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New Makerbots 3D printers announced, $1,375 to $6,499 what do you think? — Parallax Forums

New Makerbots 3D printers announced, $1,375 to $6,499 what do you think?

vanmunchvanmunch Posts: 568
edited 2014-01-13 09:47 in General Discussion
I just saw that Makerbot announced three new 3D printers ranging from $1,375 to $6,499. What do you think?
http://store.makerbot.com/

Comments

  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2014-01-10 13:05
    I think they are overpriced.

    The build quality is far better than their previous offerings (finally!) and the user interface is nice but for much less money (only $500) you can get something like the XYZ printer, it even has a heated build platform, the Replicator Mini does not and is PLA only. XYZ has a larger dual head model with touch screen interface and WiFi (V2.1) for about a $1,200.

    This is the Da Vinci V1.0
    img_davinci.png


    The 3D printer star of the show (in my opinion) was the Italian XFAB SLA resin based printer. The parts it produced were in another league, they were flawless. yet the price is $1,500 less than MakerBot's Z18. They hope to be available in four months. Hopefully in a few days I will have a bunch of pictures to show. This is the printer I will be getting.

    lato-open-H650.png
    lato-open-H650.png
    506 x 650 - 290K
    img_davinci.png
    610 x 488 - 210K
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2014-01-10 13:12
    Taiwanese Da Vinci is $499... http://news.yahoo.com/da-vinci-3d-printer-brings-135455753.html
  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2014-01-10 13:21
    erco wrote: »
    Taiwanese Da Vinci is $499... http://news.yahoo.com/da-vinci-3d-printer-brings-135455753.html

    Yup, that is the XYZprinting model I was referring to. http://www.xyzprinting.com/en/product
  • GordonMcCombGordonMcComb Posts: 3,366
    edited 2014-01-10 15:06
    Lithographic printing will be the way forward for these things. Maybe a bit higher materials cost, at least at first, but with the potential for faster build times and higher res. I still have my eyes on the light shutter (e.g. DLP) printers. Galvos are fast; shutters are faster. Of course, it's got to be a very bright light source, and then there's the issue of contrast ratios.
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2014-01-10 22:09
    The XFAB printer looks intriguing, but I saw the term "materials cartridge" on their website. This smacks of King Gillette's mantra, "Give away the razor so you can sell the blades," which is something the inkjet printer manufacturers have certainly taken to heart.

    -Phil
  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2014-01-10 22:33
    Yes, their cartridge price is double the cost of just the resin by the litre. Another printer with equal capabilities was a mere $90,000.

    Solution: refill the cartridge.
  • vanmunchvanmunch Posts: 568
    edited 2014-01-13 06:14
    The XFAB looks very interesting, especially all of the different kinds of materials that it's suppose to be able to print. Does anyone have any experience with the Form1?

    I thought the new MakerBots were very expensive for what you got and weren't very different from the Replicator 2. I think this is the first time that they've done a product release without actually having working prototypes for the release pictures and not just renderings. It makes me think that they're trying to keep up.

    The auto leveling sounds kind of nice, but I hardly ever need to adjust my Replicator.

    My biggest concern with Makerbot is how their customer service and product support has gone down hill over the past few years.
  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2014-01-13 09:47
    vanmunch wrote: »
    I think this is the first time that they've done a product release without actually having working prototypes for the release pictures and not just renderings.

    All the new models were on display at CES.
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