Anyone Have BotMill Feedback?

i'm wondering if the people who are satisfied with their products are unrepresented on the forums because they are at home printing and don't have need to come to the forums..

mlagana Wrote:
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> i'm wondering if the people who are satisfied with
> their products are unrepresented on the forums
> because they are at home printing and don't have
> need to come to the forums..

Lets hope thats the case...

If anyone reading this forum has bought a RepRap from Botmill and actually received and got it working, please post your experience here.

I'm looking for a thread of hope that I haven't made the wrong decision.

For me it was a choice between the lasercut Mendel kit from Botmill and the UP printer - one of my main criteria was getting to a working 3D printer as soon as possible while keeping the cost as low as possible.

I got my laser cut complete kit from Techzone direct, back in May (Ir at least that was when I ordered it) before botmill stepped in to solve the customer relations issues . It arrived about 4 weeks later with a further delay for the extruder. When the extruder came, I was told it would not work and that I would be sent another one. Another long delay and I got sent 2 extruder kits.

I was able with a lot of ingenuity to get my machine printing. I now have a resistor heat block instead of messy fragile nichrome and I have replaced the following with printed parts: Wades gears, X 180 and 360 bearings, Z pulleys.

The wades gears were slightly asymmetrical and would bind. The z pulleys were mis-shapped and I think contributed to bad z axis wobble which was visibly contributing to poor quality prints. The X bearing arrangements were flimsy and lacked adjustment of the printed design so I replaced them too when solving the z axis wobble.

I made a simple heated bed by shoving a travel iron underneath the aluminium insert, and this mad a huge difference (I couldn't get PLA large prints to stick before, but now they are warpless and stick very well to the bed).

I have learnt a fair bit getting to this stage and im quite happy with my printed results. There are still issues to iron out though, but getting the complete kit, even though the delays were frustrating, was a convenient way to get (almost) everything to get started.

mlagana Wrote:
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> i'm wondering if the people who are satisfied with
> their products are unrepresented on the forums
> because they are at home printing and don't have
> need to come to the forums..

Though this is not about botmill, I have electronics from tech zone, which I'm very happy with. I ordered it back in april, and it took a long time to arrive, much due to it being held in Norwegian customs for several weeks.

I could complain about shipping time, or that the tracking number was not compatible with local post system, or that the 10 pin ribbon cable only was 9 pin, or that I wasn't able to properly use the push connector things, or that I had to fix a couple of cold solder joints, or that I smoked a extruder controller on the first run, or that the documentation was non existing back then.

But why would it matter now? I have my electronics, and they work great! I got email responses in 1-7 days, and they were always very polite and helpful, I had plenty of old IDE cables I could use, I bought myself a proper crimping tool and I've learned a lot.

All in all, I'm happy with the tech zone electronics because it have helped to expand my knowledge about RepRap, but also about general electronics. Oh, and the pcbs are really, really cute.

Update:

I've finally received my complete order. Curiously, BotMill sent me the tracking number for the plastic but never anything for the hardware. They shipped on the same day - both from BotMill - with separate tracking numbers. It makes me wonder if they even know they shipped the hardware!

So, while everything did eventually turn up as I expected, the lack of communication and conflicting information coming from BotMill don't exactly fill me with the kind of confidence that would result in a second order from them. They never did respond to my request for information, and never actually addressed the conflicting information they sent me. Overall, a big thumbs down to BotMill!

Could you do us a favor and take some good pictures of what the new parts look like? especially side shots and in the holes. Curious how well they removed the support material, and what settings where used.

God I wish you had some extra parts, I would ask you to cut one of the vertexes in half so we could check out their infill .

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repraplogphase.blogspot.com

Actually, my plastic parts are for Isaac from Fleming CNC... I only ordered ABS for printing from BotMill.

Dang it

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repraplogphase.blogspot.com

Oh, I almost forgot - you (spacexula) were asking before where BotMill was sourcing their hardware. While they did ship the package directly, the hardware bags all have UltiMachine.com labels on them. Looking at their site, UltiMachine is selling the same hardware package for less than BotMill.

I wonder if botmill is getting their packages from Ultimachine

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repraplogphase.blogspot.com

Found this post by Kimberly from Techzone:
http://forums.reprap.org/read.php?94,63540,63540#msg-63540

It seems they are stepping in and taking over the current mess of Botmill orders.

I've contacted Kimberly via email and she has been very helpful in confirming that my order will be on its way to me within the next day or 2.

I'm hoping that my full lasercut Mendel kit will arrive within the next week or so.

Just wanted to chip in with my changing experiences with techzone. I ordered a full electronics set months ago and like a lot of other people had tracking numbers that didn't work, no feedback and several weeks of delivery time. Last week however I ordered a new stepper controller from them (wanted to try an extruder driven by a real stepper controller) and was emailed with a shipping time two days later and received my part three days after that. I also had a conversation with someone over there and it seems like they're really trying to fix their problems.

Mind you, I made a small order, so who knows if they're better with full mendel sets or similar. But at least they seem to be improving to me.

Well after reading different posts in the forum I used the contact form on the Techzone site to ask about order turnaround times for a full laser cut kit and a few other small things. In less than ten minutes I had received an email back from a fellow named Lambert. I thought this was pretty amazing for 9 AM on a Sunday. He mentioned they are telling folks three days to ship but usually getting it out quicker than that. He says they are trying to be able to ship withing 24 hours of an order but still working towards that goal.

So I placed an order for a laser cut mendel kit, a couple spools and a tip parts kit.

I'll let everyone know how it goes.

6 days already, has any update?

Roaddog Wrote:
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> Well after reading different posts in the forum I
> used the contact form on the Techzone site to ask
> about order turnaround times for a full laser cut
> kit and a few other small things. In less than ten
> minutes I had received an email back from a fellow
> named Lambert. I thought this was pretty amazing
> for 9 AM on a Sunday. He mentioned they are
> telling folks three days to ship but usually
> getting it out quicker than that. He says they are
> trying to be able to ship withing 24 hours of an
> order but still working towards that goal.
>
> So I placed an order for a laser cut mendel kit, a
> couple spools and a tip parts kit.
>
> I'll let everyone know how it goes.

So far so good. My order was split into two packages. The first one was shipped in about a day. The one with the RepRap kit was shipped out on the third day. Lambert has been very nice and prompt. I received the two wooden spools and they look like they will work great for feeding the machine. I will be getting the other box Monday. I have had prompt responses and good rapport with Techzonecom.com and I would recommend them based on the first part of my order. I will post more when I get the other box and go through it. I'm pretty confident I'll be happy with everything based on all my experiences so far.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2010 11:47PM by Roaddog.

I received my kit from Techzonecom.com today. I've only gone over it for about an hour but everything appears to be there. Everything seems to be good quality. Some things are excellent while everything is pretty good making an overall nice kit. It was packed well too. The UPS guy let me know it was here by dropping it without too much concern for it's landing and I heard the thump against the wall. Everything came through fine. The tape at the end of the box was broken which I think happened when he dropped it off. There are some fragile parts that were packed in bubble wrap and the electronics came packed in a box with foam inside. Each board was individually wrapped in it's own little anti-static bag. Everything was packed in a well organized way with all the hardware seperated into individual bags.

I haven't built much yet but based on my dealings with Lambert and the parts I have received and the way everything looks and was packed I am not to worried about any issues. There is a slight warp in the printed parts for the extruder but not bad at all. Everything is lining up pretty well with it. The laser cut parts are cut out of nice plywood. I wished I'd have ordered their kit without the plywood parts and snatched up some printed parts but that is because I think the printed parts look cooler rather than any worries about the plywood parts. I think the plywood parts will go together easier than printed parts would since there is no need for reaming or any warping etc.

I think it would be a good idea for anyone to contact a company they are thinking of purchasing from before ordering just to make sure about turnaround times if you don't feel like waiting. I have enjoyed everything about dealing with Techzone. They were prompt and nice. I'm pretty happy with the kit I received along with the filament spools and extra parts I ordered.

Recommended

I placed my order for a laser cut HDPE mendel kit from Botmill on September 16.
It finally arrived today (Nov 4), but what I received was a laser cut plywood kit from TechZone instead.
This was a surprise -- nobody told me my order was being changed to plywood.
It would have taken longer, but I read this forum and sent email to Kymberly at TechZone to find out if she knew why my BotMill order was delayed. She fixed the problem.
Although Gil at BotMill was friendly and responsive, there seems to be some deeper problem over there.

Umm, if you got the wood instead of the plastic you really need to return it. The wood kit is problematic, and 1/2 the cost.

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repraplogphase.blogspot.com

Really? i just got the wood one today, i opened a few of the bags to check the quality... I'm kind of debating weather i should return it or not...

Some pieces of the wood are cracked, and there is even one with a nail sticking out of it!

Anybody here ever bought a fully assembled mendel from botmill? Is the quality good?

doug moen Wrote:
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> I placed my order for a laser cut HDPE mendel kit
> from Botmill on September 16.
> It finally arrived today (Nov 4), but what I
> received was a laser cut plywood kit from TechZone
> instead.
> This was a surprise -- nobody told me my order was
> being changed to plywood.
> It would have taken longer, but I read this forum
> and sent email to Kymberly at TechZone to find out
> if she knew why my BotMill order was delayed. She
> fixed the problem.
> Although Gil at BotMill was friendly and
> responsive, there seems to be some deeper problem
> over there.


I spent 4 weeks emailing Gil from Botmill and trying to get a status of my lasercut kit which had apparently shipped 2 days after I ordered it.
Well I eventually lodged a dispute through PayPal and cancelled my order for which Botmill refunded my money.
I had a similar experience in that Gil would reply to emails, but nothing ever seemed to get done - just empty promises.

Placed the same order direct with Techzone and received the kit a week later.
I highly recommend dealing with Kimberly and Lambert from Techzone.

Mine is the lasercut wood kit which is not great, but for half the price its a compromise I was willing to make. I plan on replacing the wooden pieces bit by bit as soon as my print quality is up to standard.
I've already been able to print a usable replacement for the motor gear on my Wade's extruder which started slipping.

Otherwise the main problems I have had are the opto endstops which I think I have blown (new ones are already on the way from Techzone) and my heated tip which is a huge frustration. It keeps getting pushed out of the insulator.

I went through a similar situation as Brad.

Kymberly and Lambert at Techzonecom.com are highly recommended from me as well. They definitely aren't afraid to pick up a phone or send emails as needed to help their customers out.

If I had to it over again, I wouldn't have dealt with Botmill at all. Do yourself a favor and order from Techzonecom.com

Chad C

I bought (and evenually received) 5 pounds of their ABS black 3mm ABS filament. The problem is the diameter varies from 2.8mm to 3.3mm and that means a MakerBot Mk4 or Mk5 extruder will not work with it.

I ordered a few different colors from Botmill and I got the same variance in the filament. I was ready to drill my extuder out but the the plastic itself was a birds nest held together by USPS packing tape that left sticky on the filament.

I ended up tossing it all in the garbage.... now I only buy all my print material from Ultimachine

Those limits are about the min and max diameters I have seen "3mm" filament come in at, but not on the same reel!

If it varies that much during a print it will cause problems.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

Yikes, I just read the posts here, and I'm honestly a bit concerned. I emailed them for turnaround times before placing the order for the Glider (assembled mendel) and they said that the product would be ready to ship within 7-10 business days. I figured I'd take the risk, now after 2 emails (with quick replies) I learned that their stepper motors are backordered, blaming the chinese new year (nothing like excuses). It seems that they need to improve the communication on what they promise their customers and what they can deliver.

Let's hope that the year of the rabbit speeds things up

I'll keep you all posted on updates.

@Adrian: I had a similar experience. I ordered the assembled mendel kit with electronics last November and I didn't get it until a month later even though their website claimed 10-14 days.

The Glide is very aggressively priced for a plug-and-play product. It's even cheaper than the assembled kit with electronics that I ordered. Considering the poor job they did in putting my kit together, I would would not recommend the Glide. The assembled Mendel that I received was not functional! It looked good, but when I examined it closely, I found that many washers were missing or incorrectly installed, they used standard nuts where locking nuts should have been used leaving a surplus of locking nuts, and the bolts for the frame were all loose and the spacings had not been properly set. Most of the x,y and z axis bearings were either mounted without washers or with the washer curving in towards the bearing so it wouldn't turn. I ended up redoing most of the nuts and bolts! I figure that I would have taken the same time if I ordered the unassembled kit!

I should say that the parts were very good and I would recommend the unassembled kit. I did get a warped bed which Botmill didn't replace. Since I am now using a heated bed and the aluminum bed is just sitting unused in a drawer, I haven't pushed the issue. They did mail me the missing thermistor but they couldn't identify what it is so I'm not 100% sure if I'm using the right table.

Double yikes... Thanks for your experience with them, I'm really hoping that its built correctly. So was the heated bed installed on your machine and bent or was it included as an "extra"? Lets hope that their assembly issues are worked out, now I know to verify the Glider against schematics.

The heated bed was not part of the assembled kit that I bought from them. I don't think it comes with the Glider either. I used glass for my heated bed so I am not using the aluminum bed that the kit came with.

The Glider is supposed to be plug and play. So, there's no need for you to check schematics. You should be able to load the sw, plug it to your computer, to the wall and off you go! Good luck. Let us know how you make out.

I've order the Axis kit. It's supposed to ship this week. I hope all goes well.