Potential Newbie from NC

[lbarger]

Greetings everyone. I have been on this site for a few days reading through the forums trying to decide if the Rostock Max V2 is the machine for me. I am a self employed mechanical engineer who designs and builds custom devices mostly for use in pharmaceutical labs. I am looking to add 3D printing to my company's portfolio. Printing objects will allow me to better communicate design concepts early in the product development cycle. (Some people just can't relate to an image on a screen.) I plan to print functional components for use in the devices I deliver, so scale and resolution are both very important. I will also want to print functional and/or swag items designed by the FIRST High School Robotics team I mentor.

I like the large build volume and reported speed and accuracy of the Rostock Max V2. Having been burned by a previous purchase from a 3D printing start-up that has apparently failed, I am somewhat hesitant to jump in again and thus have been doing a lot more research. The reviews I have found have seemed very bi-polar. People have either loved or hated the Rostock Max with very little in the middle. Most of the negative reviews appear to be associated with the original version of the printer. Is the V2 really that much better? Also, what extruder/hotend and firmware currently ships in the kit? Are people currently satisfies with printing large diameter objects? (I saw many posts with first layer/calibration issues, but there seems to have been a firmware upgrade to address this.)

I use SolidWorks 2014 Premium for my design. It has an option to create 3D prints directly. When I select the option I am told that I need to select a 3D printer driver. Is such a thing available under Windows 7? I can also export parts stl, iges, STEP, and at least another dozen formats to a driver is would not be specifically required. It would just be nice to print directly from my CAD software without a lot of extra steps. That said, I would likely start by using a slicer so the setup would be more generic and you folk would be more able to assist with any troubles I might have.

I would love to speak in person with someone who has gone through the build/calibration process. I would also love to see examples of items created on the printer. Is there anyone out there 'near' the Hillsborough, NC, USA area that would be willing to show me their printer and samples of their prints?

Looking to increase own comfort factor before spending more money. Also looking to appease the wife/boss by making sure that any additional money spent will be put to good use. :/

Best Regards,
Lee Barger, PE

[Eaglezsoar]

I want to welcome you to the Forum!
I think that it is best if another user describes the virtues of the V2 printer.

[DavidF]

I read those negative reviews as well, but then I did more research and found that alot of the problems were corrected and the newer upgraded parts were sent out for free to the effected users. To me seeing a company that stood behind thier product was reason enough for me to purchase.
I bought the rostock max one year ago tomorrow I beleave. If I had to decide again which printer to buy I would still chose the rostock max.
Im the kind of person who is great with mechanical stuff, but horrible with computers and electronics. I had no difficulty building the printer, but there was a learning curve when it came to the actual printing/slicer settings to get the high quality prints I was looking for.
[img]http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g446/davidflowers1/utf-8BSU1BRzA3ODguanBn.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g446/davidflowers1/utf-8BSU1BRzA3OTIuanBn.jpg[/img]

[nitewatchman]

Lee,

There is no vaporware involved with the RMV2. It is what it is reported to be. I build my kit in May and it printed correctly and on size from the first. This is not to say that there hasn't been a learning curve and problems to overcome. There are many printer and printer kits on the market now. One of my engineers just bought a RigidBOT printer and I am also quite impressed by it. All in all I am happy with my Rostock. I am also not new to 3D printing. I head my companies R&D Department and we have had a ZCorp 450 in the office for about 6 years.

Some of the things I really like about this type printer is the concept of "open source" archtecture and design. Since they basically utilize G-Code Instructions there is no proprietary software involved and there are many choices for controller and slicer software. The other is the simplicity of design. These printers utilize some type of on-board controller. The Rostock uses a Rambo Controller which is worth $150 +/-. In the case of a meltdown, nuke zap or some other event that takes it out for $150 and an hours time you are back in service, the yearly maintenance contract on the Z450 is $5500 and service can reqire a week.

I have also read some of the calibration horror stories. The calibration is not to be taken lightly and the success of the printer is dependent entirely on the care that is taken. There seem to be four class of calibration results. 1) Problems with calibration due to an assembly problem or issue. 2) Problems resulting from not reading the manual and following instructions. 3) Problems for lack of patience and not being willing to iterate the calibration process until the errors are reduced to an reasonable amount. 4) The majority of people that - a) read the manual, b) assemble the printer correctly, c) have patience in the calibration process, d) ask advice if something goes wonky, e) sucessfully calibrate the printer!

We also use Solidworks Prem. here. Works great but we still output the model code as an .stl file and slice. Seems to give more control of the printer perameters such as perimeter layers, line widths, infill, bridging, support. It also is very handy to download the sliced code to an SD Card and print the part directly from the card in a freestanding mode.

My printer has now melted about 12KG of filament. Some of it has turned into great stuff, some of it not so much. The printer has been very handy in making things that I would normally machine on my Tormach 1100. This week I needed door slides for the Tormach. I have used a piece of 1"x2" 80/20 Aluminum extrusion of the door slide bar. Rather than machine the slide blocks from aluminum or nylon I decided to print them from ABS. After modeling the 80/20 bar, I modeled the slide blocks allowing .005" clearance on each of the 12 contact surfaces. I printed the part and pushed it with some difficulty over the bar shearing the fuzz off of the contact surfaces as it went. After passing it over the bar a couple of times the block is free and very tight fitting. What would have been tediuos machining became a simple print job.

I am located in Birmingham but would be glad to talk with you over the phone about the printer if you want. PM me and we can set something up if it meets your needs.

nitewatchman

[lbarger]

Thanks for the quick responses. I am attracted by the open architecture as well. Standard hardware is a definite plus. I wish I realized the last company was developing their own cards. That was the apparent source of their ultimate downfall.

DavidF, that is a really nice finish. Is that one of your prints? What is the material and how much post-processing did you have to do. I'm assuming there was scaffolding involved which needed to be removed. I would be very happy with that level of detail and that size capability. (Won't bother asking details on speed and temps as I realize these will depend on specific hotends and other 'tweaks' used.

Nitewatchman, thanks for the details. Being a professional engineer and hobby level machinist, I'm hoping I will be able to follow the instructions and invest time in proper calibration. I just upgraded the PC driving my benchtop mill which required recalibrating the system. Spent several hours repeating the process, but dialed it in to accuracy of my DRO (+-0.0002" on each axis) over the full range of motion. I'm thinking this forum will ultimately tip the balance in favor of purchasing. Still, just something comforting about seeing one in person and seeing actual output.

Lee

[DavidF]

That was printed in pla. No post finishing, just the way it came off the printer.
Feel free to pm me and ill give you my phone # if you want to chat.
Eaglezsoar didnt want to answer as he is employed by see me cnc.
I should add that the printer is bone stock no mods when I printed this. I do have a couple different hot ends, but this was printed with the stock one.
I have only calibrated the printer one time and its still holding after who knows how many prints.

[lbarger]

Thanks David, I will PM you if I don't find someone local soon. Also appreciate the heads up on Eaglezsoar. I chose to edit my last post as I don't want to come off as a jerk. Unfortunately, I'm just a stereotypical engineer that's better with numbers than words. Sometimes I don't phrase things well. I completely respect Eaglezsoar decision to not comment on the V2 especially based on how I phrased the question.

I think I'm getting it now. Early reviews tended to be more negative for a variety of reasons. The technology was new, there is a learning curve for it and initially the pool of experience users was very limited, many people do not appreciate what is involved in building a device as complicated as a Delta printer or over estimate their skill level and some don't like to ask questions or admit they need help. The current model benefits from lessons learned. There is a much broader user base and many of those initial issues have been resolved. I am also encouraged by how many people have good things to say about SeeMeCNC and there support.

The more I read, the more I want this printer. Probably should stop reading.

[DavidF]

Well if you do decide to get one, you will have a very wonderful resource to help you out when you need it.
I'm curious as to what sort of objects you will be printing. Smaller more detailed parts would likely benefit from the currently evolving resin cure printers that are starting to emerge from everywhere, but unfortunately can't handle the big stuff like the fdm printers can.

[lbarger]

I could see eventually having both photo-cure and FDM systems. For most of the parts I need the photo-cure systems are not large enough. If I had a printer right now, I would be printing a custom bezel (with company logo in relief) for a 7" touch screen. I could also see custom enclosures, mounting brackets and fixtures to hold components of various sizes. I can also see printing mock ups of inhaler components which would require resolution, not size. (Thus two printers eventually.) Mostly I would be looking to print parts I currently have machined (by myself or externally) in order to reduce cost and possibly save time.

I would also like to experiment with my robotics team to see FDM parts would be strong enough to use on 150 pound robots.

There there is simply printing stuff for fun. There are a lot of models available on the net so while learning to use it I would probably just have fun and print random objects for friends and family (and myself).

[DavidF]

Sounds like you have done your homework. Now press the buy it now button LOL.
Look into lost pla casting also.

[Holy1]

I just finished my build and it worked out great. No problems. The manual is easy to follow. I'm not a professional anything so if a layman could do it you certainly should.

[lbarger]

OK, I couldn't take it any more. I've ordered the Rostock Max V2 kit. I guess I know what I'm doing next week.

[DavidF]

OK, I couldn't take it any more. I've ordered the Rostock Max V2 kit. I guess I know what I'm doing next week.

Welcome to a whole new level of fun!!

[robotfive]

Thanks lbarger, I had many of the same questions that you asked in this forum and feel a lot better about the Rostock MAX v2 Kit now. I'm also a mechanical engineer and use Solidworks (and Inventor) to develop new technologies. Have you figured out how to print directly from Solidworks with your Rockstock? I'm currently running Windows 8.1 and Solidworks 2014 (thinking about upgrading to 2015). If you aren't printing directly from Solidworks, what programs are you using?

[Glacian22]

One cheap mod I would absolutely recommend is picking up a set of stepper dampers. Easy as pie to install, and it will make your Rostock all but silent while printing.