yep. I was looking at buying another 3d printer. But now that they decided to outsource, so will I. 
@ED_Carty if only outsourcing is the reason for not buying Makerbot, I would recommend you do some better research. There are all kinds of reasons to but all kinds of printers from all kinds of different brands. And if this detail made you change your mind then it does not look like you did your research.
@ED_Carty is it the quality of the product? The fact they went off shore? Price? Reason I ask is the parts source is from China or other parts of the world such as the controller. Believe the printers are just assy in the us. And in all honesty can get the same if not better for cheaper
@Phillip_Ramirez I do not support any U.S. based company that transfers jobs over seas
@ED_Carty i do not believe there is any us company that hasnt shipped jobs over seaâs. your internet service provider has shipped jobs over seaâs. your telephone and cellphone providers have done the same. your cars are built on parts made over seaâs. we no longer live in an economy based on us manuf and havent for nearly 30 years and we will never get back there until we become a different economy. the workers priced themselves out of the market. and the shareholders demanded higher and faster returns.
this is why when i invest in mutuals and individual stocks i look at these things but it is honestly it is hard to invest in a sole us based portfolio.
@Nathan_Walkner I disagree. But you are entitled to your opinion. thank you
@ED_Carty â yep, and Iâm gonna miss Oreos the most⌠
@Taylor_Landry The controlling interests of Makerbot are wholly owned by SSYS. SSYS insiders hold and control the lionâs share of voting stock. Any duty is internal. Shareholders have already filed suit regarding the Makerbot acquisition and itâs far from settled. They may not even have a case. This isnât about fiduciary responsibility. Itâs about the realities for the market. This is a cost cutting measure with Jabil being the 3rd largest contract manufacturer on the planet offer many more advantages in sourcing and manufacturing than they could get themselves. Iâd reckon in a year theyâll be out of Brooklyn entirely and back in Eden Praire or even Tel Aviv.
As Someone with no vested interest in US jobs Im going to be pretty frank about this. Makerbot has a bad rep for poor quality products at a premium pricepoint.
There are 2 kinds of Unicorn Stereotypes in tech companies these days. Those who follow Apple, believing premium products are king and those similar to Google who believe platforms are most important.
Makerbot chased itâs Applesque vision, vehemently protecting âits IPâ which they took from open source, creating a deep seated dislike from the early-adopter crowd and raising price and raising prices.
Just like Apple they didnât innovate enough (Apple Q1 2016 is the worst in 13 years). Same products different sizes, just like the iPhone and theyâre seeing the same stagnation.
Unlike Apple who have a reputation for quality to justify their premium pricepoint, Makerbot have bad rep from their extruders, arguably the most important component in the printer, itâd be like shipping an iphone with a bad processor. This debases my valuation in their products.
I honestly donât care if itâs made in the US, East Europe or Asia (or anywhere else). Maybe some people will take a moment to think its better quality because itâs made in their home country but after they start using it, results count more than a few words on the packaging or product.
With this problem in mind, what else can they do to?
The products were assembled in the USA, so we can obviously conclude that they were paying increased wages for a poor quality product (proving that money != motivation). Iâd bet this move is a good one not only for the âpoor investorsâ but for us as consumers.
@Jaimie_Fryer (proving that money != motivation) Programer . Well said. They sucked and are trying to suck cheaply. I will accept that.
@Jaimie_Fryer absolutely. Xyz Corp, makers of the davinci 3d printer deliver a much better product at a price point of 500 dollars. Itâs a well designed product thatâs ready for mass production. The build is reminiscent of a desktop computer case, the bed is made from superior quality materials and the extruder never quits. You can even load open source firmware if you donât like their proprietary software. Itâs made in Taiwan I believe. If makerbot canât deliver for 2500 dollars what a competitor can deliver for 500, they will not survive. All the hype in the world wonât change that.
The lock is weak⌠and itâs not junk. Bed is superior to printrbot as is the processor.
I respectfully disagree, but I see you wonât see it any other way. If you need support maybe you should consider another hobby.
Haha, not half as foolish as not recognising good design even if it isnât open sourceâŚ
@John_Francis xyz is by far not a good design. the bushings are crap and proprietary which means that when they go bad, they will in very short order, you will need to modify bearings to make them fit. IMHO if you want a printer that prints and want something inexpensive the printrbot play is the printer to get. it uses standard parts and well it just works.
Proprietary bushings? Ha! Now thatâs a good one. Are the hardened steel shafts âproprietaryâ too? Please do tell of these proprietary âbushingsâ and using âstandardâ parts is all that constitutes good design to you? Man amateur hour has started for sureâŚ
the bushing lengths are not standard and you cannot buy replacement bushings. this is why some use igus and have to modify them. and standard parts, IMHO, are key to a good design.
I doubt that. And theyâre called oilite bearings, not bushings. Common mistake though. Common like not oiling a linear motion systemâŚ
Ok, so now itâs price point? Oh, and youâre the one calling people names not me. You called me out, not the other way around. But seriously, you and Phillip sound foolish to anyone who actually knows how to design these things. Itâs not about being a fan of anything, itâs about knowing good design of high precision machines.
Haha! Yes. Why do you ask?