Robox 3D Printer, Dual Extruder, High Definition

This printer does not work at all. I downloaded the latest version of the software before starting (Windows 64-bit). The software delivers an endless stream of error messages. Will not print; will not purge the nozzle; will not eject filament once it is loaded. I had to return it with the filament reel still in place. The graphical display of nozzle temperature to the left of the graphics window in the software, and the text display of nozzle temperature in the graphics window show completely different values. On an HD screen (1920 x 1080), parts of some of the pop-up windows in the Settings menu are clipped and the windows cannot be resized, making some of the settings, and their labels, inaccessible. After the first error, the software instructed me to immediately shut the unit down, eject the filament, reseat the head and restart. The filament would not eject because the nozzle would not heat up enough to allow ejection (even though it appeared to heat up beyond operating temperature at times when it was not supposed to). I shut it off and reseated the head. After restarting I was warned that I had shut the unit down while the head was still hot, and that could damage the head, even though the software had instructed me to shut it down when I did. The hardware and design appear to be of very high quality and well done. The problem may be with the software. The latest version of the Users Manual and the Quick-Start Guide from the Robox web site do not match the latest version of the software, downloaded at the same time also from the Robox web site. Does not deserve even one star, but that is the lowest rating allowed.

Ok, So I have had my Robox for a week now. I can say I'm very impressed. I have to admit I bought it on amazon just to have the option of returning it, since I read mixed reviews, and in general there is still not much real world info on this printer out there. The intention of this review is to be as objective as possible, but to be honest I'm already in love and printing like a kid with a new toy. After using it EXTENSIVELY this week I can tell you that the SW and FW upgrades on the last few months have done their job. The printer just works. I've used other printers before, (stratasys profesional, makerbot, printrbot, etc...), but this is the first one I own. I wanted something fast for fun, yet precise enough to prototype my engineering work. I did not want to fidget with it too much, and I wanted to be able to teach my wife to use it, without having to earn an engineering degree. I got everything I wanted. I have done side by side comparisons on THE SAME MODEL printed on Form 1, Makerbot, and Robox. Of course the laser Form 1 does not present evidence of layering, but the actual dimensional accuracy of the parts was tighter on the Robox on both the Normal and Fine settings. The layer quality is better on the Robox than any other printer I've used. If you print on fine you can barely see it's there. Be aware that Draft is just that... Quality is decent, but it does sacrifice a lot of detail. That being said, I use this mode the most. It is super fast and usually good enough. Then, if all is well, I do the print on the desired quality. Again, quite impressed. Kudos to CEL. I definitely recommend buying this printer. Oh, and by the way, robyneil's review here on amazon of this item is a MUST READ, it'll save you a lot of worrying. Follow that, and like me, you will have absolutely no issues.

I like to tinker a bit, but I see myself as a noob when it comes to 3D printers. This is my first 3d printer so I can't really personally compare this to other printers, but I can say that it is getting close to being plug and play. It was a choice between Ultimaker 2, Lulzbot Taz 4, Makergear M2, and Cel Robox. Out of the four, Cel Robox is the newest and did not yet have any reviews on Amazon when I purchased it. It was a bit daunting at first. I decided not to get Ultimaker 2 and Lulzbot Taz 4 because they cost way more and asked myself the following question: Do I really need to print something bigger than 4" or require a big build volume (Cel Robox's build volume is 8.3 x 5.9 x 3.9")? No. For my needs, I just needed to print components that I can attach to my actobotics components and couldn't justify spending more for build volume. Ultimately, Cel Robox won over Makergear M2 because of future-proofed technology (removable/replacble/upgradable print heads) and child safety, but Makergear definitely has amazing features/reviews and has a bigger community right now. My criteria and how they panned out with Cel Robox after receiving it 5 days ago: * Ease of use: Plug and play - print right away after installing Robox Automaker software (the white card is a usb drive accessible by flipping it to pop out and install software), but do the following first before printing (you knew the "but" was coming) : a) This is optional but Robox community suggests that you always run a Purge (there seems to be test filament in the print head upon unboxing so do the Purge before anything else) OR print the "Robox/3D Models/pyramid.stl" on Draft (you can always pause then cancel once the first few layers of the pyramid is confirmed sticking to the bed if not it takes 9 mins to print pyramid). I did find that preheating the bed, warming the ambient temperature inside the printer, and preheating extruder gives you successful first layers after especially with ABS filament. b) Let the bed cool down a bit so when you clean up the purged material or remove the printed pyramid, the alcohol from the IPA wipes doesn't evaporate right away and it'll be easier to remove the filament material when the bed is cooled down. It doesn't contradict the first step of preheating since the bed is still warm after and ambient temperature inside the printer is relatively warmer as well. c) Clean the bed with Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) wipes. d) Add your model for printing. Before you press the Print button though, set the "Brim" parameter to either 2 or 3. It will add an extra thin first layer around the perimeter of your model. This will ensure that the first layer sticks and stays down instead of lifting up or bending up that sometimes happen on ABS prints. If you can't see the print button that looks like a play button, make sure the filament has been fed properly by pushing it in a bit, make sure you hear a motor whir after, and feel the filament getting pulled in. e) Now print whatever you like. Remember to let the bed cool down a bit before removing your print. Remove the Brim layer. Then clean up the bed again once you are done. Note 1: If you find that the filament is not sticking on the first Purge, AutoMaker software has a "Calibrate Nozzle Height" on the "Status" tab > Click 3 dots on panel divider to open advanced settings > "Maintenance" sub tab. This will make sure that the extruder nozzle isn't too high from the bed when printing the first layer. IMPORTANT!!! Before you run it, you will have to remove the PEI plate (the brownish plate with the Robox logo) on the bed. Slide the front black tab with a metal clip to the left, push up the plate a bit from the front finger slot, and slide it carefully out. Follow instructions to determine if the nozzle height is set just right. Note 2: You'll find that printing in "Draft" instead of "Normal" or "Fine" may be enough resolution for your needs. With Draft, it will exclusively use the larger extruder. Normal and Fine uses both extruders. Go with "Draft" first if you're printing the design model for the very first time. It will save you lots of time. It won't be as pretty but it will get the job done. I found that the Automaker PDF User Guide is outdated and this confused me a bit. Skip the documentation about the auto registration part since it is no longer in AutoMaker software. Also remember that you can click on the 3 dots on the panel divider to show Advance Settings. There you will find a panel to send GCode commands to the printer as well. If you can't open the printer door for any reason (make sure print is not paused and has cancelled/finished printing), just send the command "G37" to open the case door. I current do not know how to reopen "*.robox" project files that has my model scaling and rotation saved settings since the documentation doesn't match the latest version of AutoMaker. It's not big issue for me but Cel I request that you update your documentation for every AutoMaker version release. Finally, Robox is plug and play because you don't have to assemble the printer. You also don't need to level the bed and don't need to configure your filament/material settings every time before printing. But unlike inkjet/laser printers, there are some things you still need to do to ensure a successful print. A successful print right now can still have blobs and stringy parts. As far as I've researched, all consumer/commercial 3D printers have issues and they are not at the stage where 3D printers are truly plug and play like paper printers. You will still occasionally get bad and inconsistent prints. Even with the amazing technology Cel implemented on Robox, I still would not say 3D printing is now mainstream. But of all the 3D Printers, Cel Robox I think has addressed more issues than the competition (auto-leveling gantry, heated plates, microclimate ambient temperature, material detection and number of supported types, filament retract resolution, pause-resume, print-speed, extensibility, safety, etc). I wish I could say how it compares print quality wise since this is my first 3D Printer. * Community On my first ever print, the first layer filament didn't stick to the bed. Don't panic if this happens to you. This is why doing the above steps is very important and they avoid this from occasionally happening. I figured out how to resolve my issue by reading the manual and going to the community forums. I'm impressed that I didn't have to open a support ticket to solve it. I lurked into the forums by the way and haven't introduced myself to the community yet. The community is smaller compared to other forums because the printer is relatively new and you won't find a lot of youtube videos yet. * Technology Instead of throwing specs around like 20 microns resolution (which I probably won't even configure/use since it will take forever to complete a print), I'll just say that I like the idea of upgrading the print heads. I can actually buy (backordered) a different print head RBX01-DM Kit Dual Material Head + 2nd Extruder. Even with that added to the cost, it is still cheaper than MakerBot Replicator 2X, MakerGear M2, Ultimaker 2 and LulzBot Taz 4. The Robox already has dual extruders but it is for the same material only. It has dual extruders with different sizes to speed up print time (uses bigger extruder to fill in material and smaller extruder for finer details outside). RBX01-DM has dual extruders for different color materials or different material types (probably same size extruder though). Robox is like the Dremel of 3D printers. It has the potential to attach 3d scanners, print circuit boards, and probably even do traditional subtractive manufacturing like cutting and routing. Note 1: You can print with different colors using the regular print head by pausing print, eject material, feed in new color material, and then resume print. Note 2: You're not stuck with buying Cel Robox branded filaments with EEPROM chips. You can buy and use filaments from other manufacturers/providers. It just won't have the pause/resume capability. There's a thingiverse Robox Reel Spooler: www.thingiverse.com/thing:576324 that allows you to rewind other brand filaments back into the Robox EEPROM SmartReel and even setup a custom material profile (temp, speed, etc. settings) for it so I guess you can still get pause/resume capability with other brands. Think "Cartridge World". I have not confirmed whether this works or not. * Safety I have kids and while I encourage them to learn 3D printing with me, the bed and nozzle can get extremely hot. It will automatically lock the case door while printing. I like that I can lock the case door before turning it off as well. UPDATE 1/19/2015: It's been a month and things are actually better. With the recent software update AutoMaker 1.01.01 (now uses Cura slicer same developed by Ultimaker), I was able to print this seemingly impossible ring of ball bearings: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:51806 Something I thought was not possible to print on the Robox. I was also able to complete my 3D Printer Smoke Alarm project just recently. http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:633143 Experience so far: Overall, I'm satisfied and I do understand why other reviews haven't been great. I do acknowledge reviewers are very technical and knowledgeable about the subject. The experience they share is very valuable. A lot of things I printed also didn't work out and got stumped for awhile too. For example: Some models cannot be printed as is. I wish it is what-you-see-is-what-you-print, but humbly learned it's not. On the hardware side I've had the same problems some have mentioned here so I don't think it's a lottery of good Robox printers. When nothing sticks on the bed I recalibrate. When nothing is coming out of the nozzle, I preheat nozzle, eject the material, re-cut filament, and try again. When it doesn't print right, I rethink and iterate. The community has been great and has helped me a lot. I guess what I'm trying to say is for this price point it's really good (I have no affiliation with CEL Robox). I encourage you to keep at it and it'll work out. To me, having a Robox is like having an Automatic(P) mode on your digital camera. It's not only because it can set material, auto-leveling, and profile settings automatically but it has amazing tools to resolve issues with features like Eject Material, XY Offset, Nozzle Opening, and Nozzle Height calibrations. It's really good. This is recognition that is well deserved. But just like with photography, the camera is not good alone. You need good lenses, a sturdy tripod, studio lighting, composition, and a good workflow. The workflow I learned is to always do planning and preprocessing: solidify models 1st with Rhino3D/MeshMixer, split the models if needed, plan orientation, and alternatively use MeshMixer to generate the support layer. So far, I've only used the default print settings on the Robox and have not played yet with all the different manual settings. Honestly, the Print quality is not yet on par with the $2500 and over printers. I think with future software improvements (Robox software has only been in development for a year) and learning how to use manual settings will help improve the quality even further.

Super Produkt, ein echtes Plug and Play Experience. Nur entpacken und loslegen. Die Problembearbeitung ist sehr schnell und freundlich, man bekommt für den Preis 2 Jahre Garantie, die den Austausch aller Teile umfasst. Das ist schon eine ausreichende Aussage. Man kann die sog. SmartReel FIlamente von CEL nutzen und spart sich somit die Einstellung der Materialien, oder man kauft sich leere SmartReels und windet, sogar die Nutzung von FIlamente und Rollen anderer Hersteller ist möglich. Einfach genial!

Su definicion es buena

Ok so I've not had this that long but it's been a constant pain for me and basically money down the drain. After my very first print it had to be sent back for repair as something wasnt done right at the factory. Printed fine for about two months and then sent back again for repair ( I had to pay this time). Got it back and the issue was fixed, however print quality was now terrible. It's never printed well in PLA no matter what (I even tested the cel PLA on my wanhao i3 and it was fine) but now quality was affected for all plastics. After another few months and reels of wasted plastic trying to tweak it to actually print anything acceptable I was told to send back to Cel again for repair (another £35 it cost me). Strangely they couldnt reproduce my problem but included a new head and sent back. I get it back and now the nozzle height fails, no matter what I try the larger nozzle scrapes the print surface instead of moving out the way ruining the prints. I own 4 other printers including one I built myself and use them daily while the Robox sits collecting dust. To add to this it is the loudest of all my printers. I can have 3 other printers running and this is louder than all 3 put together, it's the only one I can still hear in the next room. My flashforge which was half the price has been printing pretty much 24/7 with no issues and better quality prints. In summary I've got to agree with the other 1 star review. Maybe quality control is an issue and I've been out of luck as I cannot understand the good reviews at all. Its then likely that if you're stuck with a bad unit Cel will always try to repair rather than replace and in my case it looks like I'm stuck with the useless thing. Maybe for casual light weight use it has been fine for some people, but in my opinion the design is flawed and unreliable.

Sono molto soddisfatto dell' acquisto. La stampante mantiene le promesse, è di buona fattura, robusta e affidabile. Certo, va usata con criterio, vanno seguite le indicazioni del costruttore, è un oggetto tecnologicamente avanzato, bisogna studiare bene come funziona un processo di stampa 3D, in quanto anche se si chiama "stampa" è cosa ben diversa dallo stampare su un foglio di carta ! Un elogio al Venditore, preciso e puntuale. Infine un cenno al servizio assistenza, qualsiasi problema gli va segnalato aprendo un ticket. Non sono velocissimi a rispondere, ma ti assistono nel risolvere i problemi. ovviamente rigorosamente in inglese.

Puesta en marcha en pocos minutos. El software es bastante sencillo tanto para imprimir como para hacer el mantenimiento. El doble extrusor te permite imprimir bastante rápido piezas que no requieran un detalle alto. El ruido es parecido al de las impresoras antiguas de agujas. Llega a ser molesto en impresiones de larga durada. Sobretodo por la noche. La impresora detecta el material insertado y ajusta automáticamente los valores de impresión (solo con filamento robox original). Si no quieres calentarte mucho la cabeza es una buena opción. Además tiene posibilidad de poner kit para imprimir dos materiales.