Welcome to the SeeMeCNC Community

Hello. After considerable web searching I am seriously considering an Orion printer. Although I have reasonable technical skills I do not have a lot of spare time so I'd like to be up and running ASAP so the Rostock although it looks like a beautiful machine may be out of the question. I am mainly interested in prototyping. I am sure many of you here are very technically oriented and these printers may be a no brainer for you. This will be my first 3d printer. Before making my purchase I would just like to make sure that as a novice I am not getting in over my head. Is the Orion pretty much plug and play. Is is straightforward enough and worked out so as not to be overly buggy and temperamental. Is it easy to get up and running? I can respect that fact that this is new technology and is in its relative infancy. Thank you for your time and I appreciate your feedback.

Vic wrote:Hello. After considerable web searching I am seriously considering an Orion printer. Although I have reasonable technical skills I do not have a lot of spare time so I'd like to be up and running ASAP so the Rostock although it looks like a beautiful machine may be out of the question. I am mainly interested in prototyping. I am sure many of you here are very technically oriented and these printers may be a no brainer for you. This will be my first 3d printer. Before making my purchase I would just like to make sure that as a novice I am not getting in over my head. Is the Orion pretty much plug and play. Is is straightforward enough and worked out so as not to be overly buggy and temperamental. Is it easy to get up and running? I can respect that fact that this is new technology and is in its relative infancy. Thank you for your time and I appreciate your feedback.

Hi Vic and welcome to the forum.
I bought an Orion about 2 months ago and I believe that it is the best printer I have owned. (I have 5)
Take it out of its box, plug it in, set the Z height, install the filament and it is ready to print. Not at all buggy or temperamental.
You will love the Orion! Make sure you download the Orion Manual located here: http://www.geneb.org/orion/OrionUserManual-2ndEd.pdf

Hi Vic, Welcome. I was a complete newbie too. I have had the Orion for 1 month and it works great. Only had an issue with an unlubed u-joint but that was after many many perfect prints. It's a great machine to learn with.

Hi Vic, and welcome.

My two cents: if you don't have a lot of time, send your drawings to Shapeways or similar and get them to print for you. Because a 3D printer, doesn't matter whose, will eat your life.

And you won't care a bit, you'll be having too much fun.

Just a quick update - the documentation link is now http://download.seemecnc.com/orion/Orio ... -2ndEd.pdf

Everything is now being referenced at http://www.seemecnc.com/pages/downloads just to help keep things all in one spot.

When I do git commits I also refresh the PDF files on that site from now on.

g.

Thank you for your replies. I read through the assembly instructions for the Rostock Max. I have to hand it to those who have completed one. I will likely go with the Orion as soon as I can.
Thank you
Vic

I read in somewhere in the forum that they will be coming out with an assembled Rostock Max. I would really love the larger build volume it has. If this is true is there an anticipated date?
Thanks

Vic wrote:I read in somewhere in the forum that they will be coming out with an assembled Rostock Max. I would really love the larger build volume it has. If this is true is there an anticipated date?
Thanks

We have not heard of an anticipated date for the assembled Max V2. I think one of the problems is how to ship something that large economically.

I ordered an Orion. Looking forward to getting started. Thanks

Vic wrote:I ordered an Orion. Looking forward to getting started. Thanks

I have an Orion and I print more on it then I do on any of me printers. It is a fantastic printer and in my opinion
it beats the pants off of printers at 3 times the price.

@Vic,

I see I'm too late with my post. SeeMeCNC is close to offering an assembled Rostock Max v2 if you are looking for a bigger build volume. I'm fortunate enough to live 15 miles away from them and I was able to pick up one today for my workplace. I can't tell you how much I appreciate that it was already assembled. Definitely worth the extra $$. I have so many things going on at work and in my personal life that I could not afford the time it would have taken to assemble it and get it calibrated.

As far as "plug-n-play", I'm finding the Orion quick start guide to be more useful than the Rostock assembly guide. They are similar enough (if not the same) anyway. In my case, I didn't need assembly instructions but rather needed to be able to print right away.

I would have liked the larger build volume. I'll get my feet wet with this one. I ordered Saturday and am due to receive it today. Great service so far. Do you think the Rostock can be shipped to Michigan? Would they be willing to do an exchange?
Thanks

@Vic

I only know what John shares with me so maybe PM him for details. John mentioned to me that shipping was a tricky detail that they needed to hammer down. I got the impression that SeeMeCNC fully intends to ship assembled Rostocks in the same fashion as Orions and that they are really close to achieving that. I think I would have been perfectly happy with an Orion if it only had another 1" in diameter on the build plate. That's why I went with the Rostock. A good many of the parts that I will print will be small but we do have some larger products and it would be nice to have the capability to print larger things.

The problem is how to make sure it arrives on the customer's door step in one piece. UPS has been really abusing Orion printers of late. You can just imagine what they could do to some poor Rostock MAX. We're talking about a company that could deliver a block of depleted uranium with a dent in it.

g.

May have to start making some wood crates, will add to shipping cost but end user will be much happier, even if they have to pay a little more.

joecnc2006 wrote:May have to start making some wood crates, will add to shipping cost but end user will be much happier, even if they have to pay a little more.

To ship these by freight in a crate will be more than a little more cost, the shipping for freight over non freight is huge. Probably triple or quadruple the shipping costs.

Just got a response from the company. I left a message this morning and already got a response back. That's nice. I hope it is always like that. They said what you have been saying, that is they are trying to work out the shipping issues. I think I will be happy with the Orion for now (as long as it doesnt get detroyed in transit). When I feel ambitious then I will try to build a Rostock.
Thanks
Vic

I got my Rostock Max v2 kit last Friday (4-14-2012) and the packaging looked good to me. One big box with few sheets of wood, and 3 smaller boxes containing all the little bits and pieces all surrounded by little green foam packing peanuts (2 sm trash bags worth). The box didn’t appear to be damaged at all and I got it fast! They sent my kit out Wednesday evening and it was waiting for me when I got home from work at 6pm Friday. I do live in Illinois so I’m only like 2.5 hour drive from Seeme CNC, but that was still faster than I was expecting. I’m not sure about the Orion since its pre-assembled, but I imagine it would be fine.

I received my Orion yesterday. It arrived without any problems. It appears to be well built. When I set up the arms I noticed that one of the bearings has a soft stop as if there is a flat spot on one of the rollers. It occurs in the same places along the tower. The other bearings are smooth. Should I be concerned about this? I have not had enough time to put it through the ropes yet.
Thanks

Those rollers you are talking about will develop flat spots if they sit for awhile. They should return to their round shape as the printer starts to move them.
If they don't send an email to [email protected] and tell them of the problem.

Great. Thanks

Welcome and if it makes you feel better, after couple years researching, i have never owned a 3d printer before my Rostock MAX less then 2 months ago, and i'm getting very comfortable using it now, with the forum and google i have learned so much!

Just a follow-up.
I received my Orion printer and have been using it for a while now. Fortunately, it arrived without any damage.

As others have experienced the set up was remarkably easy. I have occasional ABS warping problems on wide-based parts and I am working to resolve them. Smaller parts printer very well. PLA prints nearly perfectly. I am amazed about how accurate it is. It is really remarkable. Maybe I am having an incredible amount of beginner's luck! But, I actually think that this is a well made and well designed machine. It is solid. It truly is a well-made machine and I am very happy with it.

Trying to decipher web reviews and forums can be tricky. As you all probably know most people who write reviews are biased: they are either very happy or very angry. I am trying to be objective. I wanted to give this feedback so that prospective buyers can read this and not just read criticisms.

I find it rare to find a product that delivers and has good customer support. Therefore, I hope to support Seemecnc so that they will be around for a while and continue to make this product. Maybe someday I will have the time (and guts!) to attempt a Rostock.

Thanks
Vic

A positive review is needed once in a while, thank you!