EEVblog #318 - Makerbot Replicator 3D Printer Unboxing & Review

[SeanB]

I can get 3D fabbed rubber parts in Nitrile, Silicone or Ertalon and natural rubber very easily. Go to a seal supplier and they will make it for you to spec right there and then on a seal maker. Of course you do start with a bigger block though, and do subtractive manufacture on it. Ordered some seals for a special application, and ordered 10 so that I would have spares, at $12 each. Came in a plastic coin ziploc bag for the 10.

[T4P]

When you can buy this in Staples or Rymans I will buy one

http://www.objet.com/3d-printers/desktop/objet30-pro

There is a definite future for the 3d printer and I'm hoping in another 5 years they are as affordable as a laser colour printer is today.
I get all my 3d printing done at shapeways for now and even they have problems with their equipment.

I'd like to get something printed in rubber for my motorcycle but it seems noone does FLEXIBLE black rubber just yet (and rubber that is fuel,heat and crack resistant).


David.

As affordable? Well  YMMV
My LED toner MFP came in at 499SGD

[djsb]

£250 for a laser printer cartridge. WOW. As I don't have a laser printer maybe I should do some research before I open my mouth.

David.

[SeanB]

Steep, but I have seen them retail at that price. Wholesale or second source is often a lot less, and refilled are around 1/3 the cost of that price.

Why do you think I have a perfectly working Tektronix ( now Xerox) Phaser 360 printer on a shelf. Consumables were working out to close to $300 per month, and in the marketing blurb "Black is FREE". That just to turn it on, you would spend $500 every 2500 pages, though I had a workaround for that that got me to 5000 pages. the thing would either print 2 pages a day as test/clean, or you left it off and batched up jobs for a week otherwise you used a half of the supplies as startup on the thermal wax transfer drum.

[baljemmett]

£250 for a laser printer cartridge. WOW. As I don't have a laser printer maybe I should do some research before I open my mouth.

It depends a lot on what tier you're looking at -- the baby colour lasers, like the Samsung CLP-325 I was eyeing up recently or the Canon model I bought instead, clock in at around £40 - £50 per toner cartridge.  When you move up to more serious models the consumables get a lot pricier, but I imagine (hope!) they have correspondingly higher yields...

[T4P]

£250 for a laser printer cartridge. WOW. As I don't have a laser printer maybe I should do some research before I open my mouth.

David.

Nah, i mean the printer costs 499 SGD and the entire set of extended catridges cost 304 SGD ...
It's the Epson AcuLaser™ CX17NF

[nixxon]

According to makemagazine, Makerbot and the Replicator 2 will be introduced Sept. 29-30 in New York:

"Tour of the MakerBot Replicator 2":

nixxon

Edit: And then an official announcement from Bre Pettis, CEO Makerbot corp.:



MakerBot® Industries introduces the MakerBot® Replicator™ 2 Desktop 3D Printer, the company's easiest, fastest, and most affordable tool yet for making professional-quality models. Designed for the desktop of an engineer, researcher, creative professional, or anyone who loves to make things, the MakerBot Replicator 2 features 100-micron layer resolution, setting a new standard in professional looking models and true-to-life replicas. In addition, the MakerBot Replicator 2 enables users to make big objects, up to 410 cubic inches in volume (11.2" L x 6.0" W x 6.1" H).

www.makerbot.com/replicator2

[Bored@Work]

Seems like the wooden frame is history

Industrial-strength,  powder-coated
steel frame, made to handle high
printing speeds.

[Ed.Kloonk]

Makerbot Replicator 2.

Nice video. But how many pennies?

[EEVblog]

I'm a generation behind already.
Interesting looking build platform, some form arcylic?
No dual head?
Firmware looks the same 
But the new desktop software sounds good.
Lucky that Tangibot guy didn't get the money, by the time he delivered everyone would be using the Rep2 for 6 months!
Actually, it will be interesting to see the price.
If it is single head and more expensive, they might still be selling the Rep1.

Dave.

[Ed.Kloonk]

Lucky that Tangibot guy didn't get the money, by the time he delivered everyone would be using the Rep2 for 6 months!

He raised only 10%. What happens to the money people put up?

[dda]

The dual head is the replicator 2x (plus other 'experimenter' features - $2799) vs single head replicator 2 ($2199). Makezine is talking about makerbot going closed-source.

[Ed.Kloonk]

Two headed monster!

[EEVblog]

He raised only 10%. What happens to the money people put up?

Nothing. Money only changes hands if the funding reaches 100%.
It didn't get there, so no one is out of pocket. That's one of the neat parts about crowd funding.

Dave.

[Ed.Kloonk]

He raised only 10%. What happens to the money people put up?

Nothing. Money only changes hands if the funding reaches 100%.
It didn't get there, so no one is out of pocket. That's one of the neat parts about crowd funding.

Dave.

Just doesn't seem right. How are we supposed to fleece the dummy sucker investors of their cash now?

[Bored@Work]

Just doesn't seem right. How are we supposed to fleece the dummy sucker investors of their cash now?

They aren't even investors. They donate or pre-order, often just pre-ordering merchandise, not the real thing.

How to do it right? Offer something unique, something even impossible, make it a fashion statement (there always seems to be suckers if you offer something tiny and shiny instead of robust and usable when it comes to electronics), promise the moon, add buzzwords (like Arduino or Python when it comes to electronics - both a sure sign that it is something from idiots for idiots).

Or do what this Amanda Palmer musician/artist/alleged scientology member tried. She raised 1.2 million USD on kickstarter to produce a music album, accompanying video, going on tour and whatnot. And recently went out to ask musicians to effectively play for some beer money and merchandising on their tour.

That's the way you do it. Find idiots, and when you have the money try to find some more idiots. She just recently reversed that decision after some bad publicity, but 10/10 for trying to pull that one off. And if I understand it right, she even did managed to find some musicians who already played for free.

By the way, if you want to know how much of the $1.2 million went to scientology? She says non.

[Ed.Kloonk]

geez.

[Winston]

The Mean Well (is there no one in China who "Understands English Well"?) GS220A24 costs US$80 on eBay and US$128 on Mouser.  Very pricey!  But the specs, if true, look good:  http://www.meanwell.com/search/gs220/gs220-spec.pdf

About putting "Made in the USA" or "Made in Brooklyn" on the outside of the shipping box, I suspect that either the MB people aren't flag wavers, which would be to their credit IMO, or they want to avoid vandalism en-route ("How far can I drop/throw this box?") which might be encountered in a number of areas of the world.

[dolabra]

the more I think about it.   I think the Makerbot is irrelevant.   It's like comparing a ink jet photo printer to the industrial photo printer at your local drug store.  The revolution in 3d printing will come when the ability of an average person to design things in the same way that an average person has the ability to take pictures. Then 3d printing will become as available as photo printing.  I don't know anyone who prints pictures at home anymore.  It isn't worth it, for a few cents you get a photo that is why better quality than what you can produce at home without the hassle of buying ink cartridges and keeping your printer working well. If the average joe can create things and have them produced at the corner store, it will be a revolution.

[Bored@Work]

Another day, another 3D-printer kickstarter

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/formlabs/form-1-an-affordable-professional-3d-printer

This time with a twist. A stereolithography printer for the price of a Replicator. Sounds a little bit too good to be true.

[JoannaK]

Another day, another 3D-printer kickstarter

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/formlabs/form-1-an-affordable-professional-3d-printer

This time with a twist. A stereolithography printer for the price of a Replicator. Sounds a little bit too good to be true.

Time will tell, I know there have been people working on inexpensive stl-machines. No idea of this particular one though. It definitely looks like getting a lot of traction and I'm sure the adwantages over Rep2 will make some people to reconsider their purchase.