Solved My not so good unboxing

I just received my printer last night. Right out the box I notice there's a bunch of loose tools and bolts in the box not a good sign. Upon initial inspection I noticed the belt was not attached on one side. I saw on the other side of the belt it was just held there by zip ties, so I mimicked how it was secured on by adding my own zip. The loose bolt in the box appears to be a bolt for the rod on the side, but nope after checking both rods the bolts are present in their correct location. So what is this extra bolt for?!?!? (Pics attached)

Had a hell of a time trying to get my win7 64 bit machine to recognize the printer, but read on the forums a audino driver needs to be downloaded. The problem was solved.

Messing around with MatterControl trying to adjust the z/y axis I noticed it was being finicky or not working at all. Took off the upper case to see if there was anything loose or damaged. The culprit seems to be the wire in the attached picture not being connected. I did a quick electrical tape job for test purposes to see if that was the issue and sure enough it was.

Once I did the initial setup I was instructed to do by the getting started video I wanted to shoot out a calibration cube print. I put the filament in and pressed the extrude button in MatterControl to make sure it was coming out correctly. Right away it started to curl coming out the hot end then started to glob up. This was at 200 degrees. Everything after that just got clogged. 2 hours later after cleaning and unclogging everything I was ready to try to print again. Same issues curls then glob then stuck. It's now 2am in the morning and I'm just beat messing with this thing, I called it quits for the night.

I understand this printer would not work out the box and there would be some setup/calibration with the hardware. I like to tinker so I did not mind. However I did not expect hardware to be damaged and I definitely did not expect to FIX damaged hardware out the box.

I have emailed twice and hoping this can get resolved. The printer was ordered about 3 weeks ago via PayPal payment. I know I only have about 45 days to rectify things through paypal if the company doesn't rectify their own problem, so I filed a paypal claim just in case.

I did extensive research on the Robo 3d R1 before purchasing and it seemed like a great printer. Lot of the problems I have according to forum users are issues encountered with the first model R1s that were purchased through Kick Starter. Sometime has passed and you would think these issues would be solved. I know they had minor tweeks between versions, but it seems like those tweeks did not help me out.

I already ordered the Ultimaker 2 this morning and hopefully that works out for me. I have to make some wedding favors for my friend and the printer was needed ASAP.

I would love to return this unit for another, but at this point I think I'm just looking for a refund. I look at it as buying a brand new car with one cable disconnected that is preventing the car from functioning properly. I don't feel like it is up to me to dig around a brand new piece of hardware to determine what is broken. The whole experience just left a bad taste in my mouth and a bad feeling in my gut.

I did not write this to scare anyone away from purchasing this printer. I'm just sharing my story. Pretty sure this printer works great, but I couldn't get it to work properly at all. Hopefully this gets resolved quickly.

Thank you for reading.

 

Here's the Return/Refund policy:

Please work with RoBo3D on any issues you might have. Please allow them to complete their end of your agreement before resorting to forcing money back.

What you took a picture of is not a bolt but a linear bearing.

 

Thanks for the reply. I'm well within my 10 days if I'm reading that correctly. I have already emailed Robo 3D support.

I'm not forcing any money back. I'm protecting myself as a consumer. There's too many things that could go wrong with this whole refund/exchange process. 10 days is not a long period of time. You have to understand that $799.99 + tax and shipping is not play around money for me and the situation is serious.

If this situation can get resolved in 10 days that is more than adequate amount of time for Robo 3D as a seller to meet their PayPal requirements. The printer is boxed and ready to be shipped back already as soon as Robo 3D gets back to me. I'm fully aware I will lose my initial shipping costs and will have to ship the printer out using my own funds.

 

I understand, but you also agreed to their ToS when you checked out. With it they say that once it's opened they have the right to access the situation and determine if a refund is due or if they can resolve the problem by replacing the component or printer.

You did not give them this right by going over their head to PayPal. You making a claim insinuates they violated some part of their agreement, which they haven't. They simply can't prepare against all matter of shipping and transport issues, and problems may arise. As stated in their ToS. Please give them more than 48 hours before resorting to such means.

 

No where in your terms of sale does it say I can't speak to my payment institution to advise or help with a purchased product that I received and was not up to par. Point blank your terms of sale do not state I cannot go outside of your company to resolve an issue or receive mediation. I'm not forcing any kind of refund. As long as the Robo 3D company works with PayPal to provide the status of my return/exchange or refund everything should work out. I don't see what the issue is to update PayPal by telling them we(Robo 3D) will asses the buyers complaints and act accordingly. I'm more or so using them as a moderator for this situation. Your terms of service are in place to protect the Robo 3D company. Paypal protection and credit card protection is there for the buyer. There are federal laws and states laws that protect consumers. These laws will supersede your terms of sale most of the time anyways. As a company Robo 3D has it's rights and as a consumer I have my rights.

I can send the printer back not hear from Robo 3D in 30 days and potentially be out of my money and printer. Who knows what can happen in 30 days? Who knows if the situation can be rectified in 30 days? Not saying it's going to happen, but in the most extreme case scenario Robo 3D can go bankrupt in 30 days. None of us can predict the future, we can only make actions based off the information and facts that are current to this particular situation. Maybe if your terms of sale guaranteed a turn around time of 3o days I would feel a little more at ease. Just covering my rear and letting my payment institution aware of my situation.

Most times when a consumer spends big money on a product and it shows up not up to standards the consumer will always think of the worst case scenario which is losing out on a product or money and time. I'm no different.

I will do my part and make sure to stay in close contact with Robo 3D and to try to stay within the limits of their terms of sale to get this resolved, but I will also be in contact with PayPal just in case any unforeseen circumstances arise.

 

I don't work for robo 3d. The agreement is there to protect you as a consumer. If you didn't agree to the ToS you shouldn't have checked the box that said you did. If they do not hold up their end of the agreement, that's when you use paypals fraud protection. Right now you're using a system not as it's intended.

Honestly I find you confusing saying $800 is big money but apparently didn't bat an eye dropping $3000 on a ultimaker 2

 

I never said I didn't agree. I understand the company has to do their thing to find out the right corrective action. No problem with me. I also have to do what I must to protect myself.

$800 is a lot of money, so is $3000, your point?

Confused? What's there to be confused about? I do not want $800 of my money to be played with and or stuck in limbo for god knows how long. It's not something I can just lose and turn the other cheek, so to me it's very serious. I never said I was in dire need of money. If I had a functional printer or knew mine was being fixed/replaced I wouldn't have any fear that $800 was going to be total wash. Like I said in my last post as a consumer I'm just thinking of the worse case scenario.

I understand you do not work for Robo 3D, but you seem like a person who's never suffered a big loss when purchasing consumer goods. If that's not the case sorry for the assumption. I'm very paranoid when it comes to things like this. I don't mind spending money, but the uncertainty of what is going to happen to my printer or my $800 is a little alarming to me. I do apologize.


Thank you for your input. Please feel free to lock or delete this thread. I'm sure a resolution will come about from Robo 3D and at which point I will inform PayPal to close the claim.

 

You're right I've never suffered a big loss. Then again I pride myself on being an educated consumer and research expensive purchases to no end. If I understand you correctly you did research the RoBo but never found problems with it? I find that a little hard to believe considering how much is posted regarding issues. Stuff like a wire breaking or a zip tie coming undone is unfortunately common, but incredibly easy to fix.

Only thing I'm waiting on right now is $30 for some tap handles. Kinda given up hope of ever getting them.


It bears repeating that 3D printing on a maker level is very new and bugs are still getting worked out. Just look at how horrible the Replicator Gen 5 is.

Considering, at worst, you need to resolder a pin and put on a new zip tie, seems like your printer's fine.

They can ship you a new auto level wire bundle if you request.

The thing about their ToS is you agreed that if you opened the box they reserve the right to try and fix the printer before allowing a refund. Your problems are basic enough they'll most likely try and fix your issues instead of dealing with the hassle of a return.

The linear bearing probably just fell in the box. Weirder things have happened from much larger companies. Unless you see one missing from the Z axis which is incredibly unlikely.

 

I did my research and I was aware of little issues like the ones I stated, but wasn't expecting it out of the box, so I was a little overwhelmed. In my original post I said I did my tinkering to get things working. However am I supposed to be okay with having to Fix hardware? Nope not at all. "Considering, at worst, you need to resolder a pin and put on a new zip tie, seems like your printer's fine." Yet again these are fixes that I should have to apply as wear and tear occurs, not out the box, so to me it is not fine.

You sell me a computer with a broken OS fine by me I can install a new one. Sell me a computer with a bad power supply cable totally not okay with that. As a seasoned forum member I'm sure you know the difference between setting up the Robo 3D for use as opposed to having to fix the Robo 3D for use. A disconnected wire that needs to be soldered is a fix unfortunately. Just a side note I suck at soldering due to my unsteady hand, so if it was something I had to do I would contract out the work to someone else which would be another loss of money on something I already paid for to arrive in a semi functioning state.

Sorry to hear about your loss on the tap handles. There's a bar near my house that is closing due to a construction of a nearby elementary school. State and City ordinance won't let a bar and school be that close to each other. If you let me know what kind of tap handles you are looking for I can definitely ask for first dibs when the close. Even though we don't meet eye to eye on this situation I believe in karma and would like to offer you some help as you have done for me.

 

Like I've said. Shipping is insanely hard on printers. The RoBo3D is very low cost which is probably what attracted you to it, and with the cost of some issues after shipping.

I also mentioned they will ship you a new switch bundle so you don't have to do any soldering. This is the easiest install option and requires no soldering on your part. Expect them to suggest this option as it's within their agreements.

Don't get me wrong, I sympathize with your issues and want your to get a working printer above all else. My point is simply that they will try and resolve the issue with you. They're really a stand up company and from what I've seen have never done wrong by anyone. Their biggest weakness is they're slow sometimes.

All things considered I've seen printers with far worse damages after shipping and R3D has always delivered, even if the damage was caused by FedEx. Give them a chance to make it work, assuming they don't just give you a refund. I don't speak for them so I don't know what they'll want to do.

I kinda hate comparing the R3D to anything. If anything the closest resemblance is the Apple I computer. If it was 1976 and you bought an Apple I expecting an IBM you'd probably be disappointed with the amount of work needed to make the thing work. But that was the state of the art then, and the RoBo3D is an example of the state of the art now.

There are more expensive options (As you've found by purchasing the Ultimaker 2, which is my dream printer) but most of us can't afford it, so we sacrifice quality for cost, thus entering the mysterious realm of sub-1k printers.

I'm not too torn up about the tap handles. Apparently after I placed the order I saw some stuff that made me think reselling tap handles is kinda shady business. I gathered most bars don't "own" tap handles but borrow them from breweries, so the guy probably got them illicitly.

It was an impulse buy and cost me $30. It's far too late to go through paypal because it took him almost a month to send me a "shipping" notice and by the time I realized it wasn't coming the 45 days have passed. I get where you're coming from I just feel like it sets a bad precedent if anytime someone got a slightly defective product they went through paypal instead of the manufacturer. I feel like it's best to let the MFG make things right than spend paypals time on it. That's just me though.