Radio Shack introduces 3D printer
ratronic
Posts: 1,451
I received an email this morning from Radio Shack for an Afina H479 3D printer.
ratronic
Posts: 1,451
Comments
They're also talking about providing serious support by phone and on-line.
The big question is whether or not these are stocked in stores. Such a commitment to this hardware would be very significant.
All the non-working printers were prebuilt/purchased units.
The few prebuilt 3D printers that were working (successfully printing) were directly supported by personel from the manufacturer.
I don't get around much, but there might be something to this. If you build one yourself, you tend to have learned everything about the unit. Those that buy one and expect it to "just work" encounter issues.
i hope its different with these.
http://colorfabb.com/xt/xt-colorfabb-300.html
I've seen it described as 'almost transparent' at 100% infill, and tougher than the ABS material.
RS already has 3D feedstock in the inventory.
We got a student whom works for Xerox 700 Feet up the road from us whom is got Xerox's support for us .
But here is a $20 off Orders over $125: FWSEP13 and fatwallet kickback is 2.5%
http://reviews.cnet.com/3d-printers/afinia-h-series-h479/4505-33809_7-35618555.html
Jim
Another plot twist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=us3dQ0nnlHY#t=8
Ouch! Didn't see that coming! It appears to print old polyester!
I'll never forget my grandfather's dying words:
"A truck...!"
As another example, one need only look as far as Gimp vs Corel PhotoPaint. Gimp (an open-source image editor) has scads of image-processing power, but the bells and whistles do get in the way of productivity for new users. PhotoPaint is, by far, the more intuitive.
The advantage of proprietary software is that one can cleave to a seamless vision of what the product should do for a particular market segment and focus on that, without including features, options, and settings that, in the long run, only confuse one's customers.
I paid more than $7500 for a laser cutter that just works. I would gladly pay an equal amount for a 3D printer that does the same. My $1500 MakerBot does not. Perhaps RadioShack will succeed where MakerBot has failed.
-Phil
As we've all seen, software tends to lag behind the hardware by about ten years. Its only a question of who gets there first.
Parallax's business model of having depth in supporting everything they sell is much saner.
How can a retail outlet expect to interest people into buying items that the staff are not very familiar with? This isn't about selling electronics. It is all about why people prefer to buy from outlets the like and trust... even if things cost a bit more.
$7500 USD for a laser cutter could be a bargain if you can run it 24 hours around the clock for 5 days a week and provide a lot of product to a high demand volume.
On the flip side, a 3-D printer for $7500 USD might be equally worthwhile; whereas a $200 USD system that runs in fits and starts could destroy any enterprise before it every got the doors open.
This $1500 3-D printer from Radio Shack might be a good boost in sales for them in rough times. It may be an excellent machine for small enterprises as well. But hobbyist tend to be overly price sensitive and not to invest in long-term value.
Face it, most of the industrial robotics was deployed in the automotive industry when Parallax was just starting out. It was expensive, but it has paid for itself many times over. Robotics arc welding and robotic automotive painting are doing a huge amount of industrial work these days.
The people that really need industrial 3-D printing to generate castings and models have been buying at the top end of the market... and making money. Where do you think all those plastic give-aways from McDonalds start from?
It arrived in less than five days shipped via FedEx, comes fully assembled and works perfectly with MakerWare (which Phil would appreciate), it also includes two full rolls of ABS filament.
I have run about a pound of filament through it so far and the only problem Ive encountered was that one of the pulleys came loose. I should've checked them all for tightness but oh well. A little bit of locktite and all is well. It has been so reliable that I don't even need to monitor it. I load an SD card, start the print then leave.
Today I used it to make a camera mount that will clamp to the crossbar of a hang glider.
There are many things that do not require that much strength but are still useful. I have printed many items that are plenty strong enough to be put into service. One item in particular that saved the day was when I had to replace the universal joint on my drywall sander - one of those screen sanders on the end of a pole. I had two of them, and they both broke within a few minutes of each other. The 3D printed replacement part solved the problem and has not yet failed.
For example, I also needed camera mount, but I needed a sturdy construction, so plastic was no go. My CNC saved me again
Personally, I see 3D printing in a bit different way.
Imagine, a cube made of steel or whatsoever hard/strong enough. there are billions of micrometer thickness needles from all sides, length of which is controllable. You put in some metal powder mix, the needles take the required positions, everything is heated up, and new part is baked. This will be really the great advancement in 3d printing. Sure, you can't do all shapes with it, especially hollow ones, but still, this approach looks much more usable than current 3d printer ideas.