Two-color Makerbot released • Hacker News Board

Re: Two-color Makerbot released

#11

Post by gravitronic » Mon, Jan 09, 2012, 9:27 PM UTC

Intropy wrote: post #7

gravitronic wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have a specific target you want to make? If so you should ask on one of the 3d printing forums "would an original makerbot be suitable for _x_". If not, then an original makerbot would be a good first unit. From what I can tell, great community support which will help you figure out what you need. As a person who has built their own CNC from a kit, I can tell you that these things are not like "printers for th…

Thanks for the advice, any recommendations for the most active community online? The Google Group linked at the Makerbot site seems pretty sparse, as does the Makerbot section at CNCZone.

http://wiki.makerbot.com/forum:start

Also look up if there's any hackerspaces in your area and join their mailing list/forum. I met a number of makerbot, reprap, and CNC owners this way in my city.

Re: Two-color Makerbot released

#12

Post by replicatorblog » Mon, Jan 09, 2012, 9:43 PM UTC

Intropy wrote: post #2

I'm new to the 3D printing scene and I was about to order a Makerbot last week but heard they would be making a CES announcement this week. Any advice from more experienced hackers regarding whether it is worth holding out for this new model with the dual extruder?

Intropy - I've been blogging about MakerBot and other bits and atoms businesses for 4+ years (http://replicatorinc.com). Just after Thanksgiving I bought a discounted MakerBot Thing-O-Matic.

If you have an extra $900 I'd recommend the Replicator. The extra size, dual extruders, and preassembly are a huge upgrade. Being able to print support materials will give you huge flexibility and the Automated Build Platform on the ToM is no equal for a bigger build table.

I'm happy with the ToM and might try the dual extruder at some point.

My only concern about the Replicator would be the fact that it is pre-built. The MakerBot assembly instructions are horribly out of date and can be misleading. The software UI is kind of flaky. The support documentation is not very helpful and is filled with errors. I'd be very concerned about buying something preassembled by that crew. They seem nice, but more focused on being hip than "Six Sigma".

That said, I'm happy with my machine so far. It's fun to be on the bleeding edge of this tech, but if you buy, be prepared to get your hands dirty fixing and tweaking the machine.

Feel free to contact me offline with any questions! jflaherty@replicatorinc.com

Re: Two-color Makerbot released

#13

Post by bobds » Mon, Jan 09, 2012, 9:51 PM UTC

Intropy wrote: post #2

I'm new to the 3D printing scene and I was about to order a Makerbot last week but heard they would be making a CES announcement this week. Any advice from more experienced hackers regarding whether it is worth holding out for this new model with the dual extruder?

Don't get a Makerbot. It's not bad but you can do much better. Assuming you are in the US, here are some recommendations:

http://www.makergear.com/

MakerGear makes great printers. Amazing customer support and they even have an IRC channel on Freenode where you can interact with the chief maker.

http://www.lulzbot.com/en/86-assembled-lulzbot-prusa-mendel-...

Lulzbot is another good option.

I recommend building it yourself. It will be much easier to fix stuff when it breaks if you go that way. You can buy a kit from the above companies, or if you want to source parts from different companies, check out Ebay and Emakershop.com.

Re: Two-color Makerbot released

#14

Post by pingswept » Mon, Jan 09, 2012, 9:53 PM UTC

gravitronic wrote: post #11

Intropy wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the advice, any recommendations for the most active community online? The Google Group linked at the Makerbot site seems pretty sparse, as does the Makerbot section at CNCZone.

http://wiki.makerbot.com/forum:start Also look up if there's any hackerspaces in your area and join their mailing list/forum. I met a number of makerbot, reprap, and CNC owners this way in my city.

Think Haus in Hamilton, ON, maybe? (OP appears to be from Ontario, judging by previous comments.)

Re: Two-color Makerbot released

#15

Post by gravitronic » Mon, Jan 09, 2012, 10:13 PM UTC

pingswept wrote: post #14

gravitronic wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

http://wiki.makerbot.com/forum:start Also look up if there's any hackerspaces in your area and join their mailing list/forum. I met a number of makerbot, reprap, and CNC owners this way in my city.

Think Haus in Hamilton, ON, maybe? (OP appears to be from Ontario, judging by previous comments.)

Interesting.. I'm in Ottawa and there's a good community here:

http://artengine.ca/community/modlab-en.php

Re: Two-color Makerbot released

#16

Post by ChuckMcM » Mon, Jan 09, 2012, 10:17 PM UTC

This is pretty cool, and of course their store has crashed as far as I can tell.

There has been an error processing your request

  SQLSTATE[HY000] [2003] Can't connect to MySQL server on 'ip-10-100-197-179.ec2.internal' (4)

  Trace:

  #0 /home/makerb0t/web/store.makerbot.com/lib/Zend/Db/Adapter/Pdo/Mysql.php(96): Zend_Db_Adapter_Pdo_Abstract->_connect()

  #1 /home/makerb0t/web/store.makerbot.com/lib/Varien/Db/Adapter/Pdo/Mysql.php(251): Zend_Db_Adapter_Pdo_Mysql->_connect()

  #2 /home/makerb0t/web/store.makerbot.com/lib/Zend/Db/Adapter/Abstract.php(448): Varien_Db_Adapter_Pdo_Mysql->_connect()

     ...

But the new larger build area, and the dual colors, and better integration of the electronics so they are 'out of the way' instead of bolted to the side. Its only a matter of time before HP comes out with one for only $399 but feedstock will be $199 per 50' roll :-)

Re: Two-color Makerbot released

#17

Post by Intropy » Mon, Jan 09, 2012, 10:19 PM UTC

pingswept wrote: post #14

gravitronic wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

http://wiki.makerbot.com/forum:start Also look up if there's any hackerspaces in your area and join their mailing list/forum. I met a number of makerbot, reprap, and CNC owners this way in my city.

Think Haus in Hamilton, ON, maybe? (OP appears to be from Ontario, judging by previous comments.)

Yeah I'm from Toronto, I've visited a local hacker space here (hacklab.to) several times. I saw several different 3d printers there over the course of a few visits. They inspired me to go ahead and take the plunge for myself.

Re: Two-color Makerbot released

#18

Post by jfoutz » Mon, Jan 09, 2012, 11:05 PM UTC

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #6

No clips of it in action. How does it support a model under construction? Some matrix material? A jig you have to make separately? How do parts get built assembled, without adhering? What's the resolution? Those examples seem quite coarse/blocky.

On my really old cupcake i can get about .3mm resolution. You can do support material, you just cut off the extra material at the end. small gaps and mild overhangs don't require support material (like that rabbit).

parts are made out of a thin tube of plastic. it's liquid and bonds to the layer below, then cools and hardens. they're claimed to be about 1/3 the strength of straight ABS (lego plastic). you can print solid, which seems really really strong, but most things are hollow, or just a thin webbing inside.

modern machines can get i've had nothing but positive experiences with makerbot support. I got mine very early, the design was still quite rough. i'll probably build another 3d printers soon, but likely a mendelmax. I'm just a lot more competent now.

That said, any makerbot would be an excellent first 3d printer. relatively cheap, good community and commercial support, everything is open.

Re: Two-color Makerbot released

#19

Post by tlrobinson » Mon, Jan 09, 2012, 11:19 PM UTC

techknight wrote: post #4

They were already selling two-colour Makerbots. (Thing-o-Matics with dual MK7 extruders.) The significant bit today is the large build area in the new Replicator.

Also they're preassembled, for significantly less than the pre-assembled Think-o-matic.

Where did they sell dual MK7 extruders?

Re: Two-color Makerbot released

#20

Post by swishercutter » Mon, Jan 09, 2012, 11:58 PM UTC

I prefer Reprap. Save the money and spend it developing new expansions. My original Mendel has a 210x210x136mm build area and that is pretty much stock. Nophead's Mendel90 is soon to be released and appears to be a very stable and scalable design.

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