Discovered why M2 lead times are so long...

[jferguson]

I don't think the kits are limited by any sort of mechanical ability. If you can turn a screwdriver and follow instructions, you can build the kit.

the turn a screwdriver part isn't where the goats are, it's the "follow instructions" that fewer people than you might suppose can handle. You might think that wanting a printer would be self filtering, but I can think of at least five people who have other folks' machines that have never been able to do anything with them. They were caught up in "it's all the rage."

At the same time, MakerGear seems so clearly superior to many of the other products on the market that it may be somewhat more isolated from the real incompetents.

[Jules]

Similar story in the cutter world, and MakerGear is absolutely brilliant to use that method to limit access.

We had (literally) thousands of very sweet mature ladies who thought it would be cool to use digital cutters to create scrapbook pages of their grandkids, so they went out and bought a cutter. Unfortunately, only a handful realized that using a digital cutter meant they had to use a computer, and many of them had never even turned one on.

Zero support provided by those who sold the cutters-they left it to those of us on forums to help. Kid you not, one month, right after one major release on QVC, I personally dealt with over 3000 cries for help. We weren't holding their hands, it was more a case of dragging them along bodily.

And man, when they get PO'd.....you do not want to try to deal with a frustrated grandma!

Very, very smart of MakerGear. Very smart.

[jsc]

yeah i dont know if i would go that far jin. easy for you, me and most of the others here but most average people do have trouble using a screwdriver "the right way"

Aw, thanks for putting "you" and "me" in the same sentence regarding mechanical ability. Almost the entirety of my experience with tools and machinery has come about entirely as a result of playing around with 3D printing with the M2. I never worked on cars, I never did woodworking, didn't own any tools to mention. When I built the kit, though, I was surprised it was as straightforward as it turned out to be. It's more than half assembled as it comes, and the process wasn't much more difficult than putting together a Lego house.

[Yodajammies]

While I understand your logic in not dangling the carrot that is a cheaper/quicker kit price, is there a way to add a note to my order to expedite things if I pinky promise to never call you?

This isn't my first rodeo with RP machines (I work as a service/CAD tech for a 3d printing co), and I would hate to have my M2 delayed by the incompetence of the average rube.

Also, do you guys allow local pickup / tours? I'd love to roadtrip up the road and see yall's setup.

[Bratag]

For me it wasn't an issue of "Can I use a screwdriver and follow instructions", I had built two printers from kits before the M2. What it came down to for me is how much is my time worth? I decided that it was worth the extra couple of hundred bucks to avoid the hours spent putting it together, regardless of how handy you are with a screwdriver - putting a kit together and getting it tuned is a not inconsiderable time investment, and I simply do not have the cycles to spare.

That being said I immediately turned around and changed out the hotend and the printbed when I got the thing (thanks forums for all the help), So not sure I saved all that much time in the end.

[Jules]

While I understand your logic in not dangling the carrot that is a cheaper/quicker kit price, is there a way to add a note to my order to expedite things if I pinky promise to never call you?

This isn't my first rodeo with RP machines (I work as a service/CAD tech for a 3d printing co), and I would hate to have my M2 delayed by the incompetence of the average rube.

Also, do you guys allow local pickup / tours? I'd love to roadtrip up the road and see yall's setup.

Try it and see. Send Rick a private message. (you might also have to pinky-swear not to broadcast the results though, if you're successful. )

[rpollack]

You are welcome to pick it up. The kit lead-time is not artificial though...the posted lead-time is the actual backlog.