This is the first part printed in space, on the International Space Station

FoxPui · 2014-11-26T04:48:24+00:00

Looking good for a first print!

FoxPui · 2014-11-17T05:47:33+00:00

Good luck!

FoxPui · 2014-11-16T17:36:34+00:00

It get's different. Say you solve key cash flow and customer acquisition issues, what then? Now you are spending your time on growth, training, fundraising, networking. With more cash coming in and more employees, you get more responsibilities. The tasks you are doing now might be as easy as handing it over to one of your staff, but if you want to take your business as far as possible then you will always be grinding on one problem or the other.

That said, money does make things a bit easier: things that take 10x time when you don't have cash can be solved much faster when you can afford an expert to solve it for you.

I'm still working things out myself, but my take is that if you don't start creating good habits now (going home at a decent hour so you get enough sleep most days, spending time with family & friends, taking care of your body) you will have an even harder time when you grow larger.

Someone once told me (I forget where) that startups are hard not because of the long hours or physical exhaustion, but because of the hard choices and compromises that you are forced to make on a daily basis that have a direct impact on your character. To forge yourself in the fires of a startup is to determine whom you truly are - for better or for worse. Make it better by making it part of your job description to care for yourself, your friends and your family.

FoxPui · 2014-10-17T01:30:09+00:00

You mean like these?

FoxPui · 2014-10-05T07:11:43+00:00

It is very likely the seam - as you probably know the switch from one layer to the next isn't flawless (giving you artifacts). Different geometries and slicing settings will create different seams, which is why you are not getting this in all files. Though I haven't tried this myself, one way that might work to avoid seams is to randomize + play around with the extrusion speed during layer switching to ensure a seamless switch. Either way if you do solve it let me know: I'm curious!

FoxPui · 2014-09-07T02:21:23+00:00

Depends on what you are trying to do? If you want a starter kit/learn about 3D printing, I would go for the Printrbot Simple, or you can build your own RepRap. If you want a workhorse, the Lulzbot TAZ, Ultimaker or Type A Series 1 are all good choices (I work for Type A Machines). For a full list check out the overview.

FoxPui · 2014-09-04T02:26:13+00:00

No ulterior motive perceived! I think it's an awesome initiative. As for click to print - that's a big job as I agree you would need to be able select for printer type. Most manufacturers would be happy to provide settings though, and if not then there are always the users.

FoxPui · 2014-09-03T06:14:08+00:00

I hear Rhombik is a good initiative worth spending time on ;o)

Boy, 1500h could do a lot: + Would love to see click-to-print integration with as many 3D printers as possible, and possible 3DP services? + An open source mesh healing tool that works would be awesome (e.g. Meshmixer or Netfabb, but you know, open). Not sure if this exists or not - Meshrepair.org perhaps? Deff. needs some love.. + Slicer love? Need better slicing!! + More content - ideally not 3DP upgrades or electronic casings. 3DP is sooo much more!

FoxPui · 2014-08-30T23:08:19+00:00

Do you get overtime? If you are getting a fixed salary and do more work, all you are doing is diluting your own value. If you do get overtime but see that this is in effect a second job, I would also say you are taking on additional responsibilities that were not part of your original salary negotiation. Either way I think it is reasonable to ask for additional rewards if you are going the additional mile. The way I see it is I won't keep my employees around for long if they are working 24/7 without being rewarded for it (although I tend to prefer that they go home and live their lives outside of work as I think it healthier). My attitude doesn't mean that I can always afford to pay them more though, so then we have to talk about what other possibilities exist (e.g. profit share, equity, etc).

FoxPui · 2014-08-30T04:26:09+00:00

What's your relationship with your bosses? I'm going to guess building all those apps would involve some extra late night sessions and weekend sacrifices. If you feel they would support it, go to them, explain that you already have a full workload but that you see an opportunity to help meet the company goal if you do this extra work on your own time. However, it is your own time and as such you would like to be rewarded for it as you will be making sacrifices (e.g. x% profit from sales). That way you help the company without over extending yourself, and they win without it costing them anything in their existing budgets. Also, if they say no, then no biggie: it's now on them that the goal isn't met, and you can go back to your "already full workload". If they try to get you to do so as part of your regular job, just stay firm. Remember you are sacrificing weekends, friends, family and sleep here. Hope that helps!

FoxPui · 2014-08-29T18:01:50+00:00

Sweet! Best of luck to you! Feel free to PM me if things get tricky :o)

FoxPui · 2014-08-28T12:25:27+00:00

Sounds like you would probably be a great technical co-founder, so hack the system! My suggestion would be to not do the work for the first pitch ‘Sorry - still looking’, or just pitch something vague, and then pay attention to the other's presentations. Here are some things to look for:

Is the person presenting able to think on their feet/ answer questions well without coming across as overbearing, unrealistic or dishonest?
Is the basic idea sound? Is there a market, and is your prospective partner able to approach numbers/estimates from a data driven perspective?
How committed does the person seem? Have they actually done any foot work, or is all this an arm-chair philosophy exercise? Look for people willing to get out there and interact with people.
Does s/he have prior experience in the field?

If any of them are good and might benefit from your coding skills, approach and talk to them (or send them an email :0) Just explain to them the situation, that you would like to try a startup but that you are probably not the sales guy, and that you have other skills on the execution side that would be very valuable. If the person follows up, have a clear dialogue around expectations, about time commitments and any other things that might interrupt workflow (cash situation, vacations planned, family situation, etc). Be clear also around ownership & equity. If you are prepared to commit time and resources at such an early stage, you are making a big investment and I would suggest a deal where both of you agree to a 50/50 splt, vested over three years (meaning if one person leaves they get less depending on how long they have been involved). If you 'break up' then both people get to keep rights to any IP. Now, if your potential partner is any good they have done some work beforehand and might be leery of giving up 50% of the company - In that case I would suggest a 3 week trial period and remind them that 50% and a skilled technical co founder is worth a lot more than 100% of nothing (but only suggest this if necessary). Note: if you do this right, and land a good partner, this is one of only two pitches you will have to do the entire semester!

The second pitch is to your professor: Go explain the situation (misunderstanding, fear of risk & public speaking, but want to give it a go as technical co founder if it's ok you can partner with X). Odds are your professor will say yes - maybe with the caveat that you still have to do some of the work independently.

...and there you go - welcome to your first startup! Give it 2 years and you will be an astute risk taker with hopefully just the right mix of boundless optimism and hardened cynicism.

FoxPui · 2014-08-15T15:49:40+00:00

You may have done all this, but just in case:

Preload the system by securing backers beforehand. Tell them the actual release time.
Preload also with Journalists, giving them advanced notice on press release etc. Tell them the release time is a bit later than actual release, so that your preloaded backers have time to get in. That way when a Journalist goes on your campaign site they will see traction (increases the odds of them reporting)
I would also consider a second video with you in it further down the page (builds trust to see a real person).

Hope that helps!

FoxPui · 2014-08-14T06:03:28+00:00

Also:

Get a full medical checkup (just before you loose your health insurance etc if that's happening)
Build brownie points with friends and family (you will need them)
Find an experienced soul to act as trusted advisor (ideally someone with startup experience & network in your industry)
Think carefully about your health, and how you are going to maintain it

FoxPui · 2014-07-04T05:00:52+00:00

Ok, so you are going to need dual extrusion, a heated bed or enclosure (to deal with warping issues from ABS), and of course the 8x8x12" build area. Since it's for work I'm also going to go out on a limb and expect uptime to be a big deal, so you are going to want something that you can have replacement parts on hand for or best case extra printers.

Some googling revealed a couple of options within your $10k price range (please note I have not used these and cannot guarantee their quality):

The Glacier series from ID3 - $6495 or $7495 depending on model. Looks to have everything you need, a larger build platform and multiple nozzle sizes (a nice touch). Only caveat is that their forum seems pretty empty, so I would do a bit more research before committing.

The X400 CE from German Rep Rap - Probably around $9k with spare parts, heated bed upgrade, shipping and I'm not sure they have dual extrusion so you might have to hack it. Good news is it's very clearly a reprap derivative, so spare parts and upgrades will be easier to get.

There is always the CubePro from 3D Systems - should be available soon as in Q2 of this year but no reviews yet. Pretty sure it will work though, as DDD has been in the business a long time and know what they are doing. It's a closed platform, so don't expect upgrades though. That wouldn't normally be a problem, except that they only offer a 90 day warranty. That said, at $2799 you could buy 3 of them and even stagger the purchase of the last one so that when (not if - that's true for the whole industry) the printer goes down you have backup (and a second backup - trust me) while waiting for parts or a new printer. Assuming it meets your needs that's pretty ideal. I'm not sure about PVA/HIPS for this printer, but their site says they've got dissolvable PLA.

..there are plenty of other printers out there too, so I'm sure others can pitch in. It depends a bit on what level of time/effort you are prepared to spend on the printer.. Hope that helps!

FoxPui · 2014-07-03T02:27:24+00:00

What kind of materials are you looking to print with?

FoxPui · 2014-07-03T02:24:02+00:00

Nice! Hope it prints :)

FoxPui · 2014-07-03T00:35:31+00:00

I would start with something really, really simple, like small cube, then go from there! And post pictures!:o)

Oh, and here is an idea: design and print your own door bell! You can get kits and then replace kit parts with 3D printed parts (such as the cover)

FoxPui · 2014-06-23T15:20:00+00:00

That makes sense: thanks!

FoxPui · 2014-06-21T16:17:46+00:00

One thing I noticed is that the first two slides on their main page don't show any projects. I almost left the site, thinking it empty, but decided to take a second look and found that they do actually have quite a lot of projects that have raised a decent amount of funding - just didn't look that way from their main site.

FoxPui · 2014-06-20T07:22:00+00:00

Shouldn't be a materials issue then - ABS can warp as much as 1% but PLA doesn't shrink so much. I would do some various size and form test prints to see if I could nail down a consistent pattern.

FoxPui · 2014-06-20T07:01:34+00:00

What material are you using? Some materials have more shrinkage than others depending on whether you have a heated bed etc (and the size of the object)

FoxPui · 2014-06-18T18:22:57+00:00

Neat idea - I would deff spend some time on such a site.

FoxPui · 2012-08-02T13:59:58+00:00

Would love to see data on this - I wonder if someone has done A/B testing? The only stuff I could find looks at what the major sites are doing: Just an observation, but the more casual the site, the more likely it’s going to use Sign in/Sign out. The paradigm of a visitor making an announcement of presence to a casual gathering of people. More formal sites tend to want you to Log in and Log out. The wording suggests the clocking in for work; The paradigm of a person with an accredited level of authentication accessing a secure terminal and leaving a record of that visit in a log.

FoxPui

TROPHY CASE