewed along the
X axis. And that requires a firmware bug, a slicing bug, or successive
loss of steps along the X axis. I have no doubt that you have a head which
has play along the X axis, but that would just introduce a "wobble" along
the X axis and not monotonically increasing shifts in one direction UNLESS
you were printing all the way to the edge with the X axis endstop and then
triggering it thus causing a loss of steps. Loss of steps is cumulative
and can cause a skew such as that shown in some other pictures.

So, to me at least, it sounds like there is yet another issue with the
X axis -- a mechanical one in this case. And the X axis skew was caused
by something yet to be determined.

Dan

[TimW]

Well here is a clear example of the design challenges ahead. 

The picture shows how the belt drive near the extruder carriage rubs on the carriage itself.  There is no software fix for this kind of mistake.  Also the marring that happens on the extruder as it moves up and down in the smart cartridge shows to me that the fitment is not right.

I am just really disappointed that this stuff was not caught ahead of time.

[Alan Van Ryzin]

same here,

here is another one:

print something close to the front of the build plate and the head will hit the build plate because there isn't enough clearance. hah.

[Barry Schuler]

I received my 5th Gen on last friday. I have been printing 7x24 since. I own every model since Cupcake so I have a bit of historical perspective. Mechanically the machine has performed flawlessly thus far. The new leveling assist seems to be a big step forward. Wifi is not enabled in the machine yet. The software has plenty of rough edges but the MB Desktop concept is a good one. It is important to keep in mind that the future of this biz is not focused on all of us old Rep Rappers.

So far the experience has been the best yet - but I have been at this long enough to know that everything can change quickly. The rhythm of 3D Printing has been - go through a few days of hell dialing in your machine and then hopefully weeks of trouble free printing. Click and repeat. I even have my 2X behaving really well right now...but only after a week of dialing in.

So my OOBE has been great, we'll see how long she stays dialed in. 

On Sunday, March 16, 2014 6:49:02 AM UTC-7, Alan Van Ryzin wrote:

[TimW]

Barry I will trade you my 5th gen for yours straight up.  LOL.  One thing I heard today is they will not send you a new extruder until yours is shipped to them.  They also said they would make sure to send a tested one.  Are they all not tested?

I guess I am confused a little there.

[Dan Newman]

On 17/03/2014, 5:07 PM, TimW wrote:
>
> Barry I will trade you my 5th gen for yours straight up. LOL. One thing I
> heard today is they will not send you a new extruder until yours is shipped
> to them. They also said they would make sure to send a tested one. Are
> they all not tested?

Used to be that MBI tested each bot and put the test print in the box with
the bot. They did that with the Rep 1 single, Rep 1 dual, and Rep 2.
My Rep 1 dual came with a dualstrusion test print. My Rep 2 also came
with a test print. (Never owned a Rep 1 single.) I also seem to recall
that the pre-built Thing-o-Matics you could order came with a test print.
I don't know offhand if MBI stopped this practice or not with later model
Rep 2's or if they did it with Rep 2X's at all.

Dan

[Justin Keenan]

I'm in pretty much the same situation here. I've had minimal problems, but i've been able to fix most of them.

One thing that I noticed today is that my printer started to print terribly for the first few layers. I think someone else mentioned that else where on the forums. What I noticed is that where the nozzle hits the bed for homing was completely melted. Due to the time it takes to home, the nozzle must have melted the painters tape. One thing you can do is just compensate for it in makerware or put down new tape. The other thing is that it actually presses into the tape a lot, so it is also adviseable to add a extra .05 to the file anyways. It seems to be working a charm for me.

I also noticed that the only way the screen gets messed up is if you try to use the internet to print. So for now I would just stick to the usb stick to transfer files instead of printing via the web or accessing files on the bot to print from the web.

I would also check the filament dimensions. For me the filament was closer to 1.75 instead of what they put in the software as 1.8. Just another note.

I've been printed for about 48 hours now since I got my printer last friday. I just hope everything continues to work as it has for the last 3 days.

[Justin Keenan]

Also I forgot to mention that you should put lubricant on at least the z stage rod in the back. Makerbot didn't put any on the z screw rod on my bot. Guessing they will for later ones. But the lubricant makes the z stage move nice and smooth. Other things also need lubricant like the left and right idler pulleys.

[andre]

I had a similar issue happen to me.  X axis was off slightly on each successive layer.  I found my X-home sensor was noisy as it was wrapped around the motor coil wires.  I hooked up my scope to the sensor signals and saw the signal bouncing around each time the motor was pulsed.  This caused the bot the "home" at the wrong location, just shy of the true location. 

This occurred every print!  I then isolated that sensor, and the issue disappeared.  Sure, this may be unrelated, but it could be a combination of many factors. 

I'm surprised each printer does not leave the factor with QC done.  You would expect the printer to be shipped with a printed object as a quality output proving it's performance matches MFG specifications.  Or, a build sheet checked off with signatures.

[TimW]

Well I hate to say this but mine is back in the box. I don't have time to work out bugs that should be fixed before putting a machine like this on the market. I feel really bad for the mini and Z18 buyers. I really don't see a chance for success on 18" tall prints...

I am thinking about going back to a Replicator 2...

I am most pissed at all the reviews from CES. How does a non-printing 3D printer win awards? Just saying...

[autonomy]

Just another data point - I have the same exact problem with the extruder, where the nozzle gets stuck on one side due to steel/aluminum friction. When the nozzle is pushed in, it doesn't go in centered, it tilts to one side, so it is more scored on that side. I have thought of using heat-resistant brake caliper lube but haven't done so yet. I believe the wires from the nozzle also play a role, as they are very stiff and prevent the nozzle from moving in on that side.

Lots of homing error issues ("Hes rebase failed") because of this. I found that unloading the filament, centering the nozzle, then reloading the filament - making sure that the nozzle is centered - works for a bit.

I have seen the scrolling screen too. The prints I've successfully completed came out very well, though I have had the filament get stuck in the extruder and refuse to dispense a couple of times. As mentioned, the extruder LED will hit the front of the build plate when printing close to the front. I also hate it that there doesn't seem to be a way to lower the build plate through the menus.

I was surprised to see that the Z-rod is not lubricated.

[Jetguy]

Why does is say "Hes rebase failed" when there is no Hes rebase failed !!!!!!!!!! 

[Tiffany Diorio]

Hi Autonomy, 

 This is Tiffany from MakerBot Support. I'm really sorry to hear you've experienced some trouble. Have you opened a case with us? If you haven't, please give us a call or shoot us an e-mail at support(at)makerbot(dot)com, so we can help get you up and running consistently. 

Thanks, 

Tiffany

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[DHeadrick]

I would love to see a video of a 5th gen being "fixed" with a bat!

On Tuesday, 18 March 2014 15:26:03 UTC-4, Jetguy wrote:

Why does is say "Hes rebase failed" when there is no Hes rebase failed !!!!!!!!!! 

 

[Peter Allen]

Does anyone know where I can download the firmware update 1.0.0 for the 5th gen

On Sunday, March 16, 2014 6:49:02 AM UTC-7, Alan Van Ryzin wrote:

[alexklym]

Haha believe me I have been tempted to fill my 5th gen with tannerite (explosive) and shoot it and end the disappointment. I will give it another chance with a replacement extruder and hopefully another firmware update.

[Tiffany Diorio]

Hi Peter, 
  

  You can install the firmware update through MakerBot Desktop. I checked to see if you had any cases open with us in support and saw that you're currently working with someone. He's reaching out to you now, so please look out for his e-mail. 

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MakerBot
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Brooklyn, NY 11201
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>   Leading the Next Industrial Revolution

 

02.11.13    Fast Company  |  The World’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Consumer Electronics

[autonomy]

Hi, Tiffany. I have spoken to support and they told me to try wiggling the extruder and then dropping it onto a notepad. I've found that once I get the nozzle centered before loading the filament, I have no issues. So far this method has been working well, haven't seen many homing errors.

[TimW]

I was told to "smack it on a stack of magazines" and that should help.  Like I posted before the nozzle doesn't move free enough and when it gets pushed up by the build plate it sometimes hangs up.  You literally need to watch that nozzle like a hawk and make sure it is centered. 

Good luck keeping the nozzle flowing. 

[Jetguy]

My casual advice is to install a stiffer spring to help push the nozzle to center (not talking insanely stronger, just stronger than stock), but Oh wait, you cannot "easily" open the thing up and likely would break the clips in the process.

 

Time for an upgraded extruder sent to everyone?

[Steven Vaccaro]

"How does a non-printing 3D printer win awards?  Just saying..."

Follow the money.

[Steven Vaccaro]

"I was told to "smack it on a stack of magazines" and that should help. "

Now that's precision. I'm waiting patiently for the gen 5. I always followed the advise that its never a good idea to buy the first of anything.

[TimW]

I also brought up the stronger spring. Honestly take a look at the belt right by the extruder. How long until that belt rubbing on the extruder carriage takes out the belt?

Also I can not wait a week each time the nozzle jambs. I asked for a spare and I was told to send mine in first? Who has time to let a $3300 machine sit idle? Not this guy!

[alexklym]

Right, I just sent my extruder in but I don't really know what good it is going to do me. I assume I'm just getting an identical extruder that might work for a print or two. I have business plans and personal plans for my printer and cannot afford and don't want to afford to have my machine sitting idle either. I hope they figure it out quick and make it right.

[Eric Albert]

I'm guessing "Hes" is "Hall effect sensor" - and "rebase" has something to do with measuring a reference value... but hey, I'm only guessing!

[Jetguy]

Tim, while I understand your worry about the belt, in your life time that's not going to wear out.

Sorry, I'm not trying to say it's OK, but at the same time, those belts are not going to wear like you are thinking. Also, that portion of the belt could be worn smooth, those teeth in that section only roll over the idlers, that's just how H bot works. Yes, in an ideal world, MakerBot should fix that. Just saying, it's not the end of the world.

[angelo...@yahoo.co.uk]

Well reading all the issues here I have to say that I'm disappointed, I know that they are probably only a fraction of the machines sent out but something tells me that there are gonna be more posts with problems on the way.

I was holding out till I saw the 5th Gen actually printing and read some in-depth reviews from people that actually have one before deciding if I should get one, but by the looks of it the 5th Gen is a no go for the moment and I'm leaning more to get a tried and tested Rep 2, I know the Rep 2 has some issues of it's own but at least they are known and there's fixes out there for them.

I really think Makerbot should have delayed the launch until the machines were more reliable, we never saw one printing when it was shown off at the shows and now it seems we know why, Makerbot knew they had problems with the 5th Gen and didn't want to risk them failing in shows.

I still think Makerbot is an excellent company, their support is awesome and I do believe they really care about their customers and do what they can to make them happy but they are making a transition from "hackers" to consumer level where people that buy their products are no way technically minded in any way and expect a machine to work out of the box like a laser or inkjet printer, after all this is the market that the mini is aimed at, so quality control and making sure the machines actually work as advertised have to be the very top priority, if that means a launch gets delayed then that is what they must do.

I hope the 5th Gen does get sorted soon as I think it has great potential but whatever you do Makerbot don't discontinue the Rep 2 as you will find a lot of people will still be buying that instead :D

[3DwannaB]

Hunt eBay for a used Rep2. I sniped one with only 14 hours on it for almost $1000 less then original cost plus shipping. It prints perfectly. You may have to hunt for awhile though. I suspect I was only able to get it that low because the auction ended during the Oscars... Nobody was paying attention!

[autonomy]

All right, here's a problem that I don't see a fix for other than taking apart the build plate: printing at the front of the plate. The LED on the extruder hits the front trim of the plate on every move...

[Ryan Carlyle]

Dremel off the trim?

[autonomy autonomy]

Right, on a brand-new $3K device. That's like saying the wheel on my new BMW rubs when I turn to the right, I should saw off the panel around the wheel well.

On Fri, Mar 21, 2014 at 9:20 AM, Ryan Carlyle <temp...@gmail.com> wrote:

Dremel off the trim?

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[Ryan Carlyle]

I guess hitting the trim must not be that big of a problem then :-)

I've cut rubbing plastic off cars before. Admittedly not painted body panels, but yeah, cowling plastic in a wheel well.

[3DwannaB]

Ok then... ship it back!

[Bryon Miller]

Competition, that's it.  They (everyone that participates in any business) feel that if they get "it" out first, they will have the upper hand.

On Monday, March 17, 2014 11:10:26 AM UTC-7, Brian33433 wrote:

I tend to wonder how a company like Dell will handle things if they start getting an influx of calls and returns. Makes absolutely no sense to me with the company merger with Stratasys and 2 some what performing machines in there lineup why they would rush the new machines. I figured this would be there chance to get it right. Oh well hope they get things working better and we start hearing better reviews.  

[Owen Tien]

Anyone else noticing that once the nozzle fan kicks on the nozzle isn't holding temp? I think this is preventing me from printing at faster speeds (I get skipping anytime it accelerates) and the extruder is measuring about 5 degrees below where it is set. 

[James EI Tu]

Ugh. How major are all of these things that people are finding. Are people printing anything successfully...even the people that are reporting problems with the firmware and hardware?

[autonomy autonomy]

I've printed a couple of models successfully, mostly with blue filament. Nothing too complex. Usually, if the print starts with good adhesion, it will finish with no problems.

[Kelly Crittenden]

I received my printer on March 14th. I have been 3D printing for over 10 years with printers ranging from $500 to $50,000. 

Concerning the MBI 5Gen, I have printed about 12 items ranging from 15 minutes to 4 hours in print time each. I have used filament from MBI, and from Inventables. I haven't tried pushing the limits on any settings, pretty much the "Standard" setting for everything. I had one print fail because it didn't stick, but I didn't use a raft for that print. Other than the one no-stick, I have had no problems with any print. I had a minor issue with firmware updates, but it was my fault for not reading the directions closely. I had an issue with the "Store", but it was resolved by MBI later (the 5G files were not uploaded to the store at the time I tried to purchase them). 

My only real complaints are:

1. Homing the z-axis should be faster in my opinion. 

2. I wish wireless printing was enabled.

3. I wish the camera was enabled.

4. The glass bed doesn't fit as easily as I think it should, although it does snap into place eventually. 

My opinion is that the MBI 5Gen is a step in the right direction. It appears to have been rushed to market, but it is a functional printer, and does work well when you use the default settings. I have not had the extruder issues that some have reported, yet. I do not like that if the extruder does have a problem, I have to ship mine off before MBI will send me a new one. If the extruder turns out to be a significant problem, MBI should send two so that you are never down for a significant amount of time (at least not to extruder issues) - but so far I haven't had to deal with this. The placement of the LED is a design flaw, and I would appreciate MBI sending a replacement bezel for the front of the print tray, or a modified LED mount. 

-Kelly

[Jetguy]

I don't think I or anyone else is saying the new 5th gens don't print.

Heck, I think there are lot of cool things about the hardware even despite what I consider to be the tiniest of issues.

 

The giant looming question is "Does the new machine justify the cost over a proven Replicator-2 for less money"?

This is the fundamental problem here in the group. For users who have significant investment (AKA already own a MakerBot, already know the software, already know the basics of 3d printing, "Why should you consider this machine as an upgrade to to what you have?" What is so much better you should run out and blow nearly $3k?

 

Then, there is a group of new users who are all new to this machine and MakerBot in general with an open mind. They have their perspective it's doing what they expected it to do.

They don't yet know the sting of an air print after 10-12 hours of printing. They haven't seen what a competing $1200-1400 machine from a competitor can do.

They don't know the past experience of buying a new bot, then finding out you have to pay for the replacement parts and upgrades on parts that should never fail.

They haven't kicked over the firmware and know the difference between an improved motion control and something that just slams the machine around.

 

Hoping and praying they "enable" the "smart" extruder seems "dumb" IMO.

It's almost all caused by firmware, and I don't yet have the confidence they even know how to address half these issues.

Common sense says that if they couldn't even have a non-functing but present version of the feature at launch, what in the world makes you believe it will  "work right" in the first version they enable it?

It's one thing if a single feature is broken, it's a whole different ballgame when most of the advanced features that are major selling points to justify buying this over a Replicator 2 show no signs of remotely working, let alone working to expected function.

"the list"

LCD displays are often jumpy or off screen

Error messages can be cryptic and indicate massive underlying code problems.

Loud motion control noises indicating a very bad motion control system in the firmware that may be fundamentall flawed since it was developed in-house.

Wifi- yeah right, hold you breath waiting for this promised feature (Hint, if the very Linux OS is broken, who at MBI is going to fix this one?)

Complete and utter incompatibility with any existing 3rd party software or tools

Complete and utter incompatibliltiy with gcode and X3G

Smart extruder doesn't detect any failures. (AKA dumb extruder)

 

I guess the one good positive argument is firmware can be corrected and users can flash it in the field without having to send in the hardware. So of all the problems to have, this one I guess could be overcome. On the other hand, what I have descibed are fundamental issues caused by the very new system developed. If you don't like it now, it's not like things are going to change in the future easily. The firmware is tied to the Desktop software. The odds of chaning both are just not practical. 

So you either love this new system and embrace it.

Or

You hate it and know it can never be right in your eyes.

 

 

(the below statement is meant to be humor, loosely based on reports of what it takes to make this work, do not take as a factual statement about the camera function)

Great, so the camera "works", but only on Thursday at high tide, when you stand on your head, after having performed a several minute long firmware update, and only on Windows Vista.

[autonomy autonomy]

The camera works over here but only remotely (i.e. can't see images from a local version of Makerbot Desktop). Unfortunately, the camera is not as exciting as it sounds. It does have a wide field of view, but that means things look very small. Here's an example of a print I'm currently doing (I blurred out a couple of areas for privacy reasons)

That's pretty much the full-size image you see in the software and there doesn't seem to be a way to enlarge it. I can tell the extruder is not spewing spaghetti out, so I guess that's good.

By the way, it looks like there's a new firmware version available, 1.0.1.18. Haven't tried it yet.

Also, here's another pet-peeve - the printer is networked, which is great (though wireless doesn't work). But I STILL have to press the rotary button to initiate the print. How come?

[Justin Keenan]

Yeah, I've put almost 120 hours on my gen 5. But then I had a clog, which I didn't feel comfortable enough to fix, if I happened to void my warranty I would be 350 out of pocket. I have to admit it is a great printer and I know extruders clog. For me, all of the features advertised, I knew most of them wouldn't be functional (or at least now). But I think it has great potential still, they just have to still iron out a few things.

[Microdev]

I've had nothing but problems with my new 5th Gen.  After 2 days of trying, I have been unable to get a steady series of prints.

After a few very basic small prints (< 3cm sq and 3-5mm tall), the nozzle clogged.  I unloaded and tried unsuccessfully to load the filament.  I removed the nozzle and made sure it was clear.  Eventually, I opened up the extruder to find that the clog appeared prior to entering the heatsink tube.  Putting it all back together resulted in a few more successful small part prints.

I then tried a simple 75mm cube test with only a 10% infill.  About half way through, the printer stopped with a "Error 57: Heater Temperature Sag Triggered" failure.  This time, upon removing the extruder, I noticed the entire bottom of the extruder around the nozzle was caked in melted PLA.  After an hour of cleaning that out, I tried the cube again.  It gets about 1% into making the raft and again, Error 57 and the head is stuck.

What sucks about the head design is that it clog easily and there is no easy way to open it and service it.  I mean, come on, how hard would it be to use 4 screws instead of 6 super weak clips?  If the nozzle was 3 or 4mm longer, it would be much more difficult for the PLA to gunk up around the heater element.

I have the heat sink with 6 rings (supposedly the new one), and I was expecting some issues, but this is ridiculous.  I've opened a support case, but I am ready to pack this thing up and send it back.  IMO, it is completely unreliable and grossly overpriced.

[Amir Jonis]

Hey.

I'm in a similar boat as everyone else here. Purchased a Replicator Makerbot 5. Had some issues with having my computer detect it, but all things aside, it printed fine for about a day. Now it's clogged up and I'm at loss at how to fix it. Judging by all the complaints I've read here I'm not that happy to learn that it's problaby just going to clog up again if I get a new extruder.

I am hoping to recieve at least two new extruders, so that in case one gets clogged up again, I can just swap it out immediately with low downtime.
I did open a support ticket, no response yet.

[Bryon Miller]

They charge $350 for that garbage extruder?  I wonder how much they would charge for one that was properly designed.

[Ryan Carlyle]

Make sure you CALL Makerbot Support. They are very unresponsive with email.

[lassi kinnunen]

http://store.makerbot.com/replicator

CAMERA RESOLUTION320 X 240

you might think that's a joke in 2014, but no. you will not get higher resolution("bigger") pictures out of it.

-lassi

[Eelco Wagenaar]

Hi,

Just got mine (repl 5th gen) 2 days ago.. I do have the same problem with the offset.. My offset is just slightly, but every layer shifts a little, so all my parts are sloped :-(
Also having troubles connecting USB via mac...
Anyway, I'll keep on trying..
best,
Eelco


Op zondag 16 maart 2014 14:49:02 UTC+1 schreef Alan Van Ryzin:

[mike copioli]

I to am having major issues with my Makerbot 5th gen.  We purchase the printer for the purpose of making test fixtures.  The first few prints were acceptable.  Since then we have been battling clogged extruder, frequent airprinting and misfeeding.  MB did send us a new extruder and that seems to have fixed the clogging (at least so far)  however I have not been able to complete a print to really tell since the machine now only airprints.  In spite of several attempts to reach MB support and get answers I was either met with the generic email support ticket response that simple repeats the trouble shooting steps on the web site or placed on hold for an hour.  Our business relies on this machine to print out test fixtures.  We must have a working solution soon.  Very disappointed in the product and level of service from MB.  I think MB owes their customers more than this.  As far as I am concerned this product is as good as garbage.  I own a company that manufactures automation and control systems.  I would never consider releasing a product with this many issues.  The GUI has may bugs.  The printer occasionally stops because it thinks it's out of filament.  The extruder head either buries itself into the build plate or sits way to far above it causing the resultant pile of spaghetti.  These problems are easily reproducible and a unit test written by one of our interns would find the issue in about 30 seconds.  I intend to ask for a full refund tomorrow.  I am sure I will be fought n this as well.  

 Unacceptable.