IGG Development update #9 May 26th 2014

[Marco]

DEV. UPDATE#9
Dear backers,
Today we'll have a look at the production and supply chain status, but first let us proudly unveil the FABtotum Hybrid head.




FABtotum Hybrid head V 1.0
The Hybrid head is one of the last finalized parts of the Personal fabricator,
We improved many specs of this part,starting from the onboard milling motor wich is now a 200W brushless beast, with custom-made high-precision ER-8 collet for improved quality.
We started from something like this and we ended with this:



Switching from subtractive to additive mode requires a fixed offset instead of manual adjustments. As you may also notice, enstops, lasers, lights and probe are fixed on the carriage so that any optional head can be cheaper and made with the FABtotum itself.





Supply Chain Delays [Important!]
As you know, one month ago we announced a delay of the production.
We recevied a great support and understanding from you guys, and for that we are grateful. Leaving our backers with incomplete details could however generate more confusion than any honest "we're doing our best" statement.
For this reason we are sharing with you most of our sensible internal plans.
We hope, doing this, to shed some light on this complex process.





Here you can see the current status of our suppliers: [1] [2]. We aren't terribly off or "tardi", considering the original shipping date was late May 2014. but it's a delay nonetheless.
As you can see this is caused by all custom-made parts that require our contractors to machine parts for us, out of our control.


A reasonable measurement for the first deliveries is perhaps 2 months from now,if everything goes right.
Things are always moving fast: have a look at one of the most complex components being finished as we write: injection molds.



Packaging & Welcome kit.
We might be late but packaging and part of the welcome kit were ready for the release. the box is pretty sturdy and the welcome kit has been designed to get people into personal fabrication quickly.



In other news
We are preparing more documentation, images and videos to share with you.
In the last Blog update we focused on the FABUI,expect more in the future.
FABtotum also won the special jury prize at the FOCUS Innovation award this month. Thanks for voting!



As always: your feedback is important: hit the comment section here or on our forums and speak your mind!

See you next update and on the Blog!
FABteam

[imarin]

Surprise topic! Surprise topic! Surprise topic!

Health always comes first. You can delay mine an extra month, but remain healthy all of you!!

[joep.swagemakers@gmail.co]

I would really like to see some detail and closeup photo's of the machine! Also some video's of the different functions (printing, milling(different materials)) would be a super nice teaser!

[TheCamel]

Videos would definitely be super cool!

PS: Is it a low-cost reflow oven that we can see on the shelf?

[Marco]

Videos are coming!
Good eye. Yes it's a reflow oven we don't use anymore so it's left there between boxes.

[Sinistros]

Yeah, - Surprise topic [?]

I know you guys on R&D for the shark with the head mounted laserbeam

btw the health has priority over compliance with the delivery date!!!
Please all stay healthy

[Marco]

Update #9 is out.
My personal apology for the delay in redacting the update!
Thanks for understanding. some of us started getting sick due to insane shifts, plus we had mandatory safety classes for fire prevention and health risks in the office, so the delay got pushed back more than usual.
Hopefully you guys will appreciate the amount of info, despite the damned IGG character limit!

[Snowman]

Well, 2 more months is a bit disappointing but the fact that I'll be receiving a product that's exponentially better than what I paid for (stretch goal #2 Fabtotum seems almost primitive in comparison) more than makes up for it. Big thumbs up on the transparency with the delays.

I'm guessing you'll be working on the UI, online guides/specs, additional heads, etc. and maybe a bit of pre-assembly in the mean time?

Really looking forward to the upcoming videos and pictures you've mentioned. Thanks for the update.

[imarin]

You can not be clearer!

It looks really goooood!! 2 months is nothing. Keep healthy, book some holidays....

BTW, put a good security system, because everybody knows exactly what you have in stock!!

[caliber]

Well, 2 more months is a bit disappointing but the fact that I'll be receiving a product that's exponentially better than what I paid for (stretch goal #2 Fabtotum seems almost primitive in comparison) more than makes up for it. Big thumbs up on the transparency with the delays.

Agreed, the Fabtotum I'll be getting is vastly superior to the one I was expecting to get when I contributed (a bit before the 135k goal was reached)..
Having already waited 9 months, 2 more certainly won't hurt (except that I'll be 30 by then ).

The new head looks really good btw.