New Matter updates

[Feign]

Well, they haven't exactly announced a retail date, just "later this year". And the context of the statement was along the lines of "If you need to get a refund due to the delay, remember that it will cost just under $400 at retail later this year, so your patience is saving you some money." Not so much an announcement, as a matter-of-fact statement that leaked some information.

I doubt they'll even have them up for pre-order until at least the All-Star pledges have shipped.

[Robotico]

Hi Feign,

What do you think of the last few updates? I'm also a contributor and thought that update #30 had some interesting technical content.

[Duck]

Can you share some of the technical content?

[Robotico]

Can you share some of the technical content?

Hi Duck,

I guess I can. I just didn't want to take over Feign's thread since he was posting updates about the New Matter contributor updates. On update 30 they talked about a "secret sauce" coating on their guide rods and also showed some close-up pictures of the rods.

Here is a copy and paste of that section of the update:
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One of the things that will make the MOD-t so awesome and easy to use is that it is going to require minimal maintenance! The machine will not need to be lubricated or maintained by the user – it’s essentially “lubed for life”. This means that the vertical guide rods and pinion rods will not need to be greased or oiled. Eliminating oil or grease from the rods will keep the machine and user clean and will prevent the accumulation of dust or grime (and who's got time for that?).


The MOD-t's guide rods on the left and pinion rods to the right. Close up shot to see the shiny protective sauce (click to enlarge).

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Seems like pretty cool stuff.

[Duck]

Looks like electroless nickel or nickel flash. No magic. Just picking the right surface finish.

[Feign]

Hi guys, I'm really sorry I suddenly went quiet the way I did. I got a new job (which I might have time to post about tomorrow) that has kept me quite busy alongside other aspects of my life suddenly moving at a much faster pace and this thread (and the board in general, to be honest) kind of completely slipped from my mind in all the chaos.

As for the update, the coating does look quite slick and stylish, it'll definitely show off the pinion action as the printer operates.

[curious aardvark]

so have any of these shipped yet ?

The micro may be crap - but it is almost shipping and there are demo models out there.

[Feign]

I'm one of the super-early-bird pledges and last time they contacted me they said September. I'm actually inclined to believe them.

Their last update (last week) had some pictures from their factory in China. This one being the latest:

IMO, it looks like a nice assembly line, though they have a little way yet to go with it (tools, parts stock, people, etc.). The update also talks about their testing and QA line in Pasadena, but no pictures yet.

They also mention that they're reaching out to beta testers. I don't expect to be on that list, since I work for another 3D printer company (though IMO, the MOD-t and the Hyrel printers aren't really competitors, being in completely different market categories).

[curious aardvark]

lol no definitely no competition between hyrel and new matter :-)

so when did you sign up for your printer ?
ie: if it is delivered in september - how long would it have taken ?
Given that new matter are one of the most proifessional looking outfits to come out of the crowdfunding 3d printer scene. Curious to know how long even the business savvy companies take to get up and running.

[Feign]

If everything had actually gone to their schedule, I would have gotten mine in April, so that's four months late. On the other hand, it seems like the entire country of China took a two month vacation during this year's Chinese New Year, which caused something like a traffic jam in the entire global manufacturing industry. I'm not gonna get mad at China though, they've been needing a vacation for a while.

And hey, since it is Friday, there was a new update with some bios on a few more 3D designers for the store and a picture of the first MOD-t off the actual production line.

Don't get too excited, it still has to go through QA, calibration and probably some final software debugging.