Anyone dealt with MakeMendel.com

Hi everyone

I'm new to this 3d world and I'm about to buy my first printer kit!

I've found a RapidBot 3 kit at makemendel.com which looks good to me but I'm not sure whether to go for it or not. I don't have too much of an issue with building one from a kit so that's not a problem. Before I send them a load of money, I would be interested to know if anyone has bought anything from them to see what the quality / service is like?

I'm looking forward to my printing learning curve!

Thanks in advance!

I am also interested in readgin some RapidBot 3 reviews.

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Cheers,
Franklin Dattein

If I go for it, I'll put a review on here for others to read

I just want to hear whether anyone has had any dealings at all. I'm struggling to find any evidence online of any machines in use!

i have a gen6 board from them, it works good.
would buy from again.

I have just put an order in for the Rapidbot 3.0 after spending the morning reading around and feeling pretty good about this particular model.

I registered during the order process and when I went to login to the makemendel.com site, it bounced back saying my email/password were not recognised. I tried the 'forgot password' option and was told there was no account linked to my email. I then tried creating an account from scratch. No problem. I then wrote an email to their support address explaining my situation and could they send me email confirmation that they have my order (they have my money - PayPal). This bounced back saying the mailbox was full..

So I tried completing the form on the website. This too bounced back saying try again later. I tried calling the number on the website. Was told the number was not recognised.

I've left a message on their 'question?' message board at the bottom of their website, but they're offline, so not holding out much hope.

Granted it's a Saturday, granted it's early here and so still late in India, but overall I'm not feeling too great about the whole affair now. I'm surprised at the lack of automatic-email confirmation, even as a preliminary and not really confirming anything.. Plus every attempt at contacting them is met with a brick wall..

I'll write back here if/when there are any developments.....

Oh and this is their 'customer service' page:

[makemendel.com]

Not sure if I can post a direct link, if not, just go to their site and click customer service page at the bottom... Each heading is filled with Lorem Ipsum...

I'd suggest that you notify Paypal right away.

They'll know if they've had prior problems with this company, and also, they hold payments to them for a while, so if you act now you could at least keep your money paused in transit to them in case you need to reverse the transaction.

Have a look in your "spam" folder just in case/

Rljs64 Wrote:
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> Oh and this is their 'customer service' page:
>
> [makemendel.com]
> ench
>
> Not sure if I can post a direct link, if not, just
> go to their site and click customer service page
> at the bottom... Each heading is filled with Lorem
> Ipsum...

If it's any help, I've been speaking with them on their support email address and it's only recently started bouncing back as full. I also left a message on their online chat so if I get a response, I will post here.

The fact that you haven't got a response within 24hs is a very negative point, in my opinion. Specially because it is a business strictly online.

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Cheers,
Franklin Dattein

Just got a reply to me email so they're available. Hope that helps!

Depends. If its over a weekend, then its understandable (and a weekend 'shifts' since the world is round and has 24 time zones, each using up an hour.) I'd venture a guess that a lot of the reprap 'suppliers' of stuff are small mom-n-pop shops. Sometimes 'life' gets in the way.

Of course I hope it all works out well for both buyer and seller. (as long as its not Botmill who was DOA last I checked the website)

fsamir Wrote:
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> The fact that you haven't got a response within
> 24hs is a very negative point, in my opinion.
> Specially because it is a business strictly
> online.

I agree. My previous comment was a bit unfair.

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Cheers,
Franklin Dattein

Any follow up info on this? I was about to purchase a rapidbot 3.0, but after reading this I got a little concerned.

Hi All,

For any help, detail information or question drop a mail at sales@makemendel.com
@Joseph Buxton , We did refunded you amount on 10 Feb, please check your mails.

Thanks to all for your interest in our company

I just happen to come accross this thread an figured I'd add my expierence with the company. I ordered a Rabidbot 3.0 on March 6th, it was delivered to me on March 9th. It was very well packaged with all the various size screws and nuts in seperate bags clearly marked. I received the kit undamaged and packed very well but with a couple of parts missing. I sent an e-mail to makemendel and received a prompt response. It turned out that I was missing less parts than I had originally thought but the few parts I was missing were promptly sent out to me and I am expecting them to arrive any day. I can not speak to the quality of the prints since the printer is not yet finished and I'm not sure I would be the best person to do that anyway since this is my first adventure into 3D printing. Thats my 2 cents worth for anyone that is interested.

Bob

Bob, I'm still very much interested in what you think of the RapidBot. I haven't heard anything bad about them, and I've spent a lot of time looking! If you could post a few updates, that would be great! Just out of interest, where are you based? Shipping was quick!

PS - I went for a Mendel90 in the end (built over the weekend so still very new), which is an excellent kit in all respects. If you'd like to compare any prints etc, let me know as I'm very new to this myself.

I live in the Scranton PA USA area. I only get to work on the kit a little every couple of nights, two young children take up most of my time. I will post an update when I finish the kit and figure out how to print something. I'll probably download some of the calibration prints that I have read about. I don't have any software installed on my computer yet. I'm sure I'll be searching the forum for help when I get to that part. I can say that for a total newbie the kit and its contents were all clearly marked and packaged well. I have exchanged several emails with the company since I have had some questions during the build, in one case they send me some closeup pictures of one of their built printers to help me viualize what needed to be done. I would guess that someone with previous expierence with 3D printing probably would have had this built long ago. So far I would consider the support very good. The only time I haven't got and answer withing a few hours has been over weekends.

Bob

It all sounds positive to me! The build manual looked a little sparse to me but the support seems to be making up for it. I'll look forward to seeing your updates

One of the most time consuming parts seems to be trying to figure out what screws to use where. Some steps give a nice summary before them of the hardware used but other do not. I'm going to ask them what screws I need to use in a few places. I received an e-mail this morning asking how my build was going and offering to answer any questions I have.

Just a quick update. The printer is nearing completion. I had many questions along the way. All of them have been answered the same day I asked them. They amended the instruction manual to make it much clearer which should eliminate the need to ask most if not all of the questions that I did ask. I am waiting for two plugs that I ordered to arrive then I should be able to finish the printer if all goes well.

Bob

They are quick to ship but have bad quality controll. The support is abysmal also.

I recieved my assembled rapidbot 3.0 within 4 days of payment.
It was well packed. When I got it open I noticed that half of the screws were loose. I promptly tightened all of them. The only documentation that came with it was the parts list. I had to talk with support for 4-5 hours b4 i realized that I was suposed to get a manual which didnt come with the printer. They sent me a PDF but it doesnt offer much help, its mostly assembly instructions.

The hot end is a MK1 or MK2 J-head. I didnt realize I needed to point a fan at the PEEK tube to keep it from jamming, no documentation or support mentioned this... I jammed the hot end 20 or so times before I finally read it on this forums that the fan is necessary for PLA. /facepalm

The "heated" bed only gets up to 45c and this is after warming for a half hour or so. I cant print ABS on it or it warps really bad. I contacted makemendel and they told me to cut the wires and wire it directly to the power supply... Really??? This doesnt sound like a good idea so I didnt do it. I ordered a PCB heated bed and will hook it up to the printrboard.

There isnt any good way to level the print bed. Actually you cant level the bed at all. To level the X axis I have to manually turn one stepper motor on the Z axis untill I level the X axis on the print bed. The Y axis cannot be leveled at all so hope yours is level when you get it or put it together.

The printer is sturdy, I give them that. It would take alot to break this thing and it doesnt wobble or anything.

My one huge complaint, the power supply isnt mounted correctly and the screws they used to mount it are not the right size so they work their way out with multiple times plugging and unplugging the power cable. They over used masking tape, they used it for EVERYTHING, that and zip ties. The printrboard is mounted with zipties on the botom of the machine. The power supply is in the same regeon. All of the cables for the power supply are covered in masking tape holding them in place, not a very elagant solution but it works. Some of the vents on the PSU were covered with masking tape, i had to cut it away so it could breath properly.

Overall the rapidbot 3.0 works and prints objects but It takes alot of work to keep it running and the company offers terrible tech support.

I agree with most of what you say from my experience so far which is not as much as yours. They were quick to ship and the documentation is lacking, especially when you're trying to build it from a kit. At least for me though , the support has been great with prompt answers to all questions. Even follow up emails to see if I had any additional questions.

I will have to read up on the MK1/MK2 J heads and the differences, I'm glad you mentioned that. My kit did come with a fan, I guess I better use it. I have been wondering about how well the heated bed would perform but from your results it sounds like it isn't sufficient. I will try it to verify I get the same result but I suspect they will be the same as yours. I can not see a good way to mount a PCB heat bed but if you come up with a solution please let me know as I will most likley end up going this route as well. I also have the same concerns about leveling the heat bed. The only way I can see doing it in the Y axis is with shims under the bed and I'm not sure how effective that will be.

I will definitly be mounting the power supply and printrboard with the correct screws, I have been pretty much using whatever screws were most fit for the job for the whole build thus far.

Can you explain why it takes a lot of work to keep it running? I would like to know what I'm in for. Thanks,

Bob

I think most of the work is from their poor quality control.

They had the extruder stepper motor driver wire ran behind the X axis belt. I didnt think much of it because the insulation on it is rather thick. It has been rubbing on that belt since I got it. Well it finally started causing problems. The wire inside is having intermitent connection issues but no damage to the insulation. I'm going to have to replace it.

Not knowing I needed a fan... I dissasembled and reasembed that hot end dozens of times trying to figure out the problem. Part of the problem was the PTFE tube was too short. I bought a length and cut my own fixing part of that issue.

This hot end over heats at the drop of a hat. Even with a fan I noticed the other day that it had stoped extruding. I got close to it and noticed the plastic above where it inserts into the hot end had melted and it couldnt push it in anymore.

The Z axis has 2 stepper motors. If they get out of alignment by a few .1mm it binds. -.-
I check it for levelness with every print. I think one of the Z axis motors might be missing steps every now and then causing this binding. As long as I stay on top of making sure its level b4 any long print its fine.

I'm sure part of the problem is my lack of experience with a 3D printer. I'm learning alot. There isnt much on this printer that I havnt had to tear down or troubleshoot. Its good experience for when I build my reprap tho.

Thanks, now I know some things to check and watch out for.

Hi,

I own a rapidbot 1. (kit) from November 2012.
I agree its not as easy to build is you would expect

it has only 1 z axis motor, no issue with jamming.
I did connect the heatbed direct to the power supply, the connectors give a lot of resistance.
I don't know if it is hot enough now, but I can't touch it for more then a few second....

I connected the printerboard with some of the screws. The kit came without tape. there was some type of plastic tube shielding and t-raps.
worked well for me.

Leveling the bed is hard. in the end I just use a 0.3 first layer. to balance it out.

I do have problems filament jamming... what do you mean with PEEK?
the kit came with 2 fans but no instructions as to how I would fit them....

thanks.
what do you mean with

By PEEK I mean the heat break on the hot end. Its made out of PEEK plastic. To prevent jams point your fan at the hot end but not at the nozzle or heat block. If you look at the newer designs of the J-Head you notice that they basicly turned the PEEK tube into a heatsink. The one that came with my rapidbot is an early version and MUST have a fan pointed at the PEEK heat break.


I dont set my fan over 50% because at 100% the hot end cant stay over 190c and the PLA ive been printing lately needs about 210c to print.


I have a MK5 J-Head on order, I suggest anyone with a rapidbot do the same.

Can you tell me where you ordered the MK5 J-Head from? Thanks,
Bob

I was mistaken its an MK4-B

[www.ebay.com]

I'm planning on converting it to 1.75mm filament. If that dont work I'll be buying some 3mm filament.

Thanks, do you know if you will need to drill new mounting holes.