Solidoodle Unveils 3 New 3d Printers: Solidoodle Press, Workbench & Apprentice

After months of delay, Solidoodle customers will finally be receiving their Solidoodle Press 3D printers, along with the Workbench and the Workbench Apprentice, as shipping has commenced. Solidoodle owner Sam Cervantes has been issuing statements all along concerning the delays which began around the time pre-sales started in August with design errors that had to be fixed, post-assembly issues to the 3D printers themselves that had to be fixed, along with manufacturing and shipping challenges that presented themselves. See more details about this long-delayed release: http://3dprint.com/31395/solidoodle-...rs-in-transit/ ‎

Below is the expected schedule for shipment based on order number:
http://3dprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/sol.png

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Originally Posted by LambdaFF

wait wait. If I see it correctly, they don't actually make the bed level, they correct the actual plane by software ?
It'll be interesting to see if they get more hits of the heads with prints.

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The actual gcode is altered. Obviously less than ideal, but what do you expect for the price.

No printer with "auto bed leveling" physically adjusts the plane of the bed relative to the gantry. It's all interpolation in software. Nothing new, different or out of the ordinary for the Press.

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Originally Posted by Duck

No printer with "auto bed leveling" physically adjusts the plane of the bed relative to the gantry. It's all interpolation in software. Nothing new, different or out of the ordinary for the Press.

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Firmware adjustment vs gcode adjustment. Firmware or eeprom adjustment is good, gcode is bad IMO. Problem with the Gcode method is that it creates a one off file that can never be reprinted.

The first press printers are begining to ship out! Cant wait to get mine

Proceeds will go to everyone who received a faulty printer.

http://www.gofundme.com/mueb4k

Please excuse the long windedness but I have a lot to say.

Back in September a friend of mine who uses the Solidoodle 2 and has had great experience with the product sent me a promotional option for buying their new 3D printer the "Solidoodle Press". I bought the printer in September 2014 on Presale for 15% less than the market price, and their target shipment date was 1 month, awesome. The printer delivery date was pushed back, and back, and back all the way to 4 months, The CEO's reasoning was that it has gone through extensive quality tests before shipment, great! After 4 months of waiting, I recieved the printer Mid Feburary 2015.

I did months of research before it arrived so I was prepared to use and maintain the printer. Right after unboxing the product I realized that there was no detailed manual but a 5 page booklet, only 2 of which show setup. The software link that was in the booklet didn't work so I had to google it to download the "Soliprint" software, which looks like it was developed by an 10 year old on SCRATCH. (In fact my 10 year old son creates better programs)

The first time I ran a calibration test I encountered a problem, the extruder cable flops around inside the upper part of the enclosure and constantly jams either the X or Y axes, causing the stepper motors to stall, wow. Okay, well I attached a rubber band to the cable to keep it from jamming the printer, however it had already stripped some gears, but they still seem to work decently.

The second problem occurred when I fixed the first problem. When the bed is moving in the up and down axis, the bed bottomed out onto the printer nozzle stripping ever more gears; making a horrible sound which I could not stop until I unplugged the printer. After researching on google I found the limit switch in this axis. Why was it not in the manual? Why was there no manual to begin with?

The third problem occurred after I fixed the second problem. When the printer bed bottomed out on the print nozzle, it bent the print bed. Now the automated bed leveling can't even work because the printer bent it's own bed at least 5º, it destroyed itself. Even the z axis calibration program could not compensate for this, so nothing would stick to the print bed. The nozzle would drag itself through it's own print destroying it.

Okay, let’s call tech support, oh wait, Solidoodle does not accept phone calls, oh no.

So I try and give the printer bed a little cleaning and adjustment, as I have researched, this should fix the problems. The glass bed cracked, and the tiny 1.5mm set screw in the extruder got stuck so the extruder doesn't mate with the motor.

okay, I'll buy some new parts, this is where the above photo comes into play. Parts for the Solidoodle press are note ven available to be purchased.

I sent Solidoodle support an Email asking if I can buy parts to fix it, I just want my printer to work. I have not received any response except for an automated email. It has been weeks.

This printer was advertised as a plug&play, out-of-the-box experience that would work for ordinary consumers, without needing tweaking, modifications, and calibrations. After being delivered *3 months late,* it fulfills none of these promises. The software is pathetic, the hardware is plagued by cheap design decisions, and manufacturer support is nonexistent. I have not been able to meddle with the hardware and software to fix its egregious flaws.

I do not know what to do. I have never been so upset by a purchase in my entire life. I wake up sad because my dream of finally being able to print my 3D creations is crushed, and I cannot even fix it or get a refund. My kids are let down as much as I am.

My goal is to reach out to people who have had a similar experience as I have, and let them know that they are not alone. These proceeds will be split evenly to all who have had the same experience, and can contact me with a paypal account.

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These proceeds will be split evenly to all who have had the same experience, and can contact me with a paypal account.

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what proceeds - from what ?
From the above account it looks like you broke the printer yourself. I'm not commenting on the quality or build of the printer - but you definitely state you broke it yourself.

And why on earth should anybody give your crowdfunding site money ?

Hell at least you got a printer, even if you did break it. I'm currently 2 for 2.
One makibox paid for and eventually sold to someone else by makible to cover debts.
One klic-n-print printer won in the 3dprintboard competition - that's not going to be sent.

So you bought a printer, didn't like it, then broke it and now want other people to send you money.
Why on earth should they ?