What you've learned about your Cube 3D Printer

[ehochstein]

I saw the thread about the Makerbot Replicator 2 and figured there should be a separate one for the Cube 3D printer.

We have both types and so far I have had a much better experience with the MakerBot Replicator (it is a more expensive machine after all). I wanted to list out a couple of things that I have learned about the Cube so far.

• The filament likes to be incredibly picky. We have a blue cartridge that refuses to be recognized by the machine. I current have an email out to 3D systems to find a solution on this one.
• We have another blue cartridge that is recognized by the Cube but the flywheel/stepper motor continually strips the filament for some reason I have yet to figure out. I took the cover off of the print jet and to ensure there was not any filament dried on the gear/flywheel that was causing this and I am still seeing the issue.
• I plan on running with the cover off of the print jet from now on, as it allows me to see when the filament is getting stripped.
• The cartridge that came with the Cube (Neon Green) has filament tangled on the inside so you cannot actually pull any filament out, therefore the machine will not either.
• When it works, the Cube can print some really cool stuff with the space it has. So far we have printed a very sturdy L bracket, two of the Rooks that it comes with, a minion from Despicable Me and a couple of keychains the students have designed.
• With all of the issues we've had using the cartridge we are really looking at going with this idea: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:76083

Has anyone else encountered issues or had some really cool successes?