Friday, October 3, 2014

1st Cube 3 Report - Awesome Right Out of the Box

Just received my first report from Eric Albert...

First Report from Eric

Tom: got it set up and running.

This thing is AWESOME!!! The product folks at 3D Systems should all get bonuses - it is filled with genius. It appears to level and measure build height optically! I just ran the short test print and now am running the classic rook that 3D Systems included on the Cube 1 and 2.

But - it isn't a "cube!" Pictures can be deceiving - but it is not as deep as it is wide, and not as big as I thought it would be. But the build plate is bigger than the 1/2 versions.

Out of the box and working in 10 minutes with NO issues! I'll be getting some pics and a write up out this weekend, but this is definitely the machine to get! Love the part preview on the screen. And the color touchscreen is really neat.- Eric
Sent from my iPad

OK.  NOW, I'm jealous!!!!

Look for more from Eric soon!  Now, remember, he owns or uses 3D printers from several different manufacturers so he's highly qualified to judge AWESOME when he sees it!

I like the part about the product folks should all get bonuses.  I know a fair number of them and I agree that from the little time I had with it at shows, etc. it is DEFINITELY filled with genius.  I had every confidence that this was going to be a gamechanger!

13 comments:

  1. Wow~~ I'm jealous too. looks like this one improved a lot (heard lots of negative comments about cube 2 before ). Hope i can get mine soon. :)

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  2. Both Eric and I have been in a position that allows us to see the Cube 1 and 2 with multiple users and different environments. I came to realize that gapping and print table leveling was crucial to avoiding filament flow errors. Some of our users rarely have issues. Others seem to have repeated incidents because they don't pay attention to that critical first layer.

    The age and storage conditions of the filament has also been observed as a factor.

    The Cube 3's design APPEARS to have taken gapping and leveling issues off the table... no pun intended... Only time will tell. Equally critical is the fact that the filament movement mechanism appears to have been moved so that if there is a clog, we simply replace the cartridge and not have to deal with the head.

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    1. it will be great if cube 3 solve the gapping& leveling issues, which always the problems for most desktop 3D printer . i used makerbot 2x before, i can not even finish one printing due to the filament flow error which you mentioned.
      Looking forward review from Eric~~

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  3. Hello Tom,

    I am still eagerly awaiting my cube3. I pre ordered the printer may 20 which was the first day but I think something may be wrong since others are getting theirs.

    I'm just wondering if Eric Albert sent you any pics of some initial prints on his new cube??

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  4. I haven't seen anything from Albert as yet. But, like you, I hope to hear about my own soon.

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  5. looks like Eric is famous reviewer of 3D printers, that's why he got machine so early. :). but i can see some CubePro unboxing/review videos on youtube, don't understand why Cube 3 so late. if you ask support person, the answer always not sure.

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  6. I've seen reviews for other 3D printers on Eric's web site. And, he has posted a quick review there for the Cube 3.

    http://renaissance-engineer.net/author/erickalbert/

    Based on what I've seen at shows, the Cube3 is a much more radical departure from legacy 3D printer designs than the CubePro.

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  7. Hi Tom!

    My cube 3 shipping confirmation came today and it's in the mail. I ordered the 4 pack of filament and 2 extra glue but the filament is not shipped yet so I'm guessing they have shortage or a problem with the cartridges. That said, Eric posted some print images and I am very impressed compared to other printers like the makerbot etc. I originally wanted the Form1 SLA printer but given the cost and extensive research on blogs I found out that in addition to resin that is triple the price for a litre of plastic resin, it is also necessary to purchase a $60 plus shipping build tray after every two bottles. They also say that there is an acceptable level of failure rate when printing which can get expensive; blogs have posted a 20% failure rate is common. So even for a person like me who is using the cube for prototypes I think the more affordable cube3 is a win win! I will come up with some prints of my own to share that can show minimum wall thickness and holes to see how they differ from the cad file via cubify invent!

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  8. Fyi....I pre ordered in May and up until yesterday the cubify customer service had no explanation as to why it hasn't shipped despite the cube had begun shipping two weeks ago. I had to ask for a manager because they could not tell me what was wrong and then my printer was shipped so perhaps this is not an isolated incident perhaps with the electronic ordering system isn't putting all the orders through because the credit card pre authorizations were done so long ago and possibly expired without triggering the system to reauthorize them and leaving orders in limbo.... just a thought.

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    Replies
    1. 3dfan - please post an unboxing video when you receive your Cube! :-)

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  9. I was at the factory yesterday for our bi-yearly YoutjQuest / Youth ChalleNGe tour for Maryland and Virginia challenge cadets.

    Mine had come earlier in the week; but, due to deadlines for the cadets, I had not had time to try it out... which I am doing today. I have some advice for all new Cube 3 owners.

    This is one product for which you DEFINITELY want to spend some time reading the manual. This is no clunky RepRap derivative. This is one SERIOUSLY beautiful piece of machinery. If it were a car it would be a Bentley. I'd say Mercedes; but, it's even better than that!

    The software needs work. But, the manual is terrific and helpful in letting us know all the intricacies of the machine. In fact, it is seriously better than previous manuals.

    The only thing I've done so far was a circle,straight & angle wall test and found that from .25mm to 4mm, the only thickness not completely filled was 2.25mm. That's amazing. The circles are perfection.

    The auto-gap works well; but, I advise all to also learn how to manually gap for really amazing results. They give us a great tool for doing so.

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  10. I will take an assortment of pictures if you like and send them to you for posting on the blog if you want. Just tell me where to email them. I would prefer to do pics in clarity as opposed to fumbling with a video cam.

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