Cobblebot 3D Printer

[curious aardvark]

I see so many crowdfunded 3D printers, and have known several that have been dissapointing. Makibox took 15 months and the structure is still questionable at best. Part of that delay was "mission creep", I think trying to do a pellet extruder when it wasn't promised or even development work started yet. Buccaneer reneged on the heated bed and was supposed to deliver Feb 2014. I know some people got them by the videos, but I'm not sure if they're actually done shipping the rewards yet.

There's been a couple 3D printer cancellations lately, before the campaign finished, and that was a good thing in both cases.

Yes, he finally showed the machine printing a calibration cube, one that's a bit flawed at that. I doubt he built the Dalek or Yoda using that machine if he's later showing off the build of a calibration cube as proof the machine works.

These people are trying to outdo each other on price. And that's deadly for people that don't appear to have business, engineering or logistics experience. Most of these situations, I think you're most likely buying a box of frustrations, assuming you even get the box.

speaking as someone who will never get their makibox (was told it had shipped in march - turns out it's still in a warehouse in hongkong) and has moved on to a flashforge, that not only turned up in 3 days but is way better than I had hoped, can't agree more.

You simply can't produce machines like this, for that kind of money without setting up a proper factory environment.
A lot of these kickstarters are hobbyists who think they can design a printer and make lots of money.
Little thought is given to who's going to build the machines, pack them, do the taxes etc.

That's where makible fell down. They didn't factor in all the extra labour, plus all the costs of replacing the really dodgy hotends and ended up using the money supposedly for shipping to pay wages and buy in extra parts.
They turned their office space into a large workshop and called it a factory.

It's a salutory lesson I've learnt. No matter how good it looks, or how enthusiastic the seller/manufacturer is about their new design. If it's not being offered at a practical price - and $200-300 just isn't enough - the whole business model just can't work.

There are makiboxes out in the wild that are turning out some really nice prints. But they've pretty much all been extensively modified by their owners.

I paid more for the flashforge, but it's a proven, practical and robust design. okay maybe a few years old now - but it works, consistently and has so far printed every thing Ive thrown at it.
Innovation is fine - but it needs to go hand in hand with business savvy and a practical approach to manufacturing and distribution.