Solidoodle 2 vs. UP!

[aerokev519]

Does anyone know how the quality of the prints from the Solidoodle 2 compare to the UP!? I have had my UP! for 18 months and am very happy with it, but have friends that would be more inclined to spend $500-600 vs. $1500 if the quality of the prints is good. Also, Solidoodle is selling 1.75mm ABS in black and red. I'd be curious to hear if anyone has used this material in their UP!.
http://www.solidoodle.com/

[ETPDesign]

The product isn't available yet. It is vaporware. That makes the UP quality far, far, far superior.

[aerokev519]

I knew that the Cube was still vaporware as you can only pre-order it, but saw the Soldoodle showing as in stock on the website so I figured it was available.

[pleppik]

Does anyone know how the quality of the prints from the Solidoodle 2 compare to the UP!? I have had my UP! for 18 months and am very happy with it, but have friends that would be more inclined to spend $500-600 vs. $1500 if the quality of the prints is good. Also, Solidoodle is selling 1.75mm ABS in black and red. I'd be curious to hear if anyone has used this material in their UP!.
http://www.solidoodle.com/

From the website it looks like the Solidoodle is YARRV (Yet Another RepRap Variant). It's possible to get good quality from RepRap-based printers.

The biggest downside IMHO is that you have to deal with Skeinforge, which seems to take a lot of care and feeding and a lot of people have a hard time using. For me, Up is worth a significant premium because the software actually works and is relatively easy to use. Go check out the Makerbot user group and see how many threads are dedicated to getting the software to give good results.

[eyUP]

For me, Up is worth a significant premium because the software actually works and is relatively easy to use

I agree 100% - (almost) anyone can build a cheap 3 axis machine and tell you how to install and configure all the opensource stuff you need to make it work (Arduino drivers, Python, Skeinforge, Pronterface etc...) but the beauty of the UP! is that it's all done for you - unpack the machine, install the s/w, align the table, set the height and start printing.
I'm sure that's what most people want - they don't want to worry about the hundreds of settings in Skeinforge.
From experience, you really don't know where to start if your prints aren't coming out that well - is it the software, your settings, firmware or mechanics at fault ??
The only downside I see with the UP! is it's inflexible, eg, you can't just buy any old ABS filament (or PLA) and expect it to work

[DrewPetitclerc]

The only downside I see with the UP! is it's inflexible, eg, you can't just buy any old ABS filament (or PLA) and expect it to work

I would disagree on this, so far all my mods now allow me to run any ABS and PLA with a very high degree of success.
My printer is waiting at home ready to switch to any color or material and print what I want in minutes and every time I get a new spool from a new supplier I print a bearing set from it to hold the spool and this lets me know what setting (the few we have) to change for that material.

Regards
Drew

[JuliaDee]

I agree that Up!'s integrated software makes all the difference in the world. It wasn't a huge factor in my purchase but now that I'm a little deeper into this whole thing I see how unhappy I would be having to mess around with Skeinforge etc. This is really where pp3dp should be focusing their marketing blurb as it is the single biggest difference they have over all the competition. Yes, the hardware is very nice too but that's kind of obvious from photos - the software difference is not so obvious. Also, most Up! websites still say Windows-only; they might lure a lot more customers by touting their Macintosh utility as well.

[cambazz]

Anytime a new 3d printer comes up, i do research to see if specs and sample prints are better then up's. so far i am very happy with up, and no other desktop 3d printer aimed at home use, could beat the price/quality ratio of up.

here is the thing: of course one can build a printer better then up, but not less then up's price. they [up] have done some excellent chineese engineering to balance the quality / cost ratio. some things such as linear rails they have made no comprimise. some things are less important / more replacable.

best.

[Marcus]

I am having trouble finding solidoodle footage / reviews, for that price I would expect seeing more out there. Not that I need another 3D printer, just curious
Anyone with a UP or another Reprap able to report on it's quality and availability?