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Originally Posted by IronBenderII
Why are you assuming they are trying to make the students consumers?
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I would assume the goal is to make the schools and the tax money that operates the schools the consumers.
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Originally Posted by IronBenderII
Who in their right minds would think giving a bunch of 3D printers to robotics teams would make them consumers?
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The same sort of people that sell oscilloscopes for $50 to the U.S. Government and then charge $100 a nylon case screw which 'happen' to break in multiples at mandated calibration
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Why are we being so negative about a company that gave away a great tool to a bunch of kids?
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On this we agree. The Cube printer that MORT was given has been the most trouble free to setup and use of all the printers either Team 11 or the school owns. I include the Prusa I donated with the understanding that I expected them to build the Prusa and that always meant they would have to work the build out before they could print.
Assuming the goal was to take a 3D printer out of the box and start printing the Cube printer won that challenge hands down of those between Team 11 and the school. However I own an Up! printer and not only is the resolution much better than the Cube but it does print just fine with common materials I can buy and with little easy modification I can easily expand that range of materials.
So if I was looking to replicate the experience and I could handle the smaller print area of the Up! I would say the Up! was just a better choice of the ones I've unpacked and tried. I own more than 10 3D printers including SoliDoodle 3, Prusa, Mendel and others that are projects from various RepRap timelines.
Then again I like building my printers such that I know the maximum amount about what I am getting into and can source parts and modifications.
Also it's fair to mention that not all formulations of PLA are the same. A lot of people do not understand that certain formulations of PLA will fail to extrude unless specific settings and changes are made for that formulation. As a result there are whole piles of materials at places like MicroCenter that will print fine in a MakerBot but not on a Bukito. On the other hand if you part that pile sooner or later you will find the spools that contain the proper compatible formulation for the Bukito (or whatever your 3D printer is) and then noting that part number you can order proper materials. This matters because even though the chipped materials are more expensive - at least there is the assumption the printer maker gave you the right materials.
On that note I printed 200 pieces for a game for the school. When I did that I needed the right materials. Given the job scale and time frame I could afford to sort the proper materials and corresponding part numbers out. If that was a small batch of parts it would have not been worth the effort. Now I know what PLA sold by MicroCenter works properly in which of my printers (that was....fun).