but I think it might be!
The support is awesome.
The mixing nozzle/extruder is one of the better ones.
What you call medicore specs are decent parts. They use ball bearings fan, Misumi stepper, etc. paired with decent workmanship like strain relieving the cables.
What could be cheaper are the nozzle replacements at 70€ each. Still not the worst out there in terms of nozzle pricing (e.g.150€ for a brass nozzle + heater … [different company]).
Edit: It was 70€ for 2 builder nozzles or 175€ for 6.
don’t get me wrong, getting a printer this big to run at those speeds must be quite a feat of precise engineering and craftsmanship. but in my opinion this machine is no more than a novelty; a machine no more capable than an off-the-shelf ender 3.
can you imagine producing a prototype from this machine? I have half a notion to build a profile for it in my slicer just to see how long I’d be waiting for a part 1m in any dimension.
is it cool? without a doubt. but FDM at this scale using 0.4mm to 1.0mm nozzles and 1.75mm filament is pointless. I think they missed the beat here by not engineering a hot end with greater extrusion capabilities. if it were fitted with, say, a 2mm nozzle it would be much more capable of producing large parts in a reasonable time frame.
Regarding the hotend you are right. 10-15 years ago they shipped their first printer (consumer around $1.5k). The only visible difference is the longer heating zone similar to what E3D did when they made the V6 a vulcano. The the current style is was probably introduced around 2014.
It’s time for them to step up the game.
