A few questions to Mbot3D owners

[Victor Iakab]

Hi,

I've been planning for a while now to buy a 3D printer and Mbot3D is very close to checking all the marks on my list, so to speak. I like that it's enclosed and that it looks like an Ultimaker combined with a Makerbot a less than a 3rd cost. I am thinking of buying the plywood kit version with single extruder. Before committing to this, I would like to ask a few question to Mbot3D owners. I know that some answers are obvious or available from mbot website, but I would like to confirm these.


1- being a copy of Makerbot, I've heard that there might be some problems with the material feeding part to the extruder. I think Makerbot had this issue at first and than they upgraded the hot ends or the PLA feeding mechanism. Is this true? Are there any concerns about this part with stock Mbot extruder assembly?

2- still about the extruder, what are the realistic temperature capabilities? Will I be able to print with  ABS and other high temp materials?

3- what type of mainboard is used? Are there more firmwares available? Are there any major issues with updating?

4- does this mainboard support heated bed connection? Would a standard heated bed designed for Makerbot, work out of the box with Mbot?

5- is there any way to use Cura with Mbot? (I've heard that Cura is very good/fast/reliable. It would be a huge plus for me if I could use it)

6- if everything is set up right and working, is the print quality from Mbot really comparable to the way more expensive ones (the two mentioned above)?




Thanks for having the patience of going through these! Any other comments/concerns/tips will be greatly appreciated!
Just as a note, another printer from my short list is the similarly priced Printrbot Simple Metal kit. I know there are a lot of differences from Mbot so at the moment it's considered as a backup solution. I really really like the enclosed factor of Mbot.


Victor