5 ms·

I'm excited to see what happens here. 3D Systems is releasing a printer with a proprietary filament cartridge[0], proprietary interface, and commercial ecosyst

by nrp 15y ago

I'm excited to see what happens here. 3D Systems is releasing a printer with a proprietary filament cartridge[0], proprietary interface, and commercial ecosystem of downloadable solid model files[1] into a world that has inexpensive commodity filament spools[2], open interfaces and software[3], and a community of mostly open source solid models[4]. Can they really put the cat back in the bag? [0] http://cubify.com/cube/store.aspx http://cubify.com/cube/store.aspx [1] http://cubify.com/store/model_list.aspx?searchtext=&minprice=&maxprice= http://cubify.com/store/model_list.aspx?searchtext=&minp... [2] http://ultimachine.com/catalog/print-materials http://ultimachine.com/catalog/print-materials [3] http://reprap.org/wiki/Main_Page http://reprap.org/wiki/Main_Page [4] http://www.thingiverse.com/ http://www.thingiverse.com/

stephengillie 15y ago
Could the Cube be used to make replacement filament cartridges for itself?
- sbierwagen 15y ago
  Can an inkjet printer make more ink cartridges?
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
  - stephengillie 15y ago
    No, the 2d printer can't print 3d objects.
    - sbierwagen 15y ago
      -3 points? Ha ha, HN, humorless as always. The joke, here, of which there are two, is that of course you can't print another cartridge. You'd spend 5kg of plastic to print a 4.9kg cartridge. The second joke is that while you could conceivably print a cartridge housing, and fill it with counterfeit filament, it still wouldn't work. This because Cube uses the same business model as HP or Stratasys (I assume) where the printer's cheap, but the cartridges are expensive. Both HP and Stratasys use cartridges with chips in them that keep track of how much filament's been used, and it's probably too much to hope that Cube cartridges will be as easy to hack[1] as Stratasys cartridges. A $5 cryptocard chip more than pays for itself if it doubles your profit margin, and if the printer phones home, it'll be real hard to break the scheme. 1: http://haveblue.org/?p=938 http://haveblue.org/?p=938
- ianterrell 15y ago
  Recipe: Print one filament cartridge, fill it with remaining filament. Repeat until you have several empty filament cartridges.
- reustle 15y ago
  Everyone thinks you mean cartridges with filament in them. Yes, you might be able to print new empty cartridges.
sbierwagen 15y ago
Ultimachine filament is mildly overpriced: http://www.3ders.org/pricecompare/ http://www.3ders.org/pricecompare/ I wouldn't recommend the Chinese ABS, (the thickness QA is so poor that whatever money you save buying cheap plastic is then spent constantly recalibrating your printer to account for the thickness changes) but 3dprinterstuff is good enough.
- nrp 15y ago
  Ah, it seems prices have nearly doubled since the last time I bought from there. MakerGear had a similar price increase, and Rick posted a notice: " 4/9/12 - Please note that we have experienced a significant increase in pricing from our supplier. The above pricing partially reflects this increase. We hope that the increase is temporary and that as more suppliers come on-line, that pricing will be able to be reduced." That is unfortunate, as I believe everyone in the US was getting PLA filament from the same extruder in Ohio.
eof 15y ago
Sure they can; but only if it "just works." Wifi; a sexy form/structure; an easy to use interface; it seems that Cube (or someone else) has the potential to be the Apple of the 3d printing world. I could see my father buying something like this; while he would never end up with a reprap. For myself; and most of HN I would imagine they would go the open route; but there are a lot of people (This thing needs to be in Sky Mall) that I think are potential customers here.
- nacs 15y ago
  The thing is, this isn't something that your average joe would even consider buying even if it has the 'sexy form'. To make use of this the person would need to know what 3d printing is, know where to get models or make 3d models (doubtful), get materials and then spend time printing and perfecting. Not something the average user would do no matter how "sexy" the packaging is for this. If they really wanted something made that they'd managed to design, they would likely go with one of the many online companies that offer 3d printing as a service and offer a wide variety of materials and sizes (without the person having to invest in a 3d printer up front or learning how they work). As another poster mentioned above, I personally would much rather go with something like the Solidoodle machine which is half the price; not as sexy but I'm not sure that the target market for 3d printing at this time is looking for "sexy". One day when 3d printing becomes more mainstream and much cheaper (200-300 range and buy it at Best Buy/Target), I could see the sexy form factor and wifi becoming something to have.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
  - ams6110 15y ago
    Not only that, they need to provide some better examples of what you can do with it. Looking at the examples shown on their home page, i.e. bracelets, toys, etc. I am wondering why I would pay $1,300 for this device instead of buying those same things for $1/dozen down at the "Everything For A Dollar" shop.
- nrp 15y ago

by nrp 15y ago

stephengillie 15y ago

Could the Cube be used to make replacement filament cartridges for itself?

sbierwagen 15y ago
Can an inkjet printer make more ink cartridges?
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- stephengillie 15y ago
  No, the 2d printer can't print 3d objects.
  - sbierwagen 15y ago
    -3 points? Ha ha, HN, humorless as always. The joke, here, of which there are two, is that of course you can't print another cartridge. You'd spend 5kg of plastic to print a 4.9kg cartridge. The second joke is that while you could conceivably print a cartridge housing, and fill it with counterfeit filament, it still wouldn't work. This because Cube uses the same business model as HP or Stratasys (I assume) where the printer's cheap, but the cartridges are expensive. Both HP and Stratasys use cartridges with chips in them that keep track of how much filament's been used, and it's probably too much to hope that Cube cartridges will be as easy to hack[1] as Stratasys cartridges. A $5 cryptocard chip more than pays for itself if it doubles your profit margin, and if the printer phones home, it'll be real hard to break the scheme. 1: http://haveblue.org/?p=938 http://haveblue.org/?p=938
ianterrell 15y ago
Recipe: Print one filament cartridge, fill it with remaining filament. Repeat until you have several empty filament cartridges.
reustle 15y ago
Everyone thinks you mean cartridges with filament in them. Yes, you might be able to print new empty cartridges.

sbierwagen 15y ago

Ultimachine filament is mildly overpriced: http://www.3ders.org/pricecompare/ http://www.3ders.org/pricecompare/ I wouldn't recommend the Chinese ABS, (the thickness QA is so poor that whatever money you save buying cheap plastic is then spent constantly recalibrating your printer to account for the thickness changes) but 3dprinterstuff is good enough.

nrp 15y ago
Ah, it seems prices have nearly doubled since the last time I bought from there. MakerGear had a similar price increase, and Rick posted a notice: " 4/9/12 - Please note that we have experienced a significant increase in pricing from our supplier. The above pricing partially reflects this increase. We hope that the increase is temporary and that as more suppliers come on-line, that pricing will be able to be reduced." That is unfortunate, as I believe everyone in the US was getting PLA filament from the same extruder in Ohio.

eof 15y ago

Sure they can; but only if it "just works." Wifi; a sexy form/structure; an easy to use interface; it seems that Cube (or someone else) has the potential to be the Apple of the 3d printing world. I could see my father buying something like this; while he would never end up with a reprap. For myself; and most of HN I would imagine they would go the open route; but there are a lot of people (This thing needs to be in Sky Mall) that I think are potential customers here.

nacs 15y ago
The thing is, this isn't something that your average joe would even consider buying even if it has the 'sexy form'. To make use of this the person would need to know what 3d printing is, know where to get models or make 3d models (doubtful), get materials and then spend time printing and perfecting. Not something the average user would do no matter how "sexy" the packaging is for this. If they really wanted something made that they'd managed to design, they would likely go with one of the many online companies that offer 3d printing as a service and offer a wide variety of materials and sizes (without the person having to invest in a 3d printer up front or learning how they work). As another poster mentioned above, I personally would much rather go with something like the Solidoodle machine which is half the price; not as sexy but I'm not sure that the target market for 3d printing at this time is looking for "sexy". One day when 3d printing becomes more mainstream and much cheaper (200-300 range and buy it at Best Buy/Target), I could see the sexy form factor and wifi becoming something to have.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- ams6110 15y ago
  Not only that, they need to provide some better examples of what you can do with it. Looking at the examples shown on their home page, i.e. bracelets, toys, etc. I am wondering why I would pay $1,300 for this device instead of buying those same things for $1/dozen down at the "Everything For A Dollar" shop.
nrp 15y ago