Hello everyone,
I'm Andy from St. Albans, near London, UK. Been printing with an Up! Mini to good effect for the last 2 years or so. Finally bit the bullet and went open-source with a Flashforge Creator Pro and decided to get Simplify3D at the same time. - I've got a couple more printers on their way ( via Kickstarter ) so I thought it would be as well to standardise my workflow - The Up! is a great little printer but sometimes I feel the limited control.
Currently, I tend to hand-finish items printed in ABS. I'm on MakeXYZ and 3DHubs and in the last year, the Up! has more than paid for itself so things are going pretty well. I'm also into 3D scanning, with a Structure Sensor and a Matter&Form.
Hopefully my new set-up will move my business ( Pot8oSh3D, aka Potato Shed ) into a more sustainable, profitable and professional outfit. I'm looking forward to learning about Simplify3D and exploring all the new capabilities that are open to me.
Cheers!
AndyL
Pot8oSh3D
Re: Hey, guys
Welcome to the boards! What printers did you end up backing on Kickstarter? The FF Creator Pro is a great unit for the price, so I'm sure you will enjoy it!
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DarthRevan
- Posts: 480
- Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2015 8:29 am
Re: Hey, guys
Welcome Pot8oSh3D! I'd love to hear more about your experiences at MakeXYZ and 3DHubs. I'm sure doing that presents all sorts of challenges this forum could both help solve and/or learn from! 
Re: Hey, guys
Hey guys,
I've backed the Deltatrix and the iBox Nano on KS. Seems like the Deltatrix will be the first to deliver - Who knows what's happening with the Nano. The "creator" seems to be a complete joker. The FF Creator Pro certainly seems to be great value. It's taking me a while to tune it in but I've been getting some good results with ABS, although Simplify3D seems to be causing me a few challenges. I've got one particular job that's causing me some heartache. Just can't get it set up in the right orientation with a good finish at both ends. ;-(
My experience with MakeXYZ and 3DHubs? Hmm. Hard to know where to start. I've had at least 6 jobs through each of them, ranging from a simple $30 one-off to complex $150+ multiples and assemblies. 3DH seems to be more "professional" but the ordering process doesn't really account for variations - For instance, it defaults to 20% infill, so the first you hear of a new order is at a low-ball price. Then, the first time you contact the client you have to give them bad news. On the whole, the process is pretty smooth and each order does have a customer service person, so it can work pretty well. They pay up in less than 5 days. MakeXYZ is a bit more free-form, which I kinda like and there's more scope for contacting the client and discussing things in depth. They pay out in 11 days from client-confirmed delivery, which seems rather a long time to me. There's a rather strange secondary process on MakeXYZ, where a client uploads a file and MXYZ then sets up what can only be described as a Dutch Auction. First thing a printer will know about it is you get an email, telling you there's a job. You can either accept it - usually at a ridiculously low price - in which case, you have to dispatch within 24 hours, or just plain refuse it. There's no discussion unless you accept it. It gives the overall impression that we printers are just beasts of burden for MXYZ to use and abuse. For the most part, the two sites exist side-by-side but if I were to back one for the mid-term, it'd probably be 3DH.
Cheers!
AndyL
Pot8oSh3D
I've backed the Deltatrix and the iBox Nano on KS. Seems like the Deltatrix will be the first to deliver - Who knows what's happening with the Nano. The "creator" seems to be a complete joker. The FF Creator Pro certainly seems to be great value. It's taking me a while to tune it in but I've been getting some good results with ABS, although Simplify3D seems to be causing me a few challenges. I've got one particular job that's causing me some heartache. Just can't get it set up in the right orientation with a good finish at both ends. ;-(
My experience with MakeXYZ and 3DHubs? Hmm. Hard to know where to start. I've had at least 6 jobs through each of them, ranging from a simple $30 one-off to complex $150+ multiples and assemblies. 3DH seems to be more "professional" but the ordering process doesn't really account for variations - For instance, it defaults to 20% infill, so the first you hear of a new order is at a low-ball price. Then, the first time you contact the client you have to give them bad news. On the whole, the process is pretty smooth and each order does have a customer service person, so it can work pretty well. They pay up in less than 5 days. MakeXYZ is a bit more free-form, which I kinda like and there's more scope for contacting the client and discussing things in depth. They pay out in 11 days from client-confirmed delivery, which seems rather a long time to me. There's a rather strange secondary process on MakeXYZ, where a client uploads a file and MXYZ then sets up what can only be described as a Dutch Auction. First thing a printer will know about it is you get an email, telling you there's a job. You can either accept it - usually at a ridiculously low price - in which case, you have to dispatch within 24 hours, or just plain refuse it. There's no discussion unless you accept it. It gives the overall impression that we printers are just beasts of burden for MXYZ to use and abuse. For the most part, the two sites exist side-by-side but if I were to back one for the mid-term, it'd probably be 3DH.
Cheers!
AndyL
Pot8oSh3D
