Buying a Second Printer

Ben, This is from the hip! If you build a printer you will learn about printers thru pure pain and frustration and it will probably be a while before you get anything barely resembling a good print. If you buy the Robo you have something ready to go shortly after opening the box. This forum is great support for the product also the company is great support. The guarantee for Robo has a company that stands behind there product. I had a jump in problem similar to yours. I was going to build a kit but now see that the pain would not have been worth it. Yea, I have had problems with the Robo, but most were caused by my lack of knowledge of 3D printers. Just dive in and get it. Filament is cheap compared to what it would cost to buy the items you make. I use Hatchbox which is $20 something a reel. Free shipping from Amazon if you buy two at a time. I presently have about 15 reels in various colors. Mostly ABS, but some exotics..
Hay, you sound like you are a worst procrastinator than me. lol Frank

 

Mark, thank you, that was an immensely helpful post. After reading that, I am pretty sure I would be fine. After September I will have about $60 a month for upgrades or buying filament, so I think I will be good. I would love to kame some money with a 3D printer, but I wouldn't be disappointed if I couldn't. I like the idea of a good support community, and from the company.

Frank, Honestly, pain and suffering really doesn't appeal to me. I have struggled with depression and anxiety for a decade or two, so I am pretty sure that a kit would not be a good choice for me right now. The community here, for the Robo sounds really good.

True, I am a bit of a procrastinator, though I think that is mostly connected to my other issues. When I feel energized, I can be a force to be reckoned with.

I want a 3D printer for prototyping, hobbies, and creating gifts. Making money off of it would be great, but it isn't my primary goal. I am fine with maintenance, upgrades, and such. But I am very much against having to wait a long time to get a single decent print.

Allow me to explain my financials a bit, it may make things clearer. I have a secured credit card in order to build credit. This means that the bank holds back about $750 of my savings account, and I have a card with a $500 limit. Any increase in credit limit means an increase in held back funds.
So, I came up with the idea that I could buy gift cards on Amazon to cover what my credit card couldn't. I purchased $400 in gift cards on Amazon in anticipation of buying the Robo. Then I heard about the imminent release of the Plus, so I proceeded to do some research, and asked questions. Then I decided to wait for the Plus.

Now I am waiting patiently as possible for the Plus to get to Amazon so I can buy it. It isn't procrastination, but simply my impatience showing through. I am chomping at the bit to buy a Robo Plus so that I can get to printing out everything I have been wanting to print. I want to have the most recent model so that I don't have to buy an upgrade that is included in the Plus.

 

Pain and suffering only applies if you don't bother to read instructions and/or have no mechanical aptitude at all.

LOfnL at thinking anything 3d Printed will bypass a long wait time.

 

I have no intention of skipping the instructions with the Robo, I want to avoid as many human error issues as possible. I have a fair amount of skill in troubleshooting. I can usually spot a problem pretty quickly.
Do you think that being able to put together Legos and Lego Mindstorms devices indicates good mechanical aptitude? I also completed the mechatronics program at one of the local community colleges. I even got a cool robotic arm out of one of the classes.

I don't mind a learning curve, I am pretty used to them. I completely agree, I have seen how helpful the community is here. Top that with the warrantee, and that makes the Robo quite attractive.

 

Instructions are only good when built on some prior knowledge. Just a thought.
Here's a helpful hint on the prior knowledge. Go to the Robo webb site and download the manual. it is in PDF format so it is easy to copy. I copied all 49 pages. Frank

 

Thank you for the advice Frank, I will take a look at the Manual.

 

Saw the ad for the new Robo R1+.
It was short on facts, but I did notice that the Z threaded rails were black and had 'solid' couplings.
Also they moved the X carriage switch again. Mine is on the carriage, I have seen them on the left rail block assy.,
and the + has it on the right rail assy. Go figgure! Frank
I just printed this. Osprey claw I think the R1 will print almost anything.

 

Interesting, do you figure the altered X switch is an experiment, an attempt to differentiate the versions of the printer, or perhaps there is some practical reason?

Cool print, if I didn't know any better, I would think it was a bird's claw.

 

The X home switch had me going. Almost looks like it homes on righ side for some reason.
The claw is an osprey. It was made from an actual scan made in a German museum.
I am thinking about putting 24kt gold plate on it and mounting it on red velvet like this one.
The final touch will be the black walnut plack I will mount it on. I do art work.
You can make money with this thing. lol Frank