Unboxing: MakerBot Replicator 5th Gen- 03.14.14
UPDATE: Eep! Bad news ~ though a NOTCOT first? I’ve never had to do a REboxing! Just heard from MakerBot that we’ve got to box the machine up and send it back to get it sorted…and thank you so much to the super nice guys over at MakerBot support for being so patient with us while working on this!
SO excited to get our hands on the MakerBot Replicator 5th Gen Desktop 3D Printer ~ it’s amazing to see how far things have come since the Cupcake, Thing-O-Matic, and even the early replicators! (You can see our Replicator 1 unbox here.) We are definitely getting closer to having 3D printers feel closer to the inkjet (2D printers?) of today… unfortunately, it’s still a bit more complex than popping it out of the box and popping out objects! New features we’re excited about include the optimized setup for PLA printing, camera (to keep an eye on your progress via app/mobile), magnetic extruder head, spring loaded nozzles, easier build plate leveling and more! And luckily, the arrival of this new machine is perfect for one of our big NOTlabs project deadlines!!! Take a peek on the next page for a full unboxing and some of our first experiments with it…
Opening it up! Love the Welcome detail…
What’s in the box…
Interesting that the User Manual is online for you to download and only the quick start is printed.
Fun push button graphics… and we found that out of the box it asks for a firmware update before being able to proceed… at the moment Makerbot Desktop is in beta ~ so USB wasn’t working, and wifi isn’t available yet (firmware update to come!) but luckily i had a super long ethernet cable to run to the machine and we got it updated! (Make sure you have the latest version of Makerbot Desktop, at first our older version wasn’t finding the update.)
The new thinner spools clip right into the cartridge in the back. Great detail that the extruder head is magnetic and can be removed, definitely makes loading filament a bit easier. Also note the spring headed nozzle now!
A peek at the LED by the nozzle…
The glass build plate slides out…
Apparently our cable is OK!
Another fun new feature is the camera! While it will definitely be more fun once the Mobile App and Wifi are available ~ you can currently view progress in Makerbot Desktop.
Camera view!
Test sheep in progress…
In the video you can see how the spring loaded nozzle allows it to hop around…
Sheep with support…
Final sheep!
So… so far, the new MakerBot Replicator 5th Gen Desktop 3D Printer it feels good, looks great… but as we are trying to get to work with the machine, we’re spending quite a bit of time with their very patient tech support and forums, much like with our first Replicator. There are a few known issues that have been emerging, like spastic screen jumping that could almost seem like a funky screensaver. But we are also working with them on odd XY shifts happening in the first few layers of prints, as well as eerily loud Z axis movements at the moment… so, fingers crossed as the experiments continue…
I have a z18. Same as other 3rd gen comments.
Clicking extruder, building very poor parts. I have had it about 2 months and still unable to get a good part from it besides the library parts. Still working with tech support. :-(
----- Collin 15.08.14 11:58