Is anybody actually buying the SL1?  

RE: Is anybody actually buying the SL1?

I use a Formlab at work and I am thinking of getting one.  

RE: Is anybody actually buying the SL1?

Buying a SL1 at this point is a terrible decision.

1. Prusa has announced that a new larger "big brother to the SL1" is coming out some time this year.
2. Prusa has not announced any plans for an upgrade to the SL1 itself.
3. The SL1 hardware is 2-3 years old now and WAY out of date with other options.
4. The SL1 is WAY over priced for what you get.
5. You can buy barely used SL1+CW1 combos on ebay for less than the cost of just the SL1 (that's worse depreciation than a car!).
6. My personal experience has been that support for the SL1 is absolutely terrible (making #4 even worse).
7. There are a few of us trying to help out here, but it has no where near the community support of the MK3.

If I could unload this albatross* without taking a $1k loss I'd ditch it in a heartbeat. I'd either just go cheap with a Phrozen or Elegoo or possibly spend on an EPAX as all the reports I've read about the machines and support have been good.

* Now that it is finally working well it is actually a good machine that produces great prints. I hoped my ire would fade in time as more successful and pain free prints came out of it, but it's not.

RE: Is anybody actually buying the SL1?

To add to gnat's list:

8. Prusa never mentions the SL1 in their bi-weekly vblogs - no demo prints, no news (aside from the SL1 big brother teaser a few months ago), pretty much nothing as if the SL1 no longer exists.

I'm guessing that they would like to go back in time and abandon the SL1 before they ever invested in it.  I believe that it was developed by someone else and Prusa bought the company out, or at least the SL1 product.

RE: Is anybody actually buying the SL1?

Posted by: @mikeh-2

I'm guessing that they would like to go back in time and abandon the SL1 before they ever invested in it.  I believe that it was developed by someone else and Prusa bought the company out, or at least the SL1 product.

Yes they got the SL1 through the purchase of another company.

When Prusa announced the SL1 it was a game changer as there wasn't anything in the consumer market and it drastically undercut the closest competitor (Form). The problem was that they had a ton of delays actually getting it to market (common with them) and by the time they did, the Elegoos and others came out and drastically undercut them. On top of that by effectively ignoring the SL1 they missed their chance to get ahead of the 4k, mono, and larger form factor trends and now they are playing catch up. I can't see them undercutting the SL1 price with the new bigger model, but unless there is something market setting about it I think it will be another flop given that you can get larger resin printers under $500.

RE: Is anybody actually buying the SL1?

Back when I was first considering getting my own printer, I considered getting one of the resin-based ones and asked around at our local 'makerspace' where I was doing the 3d printing.  The responses from those who knew were almost always along the line of 'Don't even think about it.' and 'Those things are a big mess.' and similar responses.

RE: Is anybody actually buying the SL1?

I just bought the SL1 2-3 weeks ago.

Of course I could have decided to buy a cheaper model.

But everytime i tried to figure out, what company is behind it, the trace leads to china.

And I have moral issues with that. I dont want to support china more than neccessary. Formlabs was way too much for me, so it became the SL1.

Haven't printed much with it by now (second real attempt is running at this very moment), so I can't tell if im satisfied or not. Especially with the lack of other printer experiences. But so far Im happy with the building experience, the manual-jokes and "ahead-thinking" of the manual-writer and the support (which helped me pretty fast and uncomplicated).

Could the print bed be bigger? Don't know. Monodisplay? I have no idea. But a resinbottle-holder would be nice! ^^

RE: Is anybody actually buying the SL1?

Goodness!  Hit a nerve there.

Anything but Chinese is right on.  Just found out that they make filament here in my home state of Virginia.  Filamatrix.com.  We'll see how it goes. But dang, all the locals here buy Chinese at Micro-Center - just to save 7 cents.

It is a moral issue.

Best of luck with your new SL1!  Hope you are as happy as I am with my new Mk3.  After several kilos of filament, I have yet to have a failed print!  Amazing!

RE: Is anybody actually buying the SL1?

I try to buy from companies that directly support the 3D printing community. Not so much "never China", but more "not always Amazon". I've put together a list of US-based filament suppliers and manufacturers that might be of interest. I know some of these companies do resell Chinese products, but at least US-based employees and businesses get a cut. Surprisingly, most are cost-competitive, and a few can even ship as quickly as Amazon with free 2-day shipping (notably MatterHackers). I'd rather buy Inland from Microcenter than some no-name brand off Amazon. I'm pragmatic though. I've purchased some horrible US-manufactured filament, and I do need value for my money.

Had not seen filamatrix.com before. They may get added to my list.

RE: Is anybody actually buying the SL1?

glad for this post... was contemplating on the SL1... guess not.. 

RE: Is anybody actually buying the SL1?

@bobstro

I have developed a similar philosophy recently.  I like Aliexpress, but I do like to support our allies more.  I am not a never China guy, but I do tend to order it from Amazon instead of Aliexpress.  

RE: Is anybody actually buying the SL1?

Filamatrix was formerly Breathe-3d (or something like that).  Dunno if that means anything.  Will put in an order here shortly.  May just swing by to check-em out.  They are not all that far away.

RE: Is anybody actually buying the SL1?

Posted by: @eric-e

Goodness!  Hit a nerve there.

Anything but Chinese is right on.  Just found out that they make filament here in my home state of Virginia.  Filamatrix.com.  We'll see how it goes. But dang, all the locals here buy Chinese at Micro-Center - just to save 7 cents.

It is a moral issue.

Interesting to know about Filamatrix as I'm also in VA. It's a bit more than 7 cents as their filament is $2 more plus shipping. When shipping is factored in you can get 6 spools of Inland for every 5 of Filamatrix. In my case I can also drive to Microcenter to skip the shipping delay altogether.

Also consider that while they may be producing the filament, they are more likely than not getting the plastic pellets from China. Something is better than nothing, but this isn't anything to get on a soap box about.

I was using PushPlastics out of AZ (or was it NV?) for awhile and now GST3D (FL) is my go to source, but they are similar that while the filament is spooled here in the USA, the plastic is still coming from elsewhere.

RE: Is anybody actually buying the SL1?

@gnat

Thanks for the suggestion.  I have been eying Filamatrix for a while.  

Consider Fusion Filaments also.  

RE: Is anybody actually buying the SL1?

I love this machine, i came from a FORM 2 and now ive been using PRUSA SL1 bundle 24/7 for two months aprox. Its great, cool prints, plug and play and i got the bundle for 900 dollars. (only one week use from the previously owner)

RE: Is anybody actually buying the SL1?

Posted by: @joaquinpicci

got the bundle for 900 dollars. (only one week use from the previously owner)

That is probably a much more realistic price for the bundle, but the person that sold it to you took a $1000 bath in passing it on 😔 

RE: Is anybody actually buying the SL1?

Amazing, and i love the curing station, i can cure things i print on other machines

RE: Is anybody actually buying the SL1?

@gnat

I feel bad for the person who sold it.  Wow, they took a bath.  

RE: Is anybody actually buying the SL1?

Posted by: @joaquinpicci

Amazing, and i love the curing station, i can cure things i print on other machines

Yeah I think it is overpriced too (but not as bad), but I love the CW1. It would be nice if they'd pay attention to PRs for the firmware though😡 I submitted one to extend the drying time back in Nov and someone else added an agitation function to the wash in Jan, but Prusa has ignored them and ignored requests through other channels to go look😡

RE: Is anybody actually buying the SL1?

Posted by: @cwbullet

@gnat

I feel bad for the person who sold it.  Wow, they took a bath.  

Yeap. It the only reason I still have mine even though I rarely use it at this point.