jstarne1
Just like i did with the Solidoodle I am sharing my overall experience purchasing a new makerbot. I will compare some of the same prints i did on the solidoodle with makerbot. Take in mind 80 percent of the difference is firmware for the "reprap" makerbot controller and the Makerbot slicer is more consistent than the open source SLIC3R. Also I have a used unit that I have had for a week while still waiting on the new one. First things you should know is I like to get the best reasonable deal i can. I discovered a few Promos for Makerbot you can also take advantage of if you call their sales line. Take in mind not all promos work on their website. Currently ( as of April 7 2014) Replicator 2 systems are on sale at 200 dollars off without a promo code as well.
$200 off purchase price PROMO MAKERBOTFRIEND
Free Shipping PROMO LASTCHANCE
( this is emailed to you if you add any item to you cart and don't complete a order)
Filament 15% off BIRDHOUSE
at this time buy any 4 spools of filament get additional 10% off
20% gold conference pass BOT
Alternatively Amazon has makerbot filaments with free shipping if you need them quicker as well.
At this time the filaments i have and price before discounts to use are:
- Makerbot 4 rolls of white ( 8.8 pounds) $48 x 4
- Makerbot 1 roll of clear ( 2.2 pounds) $48
on the way are:
-Makerbot 1 translucent red (2.2 pounds) $65 -Makerbot 1 black filament (2.2 pounds) $48
-Ninja Flex black 1.1 pounds $60 -Ninja Flex red 1.1 pounds $60 -Ninja Flex white 1.1 pounds $60
Between the inconsistencies in the quality of makerbot filament and the fact the "clear" made prints that look like bees wax I considered looking at outside vendors for filaments.
This is a 5 inch "ironman style" ARC reactor I was printing and the ring and center pieces call for a semi transparent material that I thought the clear PLA would work well in. I have two rolls of clear makerbot pla filament and found the filament to be brittle and like in the picture has a yellow discoloring to them. I will just use it to test fits from now on as it is useless unless I want to print a honeycomb.
I placed a large order online for these rolls. I only ordered 7 rolls but they sent an extra two white rolls and a coupon code for 20 percent off and free shipping for my next order. My only complaint is the hole in the center of the spools is tool small to fit onto my original spool holder so I can ONLY use these smaller rolls in a hang over the top feed position. No guide tube is used for this position but there is always a risk of filament tangles. To reduce this chance I Butt a couple rolls of the same size on each side of the spool being used.
This shows the overhang spool position works great for the bottom printer.
even with the cabinet warmed to 80 degrees the thermocouples are still struggling to maintain temp.So far this filamex branded filament is doing much better than the makerbot. It's not as brittle and so far I am not seeing yellow.
The top printer is chugging away making the ARC reactor cage and face parts. I noticed black makerbot filament is not extruding as smoothly as the white. It appears thicker when heated. I have been told this is due to the larger amounts of tint used to color the black filament. I could not print without a raft as this filament didn't squish as well as white Pla does.
Josh, this is all good info. Keep it coming.
BTW, what is the best way to contact you about a possible 3D printing project?
[email protected]
This parts are just pressed together here. I must add in several leds to light the unit. 5mm holes are already in the bottom of the clear centerpiece for leds. One piece snapped as I was separating the raft from it. The black pla is much more brittle than the clear Filamex PLA. Anyways overall it looks pretty good.
Email sent. Read over it when you get a chance.