*notcot in tech , 13:50

Unboxing: MakerBot Replicator 5th Gen- 03.14.14

makerbot0.jpg 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…

makerbot1.jpg Opening it up! Love the Welcome detail…

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makerbot3.jpg What’s in the box…

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makerbot5.jpg Interesting that the User Manual is online for you to download and only the quick start is printed.

makerbot6.jpg

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makerbot8.jpg 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.)

makerbot8a.jpg 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!

makerbot8b.jpg A peek at the LED by the nozzle…

makerbot8c.jpg The glass build plate slides out…

makerbot9.jpg Apparently our cable is OK!

makerbot9a.jpg 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.

makerbot10.jpg Camera view!

makerbot11.jpg Test sheep in progress…

In the video you can see how the spring loaded nozzle allows it to hop around…

makerbot12.jpg Sheep with support…

makerbot13.jpg 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…

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7 Notes

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

Oh my, now I truly understand that I am not alone! All that you say here is true, I’ve been reading posts today and I am hoping that my third extruder will be on it’s way as we (or I) type.

I only wish that MakerBot would give us all some $$$ for doing their Beta testing for them.

Frank

----- Frank V. 17.07.14 16:19

I am having the same issue as those in many other posts ei: “M….bot 5th Gen, Filament Loading Clicking”
But what makes it worse is the fact that they just don’t care. Support is terrible at best, days pass before replies are given… then when you reply with the answers requested they don’t ever follow up. I paid a lot of good money for a 5th Gen Replicator that has been nothing but trouble! I am on my second extruder, first had broken pieces when unpacked and many errors and now the second stopped extruding in the middle of an 8 hour print saying out of filament when there is a full new free wheeling spool in place. When I go to reload it just clicks and fails. Their suggestion “You may want to try gripping the filament with a pair of needle-nose pliers, and it may take a bit of elbow grease, but try it for a bit until the filament comes out cleanly” . The elbow grease I applied should have threaded it thru the wall, but nothing but clicking!

The moral to this story is hold off buying one of these until the get their S..T together and fix a very broken support system.

The good news is that when it did print it did a far superior job over the original which I still own. So maybe there is still hope.
S…….s do you even care?

----- Leif Pehrson 08.06.14 18:16

Hi, I’m wondering if you have any updates? Thinking about buying a third printer, I’ve got the R2 and the R2x already, and I’ve heard there are problems with the Gen5.

----- Jamie Laing 04.06.14 06:01

Good read, thanks for this! Some interesting food for thought - we’ve been researching this MakerBot and it’s good to come across such a straightforward write up.

----- Carly 06.05.14 09:01

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----- michael kors messenger yellow 22.04.14 00:03

Great article—have been wondering how people have been receiving the new 5th Gen… definitely looks more professional than the Replicator one—and more compact. Did you find that it printed better/faster as well?

----- Alison 18.03.14 02:40


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