Ordering my Robo3D R1 today.

I am joining the ranks of Roborians. I have spent the last few month researching and saving my pennies and finally ready to pull the trigger. It came down to the Printrbot Simple Metal and the Robo3D. The bigger build envelope and the stuff I have read so far on this forum were a couple of the deciding factors. Although the Printrbot community is pretty awesome too.

I am in the NC Piedmont region just south of Charlotte. Hope to be a contributing member of this community as I love experimenting and problem solving.

I want to thank the Robo guys for continually improving this product and hope they continue to do so.

Bud

 

Just wanted to add, that I do have a few things up on Thingiverse and some stuff on YouMagine. Same username as used here. Most of the stuff is related to action cameras as I am a cyclist that rides with one nearly all the time. There are a very few other things up there also.

Bud

 

Thanks Mike. Now the hard part, waiting for the printer to arrive. At least I work from home so I'll be here when its delivered.

Bud

 

My RoboR1 shipped from Atlanta, GA on Tuesday evening, expected delivery in Charlotte is Thursday. First thing I plan to do is re-assemble the printer. I usually check every nut and screw on all mechanical devices I get. I will use thread locker where appropriate. This will cause me to take a step back and not just jump straight into printing stuff. I have looked over the many upgrades listed in the forum here and on Thingiverse so likely they will be the first prints I make after calibration objects.

 

That approach will save you untold hours of tweaking, cursing, etc...
Add sanity check the firmware to your list and you are golden.

 

It just comes from years of working on stuff I use. Don't trust anyone else putting something together that I could do with more care myself. My hobby is cycling and every bicycle I have ever owned was disassembled and reassembled before the first ride. Just a habit I guess.

 

Got my printer all set up, but alas one broken part in the box. I have already made a parts request for a Y-Axis Belt Tensioner, but I repaired it with some Bondic and a couple of electrical ties. Hope it lasts long enough to calibrate and print a replacement while I wait for a genuine part from Robo.

Aside from the broken part, here is my impressions pre-printing anything:

1. The double boxes keep the retail box well protected. and the amount of expanded polystyrene secures the printer very well inside it. Almost too well as the only way I could remove the printer from the box was to turn it upside down and slide it out.
2. I am not overly fond of the shape or the quality of the ABS plastic used in the case. But it is an $800 printer so compromises are to be expected.
3. I did not have any loose screws but none of the metal to metal screws had any thread locker on them. Not a real big issues as I was checking every screw anyway. The ones that used a nylon insert lock nut were sufficiently tight and not over tightened.
4. The fans are exceptionally noisy. I have a box with some only Noctua and Nexus fans so I will likely replace every one with something quieter.
5. I did not bother with the software provided as I already had Cura set up per Mike Kelly's thread, Nice that it was on a microSD, I can reuse it for something else.
6. A few nitpicks are: The warning sticker on the back covered some of the vent slots. The Do Not Touch stickers were peeling and had a bit of oily residue on them. Not a problem if I wanted to I could use my Silhoutte and cut some new ones out of adhesive laser print vinyl. Some of the Philips heads had a bit of rounding, I suspect from not completely careful assembly.

At this point I am ready to start the manual bed leveling before I start on the automated G29 Tramming. We shall see how everything goes.

 

Good luck. They have lacked (and needed) thread-lock from day one. I added loctite to all of mine.
Cura and Repetier host are both good or excellent choices (if you want superb then eventually shell out for Simplify3D. It might end up depending on your need for workable Support material).

 

Also, any original phillips head screws I removed I just replaced with hexheads.

 

Like minds, I have boxes of metric socket head cap screws in all sizes and lengths for my multi-rotors, so I now have a polybag full of Philips head screws I already removed and replaced in the Robo. I will keep them with the few tools they sent, since I don't need those either.

 

I am encouraged by the stuff I am seeing from Craftware.