kmyerslp said:
This isn't meant to come across as rude or brash but I think many are thinking the same thing I am but not asking about it.
Kyle
Kyle, you are not alone in your thoughts. Thanks for the post.
It is very disappointing and frustrating that the current and past gCreate customer base is all but ignored. Since following gCreate, I don't ever recall a maintenance release or an upgrade kit for any model previously released. It's always a new version which leaves current users hanging and renders their printers obsolete. Functional yes, but with no upgrade path, they are obsolete unless the users take it upon themselves to upgrade them. Why the new printer is called the 1.5+ versus 2.0 is really only semantics. If there is no support for the previous version then the current version shouldn't just get a symbol added to it.
A good friend of mine is an original backer who is active on the forums. I won't mention his name but I assume he'll thank me for the post. He is very disappointed with how the company has handled upgrades and he has voiced, almost verbatim, your same concerns.
From what I understand, there was supposed to be an upgrade kit made available for all the original Kickstarters to upgrade their printers from 1.0 to 1.5. That never happened. (What a great opportunity to prove to backers they made the right decision and also to generate additional revenue).
Now the 1.5+ is released with only a handful of parts available. I don't want to upgrade to a 1.5 XT- I want a full 1.5 XT+. I thought I was purchasing customer service and support when I bought the 1.5XT printer. Apparently the $2K+ was just for the kit and parts. Yeah we can upgrade but we have to figure it out on our own. Posting incomplete parts and then providing no info when the rest will be available is purely lip service. How does this foster good will within the user community/customer base?
People ask about heated beds. We hear gCreate say, "Coming soon" or "we are working on it" How about working on an upgrade kit instead? Or if it is being worked on, letting us know when it would be ready? Coming soon just doesn't cut it anymore. There is a ton of competition with new large format printers coming out weekly. The Beast (Kickstarter quad extruder - great machine) and the Big Box from E3D are just two examples. I've been pretty active in this community and have been an ardent supporter of the gMax but I gotta say they make it hard and I have lost faith in seeing things happen in a TIMELY manner if they happen at all. It would have made a ton of sense and been really good business to have 1.5 to 1.5+ upgrade kits ready and available when the 1.5+ was released. But I guess business is good enough without them.
I would love to be wrong. I would love to see a reply saying aluminum beds are available and we can buy an upgrade kit ala-carte with all the necessary hardware to upgrade a 1.5 to a 1.5+. I think a lot of people would like me to be wrong. But past experience tells me otherwise.
ShaqFoo
