I am using these at a school and cannot seem to remove the supports on anything beyond a very simple print. Any ideas on settings or techniques that will allow supports to be removed more easily?
I’ve had the same problem with this machine. Supports and rafts are very difficult to remove cleanly. I started designed models that have their own supports so that I didn’t have to rely on the ones makerbot applied.
also- not sure if my nozzle is the issue, but i have some kind of significant jam somewhere that I am not super confident to fix myself.... with Enders or other printers- so much community based support available. Have made at least 4 multi-hour support calls to Makerbot- they are nice but not super helpful. I highly encourage you NOT to try and connect to school networks. Keep them independent- run off of USB if you do have one. This is my first 3D printer and I definitely wouldn't buy one again, for school or home.
In my experience, the MakeBit Sketches jam right before the hot element. Removing the Bowden tube is a pain and once removed, clearing the jam is t too bad with the provided tools. I agree with the network and not getting one for personal use.
Ender is the way to go. I just bought a used upgraded one for less than $200usd. For over $500 for a printer, it should at least be direct drive, so you can print tpu. Also, with an ender, or "frame-based" printer, you can upgrade the print area by buying a larger build plate (or just placing a larger pad on top of the old plate) and extend the extruder rails for less than $100usd. I can't believe makerbot was ever a thing, considering their pricepoint and closed-sourced nature. Definetly more appealing to "consumers" who don't understand the basics of 3d printing, and don't want to put in the "time and effort" of putting a few rails together with screws. It makes sense that Ultimaker bought them.
seeing how horrible the old makerbot printer is at my school, I'd be suspicious of their usefulness outside of exploiting schools for money. would it not just be worth getting a Prusa i3 or something? additionally, switching from gcode to something proprietary is ridiculous. But i definitely understand wanting to get something much simpler, even if I think that it's better to just learn to use something more open like a ender 3 or prusa printer
I 100% agree that there are better machines for the money out there. My $100 printer can print faster, larger, and with more materials than the MakerBot. With that said, not everyone wants to build a printer. A lot of people want to jump into printing without having to do a lot of background learning. Schools may also want something that has support/warranty and certifications. I think a lot of this is just fluff, but schools look for it. I don't think you can do much better than an Ender when it comes to learning 3D printing from the ground up.
Your Dremel will likely work a-ok on the Polar Cloud- no Dremel software needed. Ours gets Firmware updates over the internet and everything works like a charm.
No, it is not worth it. I have spent the last four years working with these machines and they're not worth what they're charging classrooms. There are a lot cheaper models that are not proprietary which can be used in classrooms.
100% agree. I’ve largely stopped using them in favor of faster, larger, better printers. MakerBot should really be ashamed of what they are charging for these machines.
Thank you for the informative video! My school is purchasing a pair of Sketch printers, so I'm doing a bit of research. I'm curious, where did the file for the dial caliper test come from? Is it a preloaded test on the Sketch. I'd like to run that test print on a different 3D printer I have. Thanks!
Schools. Many schools operate on approved vendors, suppliers, etc. Ender is usually not on that list, but MakerBot is. I personally own an Ender, but with schools, it's a different game. It's no a perfect machine by any means, but it fits the requirements to be used heavily in a school.
I agree. They just came out with a larger one but my thoughts have changed a lot on these machines after having a longer time with them. I might make a follow up video.
No wonder Statasys is suing Bambu Labs, they continue to sell garbage. I guess that is what you do when you can't compete honestly in the market, you sue to kill off your competition. Boycott Stratasys.
This is a re-worked Adventurer three, no question about it. It has the same table, build plate and nozzle.
Haven’t experienced that machine. How does it compare on price?
I am using these at a school and cannot seem to remove the supports on anything beyond a very simple print. Any ideas on settings or techniques that will allow supports to be removed more easily?
I’ve had the same problem with this machine. Supports and rafts are very difficult to remove cleanly. I started designed models that have their own supports so that I didn’t have to rely on the ones makerbot applied.
also- not sure if my nozzle is the issue, but i have some kind of significant jam somewhere that I am not super confident to fix myself.... with Enders or other printers- so much community based support available. Have made at least 4 multi-hour support calls to Makerbot- they are nice but not super helpful. I highly encourage you NOT to try and connect to school networks. Keep them independent- run off of USB if you do have one. This is my first 3D printer and I definitely wouldn't buy one again, for school or home.
In my experience, the MakeBit Sketches jam right before the hot element. Removing the Bowden tube is a pain and once removed, clearing the jam is t too bad with the provided tools. I agree with the network and not getting one for personal use.
Ender is the way to go. I just bought a used upgraded one for less than $200usd. For over $500 for a printer, it should at least be direct drive, so you can print tpu. Also, with an ender, or "frame-based" printer, you can upgrade the print area by buying a larger build plate (or just placing a larger pad on top of the old plate) and extend the extruder rails for less than $100usd. I can't believe makerbot was ever a thing, considering their pricepoint and closed-sourced nature. Definetly more appealing to "consumers" who don't understand the basics of 3d printing, and don't want to put in the "time and effort" of putting a few rails together with screws. It makes sense that Ultimaker bought them.
seeing how horrible the old makerbot printer is at my school, I'd be suspicious of their usefulness outside of exploiting schools for money. would it not just be worth getting a Prusa i3 or something?
additionally, switching from gcode to something proprietary is ridiculous. But i definitely understand wanting to get something much simpler, even if I think that it's better to just learn to use something more open like a ender 3 or prusa printer
I 100% agree that there are better machines for the money out there. My $100 printer can print faster, larger, and with more materials than the MakerBot. With that said, not everyone wants to build a printer. A lot of people want to jump into printing without having to do a lot of background learning. Schools may also want something that has support/warranty and certifications. I think a lot of this is just fluff, but schools look for it.
I don't think you can do much better than an Ender when it comes to learning 3D printing from the ground up.
Your Dremel will likely work a-ok on the Polar Cloud- no Dremel software needed. Ours gets Firmware updates over the internet and everything works like a charm.
I don’t think it has any independent internet connectivity. It has a USB but I do t have a computer to dedicate to the machine.
No, it is not worth it. I have spent the last four years working with these machines and they're not worth what they're charging classrooms. There are a lot cheaper models that are not proprietary which can be used in classrooms.
100% agree. I’ve largely stopped using them in favor of faster, larger, better printers. MakerBot should really be ashamed of what they are charging for these machines.
This is so ancient comparing to something from Bambulab.
It really, really is. I don't see MakerBot sticking around long if they don't up their game massively.
@@NathanNagele the print quality, the build size and the price. 🤮....!
Thank you for the informative video! My school is purchasing a pair of Sketch printers, so I'm doing a bit of research.
I'm curious, where did the file for the dial caliper test come from? Is it a preloaded test on the Sketch. I'd like to run that test print on a different 3D printer I have.
Thanks!
Hey. The dial caliper print is a file that I made. I’ll be happy to put a link to the STL in the description.
but what about compared to the flash forge tho
I don’t have any experience with a FF so I can’t comment on it.
Build volume no bigger than an Ender 5 and at about 20% of the price. Why pay such a ridiculous amount of money? The mind boggles!
Schools. Many schools operate on approved vendors, suppliers, etc. Ender is usually not on that list, but MakerBot is. I personally own an Ender, but with schools, it's a different game. It's no a perfect machine by any means, but it fits the requirements to be used heavily in a school.
Use MakerBot cloud print as a software
I do, but I don’t like that I’m forced to use their software. With a more open printer, you can use a slicer of your choice.
print bed size is also an issue... they are small
I agree. They just came out with a larger one but my thoughts have changed a lot on these machines after having a longer time with them. I might make a follow up video.
No wonder Statasys is suing Bambu Labs, they continue to sell garbage. I guess that is what you do when you can't compete honestly in the market, you sue to kill off your competition. Boycott Stratasys.
Not going to disagree with you there.
Don't buy anything from Makerbot. Worst customer service ever.
Luckily I haven’t had to deal with them yet.