1. What is your firmware based upon?
2. What computer software do you use to assist PandaBot? Slic3r?
3. Do you need a computer hooked up via USB to facilitate printing?
4. Do you publish schematics and/or physical part dimensions for repair
and replacement?
5. What makes your product better than a RepStrap?
6. A MendelMax full kit costs $699 USD. The kit is complete with full build
instructions and fully repairable if/when something goes wrong. What makes
your printer better than this model?
7. How do you handle inertial jerk when you have a partially printed model due
to the moving table?
1&2 We are using available firmware and software with the prototype while we build our own versions ( fully respecting the licenses the community is using for different projects). We're building software and firmware that are properly paramaterized for our system and give great results - you need to get the exact fluid mechanics right for your hardware. But it will be totally hackable and you are more than welcome to roll your own g-code with your favorite tool or even pick your firmware.
3 We load files via USB but you don't need to keep the computer plugged in after a successful transfer
4 We're generally using off the shelf parts but it's a commercial shelf. Trade-off of quality, tolerances, capabilities. We feel that the improvements to the stability and reliability of our product are worth going in this direction.
5 We're building a tool to let people focus on designing and producing physical objects. Different design objective than kits. By not being a Rep* we get access to interesting components with very tight tolerances which will give users a wonderful experience in reliably producing objects.
6 We're shipping a manufactured product, it comes in 2 pieces to reduce shipping costs. It's a tool that plugs in and goes. Auto-calibration and the incredible rigidity really help make it "just work".
Again, it's a different focus from kits so different strengths and weaknesses. If you want to build your printer from scratch, we're not the right choice. If you want to be printing out of the box with no calibration, re-calibration, or learning all of the details of Slic3r or other tools, then we are the right choice. And then, if you want to explore Slic3r or optimal 3D material strategies without having to become a hardware/robotics guru, we are the right choice.
Lots of room for different people to focus on different things, or for people to have different tools for different projects.
Comments
1&2 We are using available firmware and software with the prototype while we build our own versions ( fully respecting the licenses the community is using for different projects). We're building software and firmware that are properly paramaterized for our system and give great results - you need to get the exact fluid mechanics right for your hardware. But it will be totally hackable and you are more than welcome to roll your own g-code with your favorite tool or even pick your firmware.
3 We load files via USB but you don't need to keep the computer plugged in after a successful transfer
4 We're generally using off the shelf parts but it's a commercial shelf. Trade-off of quality, tolerances, capabilities. We feel that the improvements to the stability and reliability of our product are worth going in this direction.
5 We're building a tool to let people focus on designing and producing physical objects. Different design objective than kits. By not being a Rep* we get access to interesting components with very tight tolerances which will give users a wonderful experience in reliably producing objects.
6 We're shipping a manufactured product, it comes in 2 pieces to reduce shipping costs. It's a tool that plugs in and goes. Auto-calibration and the incredible rigidity really help make it "just work".
Again, it's a different focus from kits so different strengths and weaknesses. If you want to build your printer from scratch, we're not the right choice. If you want to be printing out of the box with no calibration, re-calibration, or learning all of the details of Slic3r or other tools, then we are the right choice. And then, if you want to explore Slic3r or optimal 3D material strategies without having to become a hardware/robotics guru, we are the right choice.
Lots of room for different people to focus on different things, or for people to have different tools for different projects.