Opinions on Robox 3D printer?

[Ismay]

Hey Guys,

Has anyone looked at the Robox 3D printer? what are your thoughts?

They've got quite a clever extruder head and they claim that it can print like six materials which is really appealing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PniN0RDe0Hw . Other companies just create ABS or PLA printers and then you have to hope that it can print with other materials. They also state that they want to create laser cutters and milling machines which is nice to hear because at least it is a company that will keep evolving and not like PP3DP that basically stuck with the same printer for years now (I still like my UP! though).

The only problems I see is that it looks difficult to unclog a extruder column with that valve system (It's bound to happen when you experiment with new materials). My main complain is the print height which is only 100mm. They should've at least made it 120-150mm.

[techbuilder]

Issue with having the cnc capability is that the amount of dust generated by the machine would be a pain to clean when switching back to 3d printing or laser as it requires a dust free area.

The way I look at it is a machine with jack of all trades but master of none.

Up plus is a great reliable printer compared to others

[roller]

Dust isn't that much of a fuss and isn't that critical to being dust free for 3D printing. I've done the two side by side for nearly 3 years with barely an issue (not with my Up which is lucky enough to live inside). I just keep my build plates stored under cover so they stay dust free. If using the same device, a quick brush down and placing of the build plate is all that needs to be done.

Now CNC and laser cutters are a tougher mix - have to cover up all the whole light path to CNC.

[sajjad123]

I also ordered some. The transparent one. The YouTube video showed some really nice prints so I figure it can produce decent parts. I'll be eager to try but don't look forward to nozzle jams.

[wilsonj]

I've seen the Robox, and whilst I was impressed, the print quality was rather poor. It is also loud. And the kicker is the chipped reels, although they aren't that expensive it does limit what you can use.
The one I saw also had a number of mechanical issues, but this was an early model so maybe they will improve they QC in the future.

Over all I did like the design, and they have some very good features, but the print quality just isn't there. I'm sure software updates will see this improve however.

[teamcarlisle]

I think the chipped spools are optional and made for convenience. I searched through their website about it before moving on because I wanted a printer with a larger print area. If I remember right the chipped reels store the specs of the filament on them so the printer automatically sets things like temperature, filament width, extrusion multiplier etc. With a non chipped spool you have to do all that manually. And I think I remember 1 or 2 advanced features that only work with chipped spools, but I don't remember what they were.

But even if I'm wrong about that, the chipped spools are "open." There's nothing to stop a person from re-spooling other filament onto a "chipped" spool

[wilsonj]

I think the chipped spools are optional and made for convenience. I searched through their website about it before moving on because I wanted a printer with a larger print area. If I remember right the chipped reels store the specs of the filament on them so the printer automatically sets things like temperature, filament width, extrusion multiplier etc. With a non chipped spool you have to do all that manually. And I think I remember 1 or 2 advanced features that only work with chipped spools, but I don't remember what they were.

But even if I'm wrong about that, the chipped spools are "open." There's nothing to stop a person from re-spooling other filament onto a "chipped" spool

According to the distributor you must have a chip spool. But you are correct, you can rewind a spool, but ever attempted such a feat without a spooling machine? PAIN ! And then I would think that all the settings the chip automatically sets will probably not suit the material you just spooled on...

[teamcarlisle]

Everyone knows distributors can be pretty bad sources of information (especially when is comes to proprietary consumables, some will flat out lie just to get you to buy from them), your distributor apparently never learned much about his product. It only took me about 5 minutes to look this up. According to Robox's own FAQ's (in both the forums and on the free to download manual):

"Can you use third party printing filament with Robox?
Robox® has not been tied to only official materials - any high quality 1.75mm
filament can be used - but... users wouldn’t get the full plug and print
experience that Robox® offers. Some of the cool features like pausing a print
and changing colours rely on the printer knowing what’s been loaded and
that’s where our SmartReel™ can smooth out the process and enhance the
experience. The best printing results will be achieved using official materials,
as they come supplied with a print profile which has been extensively tested
for a perfect print every time."

A quick check of the Robox Forums would show you that many people are discussing alternate filaments and the settings they use for them.

[stormychel]

Like this... also the build volume, 100 is enough if there is more in X and Y.

[wilsonj]

Everyone knows distributors can be pretty bad sources of information (especially when is comes to proprietary consumables, some will flat out lie just to get you to buy from them), your distributor apparently never learned much about his product. It only took me about 5 minutes to look this up. According to Robox's own FAQ's (in both the forums and on the free to download manual):

"Can you use third party printing filament with Robox?
Robox® has not been tied to only official materials - any high quality 1.75mm
filament can be used - but... users wouldn’t get the full plug and print
experience that Robox® offers. Some of the cool features like pausing a print
and changing colours rely on the printer knowing what’s been loaded and
that’s where our SmartReel™ can smooth out the process and enhance the
experience. The best printing results will be achieved using official materials,
as they come supplied with a print profile which has been extensively tested
for a perfect print every time."

A quick check of the Robox Forums would show you that many people are discussing alternate filaments and the settings they use for them.

Couldn't agree more regarding distributors and knowledge. However I'm still coming across people rewinding filaments onto robox reels. You seem to be suggesting this isn't required ? It isn't clear in the above statement.

http://www.cel-robox.com/forums/topic/c ... box-spool/

[teamcarlisle]

Everyone knows distributors can be pretty bad sources of information (especially when is comes to proprietary consumables, some will flat out lie just to get you to buy from them), your distributor apparently never learned much about his product. It only took me about 5 minutes to look this up. According to Robox's own FAQ's (in both the forums and on the free to download manual):

"Can you use third party printing filament with Robox?
Robox® has not been tied to only official materials - any high quality 1.75mm
filament can be used - but... users wouldn’t get the full plug and print
experience that Robox® offers. Some of the cool features like pausing a print
and changing colours rely on the printer knowing what’s been loaded and
that’s where our SmartReel™ can smooth out the process and enhance the
experience. The best printing results will be achieved using official materials,
as they come supplied with a print profile which has been extensively tested
for a perfect print every time."

A quick check of the Robox Forums would show you that many people are discussing alternate filaments and the settings they use for them.

Couldn't agree more regarding distributors and knowledge. However I'm still coming across people rewinding filaments onto robox reels. You seem to be suggesting this isn't required ? It isn't clear in the above statement.

http://www.cel-robox.com/forums/topic/c ... box-spool/

Hrmm, thats is a good point, my only guess after looking back at the manual again is because the chipped spools "might" be user programmable. In the manual there is a section that talks about one of the advanced features being "smartreel programming" for " writing custom material parameters to a Robox® SmartReel™" Now that doesnt say anything about using our own spools, but at least that explains why people are re-spooling their own filament. I could still swear that I had read somewhere that you can use your own spool/reel somewhere but I cant find it now, (maybe it was discussed during the kickstarter then revised afterwards or something) and I saw in the manual on page 46 that the printer will display an error if there's an unrecognised/unformatted spool.

Honestly though, these questions are probably better researched/asked on the actual Robox forums. As for the original question in the thread, I thought it was a very attractive printer with nice features, I only turned away because I didnt like only being able to print 100mm tall. (Thats even shorter than what the Up Mini can print)