DIYtechshop Bad Experiences

tjb,

sorry to say that but in your last post there is a lot of assuming and quite less knowing...

I startet investigation on printer kits 3 month before bying one myself. I´m registered in serveral forums and spent quite a time with reading. I already had an own BOM for the Prusa i3 and 2 different sources to get the parts from. And, just to mention, I´m working with software since about 10 years. Believe me, i`m not so stupid as you try to describe here, I knew before that a kit is not plug´n play and that I would have to invest several weeks in building the printer and doing further investigations.

What I was saying is that the firmware originally delivered by DIY Tech Shop isn´t really prepared for what they are selling now. If you would have had a look on the Marlin page on Github and compare the latest firmware there with the one shipped within the kit you would see that the Smart LCD Controller that DIY Tech Shop offers is not directly supported. In their build it isn´t that obvious how to configure that and any helpfull documentation in the configuration.h file is missing as well. They managed to write their name in this config file, but failed in commenting the right setting for the LCD or even upgrade to a never firmware.

I´m anyway not using the original DIY distribution of the Marlin firmware but if I read in this forum that DIY TEch Shop is answering 150 email per day I´m just laughing.. The last 14 day´s my email was not answered and if they would invest more time in good parts and proper documentation it would be half of the work for them and far less costs.

That why I have to say that - overall - the quality and the service is poor. I didn´t bought the kit there to save 50 or 100 bucks but because I thought it would be a good choice...

And in the end I will not even get my parts sent or the broken replaced because i live in Europe and the shipping cost will probably top the cost of the parts itself. But at least some support would have been nice, that does not even cost money...

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/2014 09:31AM by ciutateivissa.

Quote
ciutateivissa
tjb,

sorry to say that but in your last post there is a lot of assuming and quite less knowing...

I startet investigation on printer kits 3 month before bying one myself. I´m registered in serveral forums and spent quite a time with reading. I already had an own BOM for the Prusa i3 and 2 different sources to get the parts from. And, just to mention, I´m working with software since about 10 years. Believe me, i`m not so stupid as you try to describe here, I knew before that a kit is not plug´n play and that I would have to invest several weeks in building the printer and doing further investigations.

What I was saying is that the firmware originally delivered by DIY Tech Shop isn´t really prepared for what they are selling now. If you would have had a look on the Marlin page on Github and compare the latest firmware there with the one shipped within the kit you would see that the Smart LCD Controller that DIY Tech Shop offers is not directly supported. In their build it isn´t that obvious how to configure that and any helpfull documentation in the configuration.h file is missing as well. They managed to write their name in this config file, but failed in commenting the right setting for the LCD or even upgrade to a never firmware.

I´m anyway not using the original DIY distribution of the Marlin firmware but if I read in this forum that DIY TEch Shop is answering 150 email per day I´m just laughing.. The last 14 day´s my email was not answered and if they would invest more time in good parts and proper documentation it would be half of the work for them and far less costs.

That why I have to say that - overall - the quality and the service is poor. I didn´t bought the kit there to save 50 or 100 bucks but because I thought it would be a good choice...

And in the end I will not even get my parts sent or the broken replaced because i live in Europe and the shipping cost will probably top the cost of the parts itself. But at least some support would have been nice, that does not even cost money...

The fact is, you should know how to edit the firmware. It's basically self explanatory how to edit in the LCD.

// The RepRapDiscount Smart Controller (white PC
// [reprap.org]
//#define REPRAP_DISCOUNT_SMART_CONTROLLER

The one they are offering is "One Reprap discount smart controller." which has been supported for almost a year in Marlin because I have used it back in March/April of last year.

In fact I just looked it up, the ReprapDiscount smart controller has been in Marlin since November 6, 2012.

This comes down to an issue of inexperience and not researching, I highly doubt they are shipping controllers with Marlin older than November 6, 2012.

Furthermore, how would you know what sketch/firmware/settings were loaded? It is very difficult to get it back from the Arduino and going by the fact you couldn't figure the LCD out I doubt you would be able to do that. Also, like I said before I doubt they would re-configure the firmware just to add the LCD support because this is something YOU SHOULD BE DOING and something YOU SHOULD KNOW HOW TO DO because the firmware settings ALL DIFFER. I could not find a link on their website to a firmware they supplied or one they modified.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/2014 10:06AM by tjb1.

tjb1,
I have to agree with ciutateivissa. When you order from DIY tech shop, in your account there is a file download section. Only customers that purchase from them can see and download the firmware. Their version of the firmware was not the most up to date and was missing several includes. ciutateivissa really has done a very good job of troubleshooting problems and working thru issues. He even has to supply his own missing and broken parts due to the shipping cost. He really is only asking for support, which DIY Tech Shop says they offer on their website. DIY tech shop STILL to this day does not respond to all their emails. Either they have a problem with their email/server or they simply pick and choose what they want to respond to.

Yes, the price is low, probably the best you can get in US and probably would cost you almost as much to self source if you do not already have any parts. But the website says they offer support and some people like to pay for support. So I think ciutateivissa is just trying to say that it may be worth it to some people to pay $100 more if they know the company will offer top notch support (email and phone).

Quote
tjb1
The fact is, you should know how to edit the firmware. It's basically self explanatory how to edit in the LCD.

// The RepRapDiscount Smart Controller (white PC
// [reprap.org]
//#define REPRAP_DISCOUNT_SMART_CONTROLLER

.......

Furthermore, how would you know what sketch/firmware/settings were loaded?

I don´t understand WHAT makes you that crazy but for sure I don´t want to taste it myself...

1. The download link to the 7z file with the DIY Tech modified firmware is offered through a log-in, you receive the log-in credentials right after placing your order. This tells me that you´ve never ordered anything there otherwise you would have known..

2. I´ve attached the configuration.h file from the download link at DIY Tech Shop and would kindly ask you, to show me that //#define REPRAP_DISCOUNT_SMART_CONTROLLER in this file. I tell you what: It isn´t there because they skiped some settings of the original build for any reason I don´t know. The Marlin firmware from DIY Tech Shop has 44k and the official one about 115k. That is why I use a firmware version modified from the official Marlin page. The only thing you CAN find in the DIY Tech modified firmware is:

//LCD and SD support
//#define ULTRA_LCD //general lcd support, also 16x2
//#define SDSUPPORT // Enable SD Card Support in Hardware Console

// #define ULTIPANEL
// #ifdef ULTIPANEL
// #define NEWPANEL //enable this if you have a click-encoder panel
// #define SDSUPPORT
// #define ULTRA_LCD
#define LCD_WIDTH 20
#define LCD_HEIGHT 4

So, PLEASE don´t tell me anything about inexperience!

3. The Arduino - CLONE the DIY Tech shop delivered with my kit had just the BOOTLOADER flashed in the EPROM. Easy to find out, if you´ve installed the driver and the development environment --> blink test...

So can you pls. stop to post nonsense here? This thread is about experience with the DIY Tech Shop and I have some - but you not!

Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/2014 10:40AM by ciutateivissa.

Quote
ciutateivissa

Quote
tjb1
The fact is, you should know how to edit the firmware. It's basically self explanatory how to edit in the LCD.

// The RepRapDiscount Smart Controller (white PC
// [reprap.org]
//#define REPRAP_DISCOUNT_SMART_CONTROLLER

.......

Furthermore, how would you know what sketch/firmware/settings were loaded?

I don´t understand WHAT makes you that crazy but for sure I don´t want to taste it myself...

1. The download link to the 7z file with the DIY Tech modified firmware is offered through a log-in, you receive the log-in credentials right after placing your order. This tells me that you´ve never ordered anything there otherwise you would have known..

2. I´ve attached the configuration.h file from the download link at DIY Tech Shop and would kindly ask you, to show me that //#define REPRAP_DISCOUNT_SMART_CONTROLLER in this file. I tell you what: It isn´t there because they skiped some settings of the original build for any reason I don´t know. The Marlin firmware from DIY Tech Shop has 44k and the official one about 115k. That is why I use a firmware version modified from the official Marlin page. The only thing you CAN find in the DIY Tech modified firmware is:

//LCD and SD support
//#define ULTRA_LCD //general lcd support, also 16x2
//#define SDSUPPORT // Enable SD Card Support in Hardware Console

// #define ULTIPANEL
// #ifdef ULTIPANEL
// #define NEWPANEL //enable this if you have a click-encoder panel
// #define SDSUPPORT
// #define ULTRA_LCD
#define LCD_WIDTH 20
#define LCD_HEIGHT 4

So, PLEASE don´t tell me anything about inexperience!

3. The Arduino - CLONE the DIY Tech shop delivered with my kit had just the BOOTLOADER flashed in the EPROM. Easy to find out, if you´ve installed the driver and the development environment --> blink test...

So can you pls. stop to post nonsense here? This thread is about experience with the DIY Tech Shop and I have some - but you not!

[github.com]

Ok, so you should still be loading your own. As I have said before...LCD is an option they offer. Do not fault them because you can not figure the LCD out.

Ignore tjb1, I think he likes to troll.

---

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What is Open Source Hardware?
Open Source in a nutshell: the Four Freedoms
CC BY-NC is not an Open Source license

I thought I should share my experiences with DIY Techshop. My first contact was asking them some technical questions about stepper drivers and the like and about whether they could deliver the product on time.

I explained that the delivery time was critical to me because I needed to have the printer fully functional for a class I will be teaching during the second week in March. I was able to build a Prusa Mendel I2 and get it running in about two weeks. So I figured that was enough time.

They told me that their lead time was two weeks and that they it would take 2-3 days to ship to me. The kit arrived today with all the plastic parts missing. No explanation, no expected delivery date, no communication whatsoever.

Supposedly there are documents available for download when you log in after making a purchase. There were none available for the printer on my account. I emailed the person in sales who responded to my original questions indicating that I would like to have a copy of the build instructions for their variation on the Prusa i3. No response for a week. I emailed them again no response. I was about to email them a third time on Tuesday to cancel the order when I received a form message indicating that the printer had shipped so I didn't cancel the order. It turned out that it did not actually ship until late on Wednesday. I still do not have a copy of the build documents or access to them through my account at this company.

When I discovered that the printed parts were missing, I emailed them to get a refund. If I don't hear back I guess I will have to dispute the charges with my credit card company and see if that wakes them up.

I just checked the website and a few things have changed since I placed my order. In my original email I noted that they had dropped the price after I ordered and asked them if they would refund the difference. There is now a note on the website saying that they do not do this. Apparently they had time to change the website, but not to respond to my email.

They have also edited the site to say that printed parts may be five days behind. due to weather conditions in the northeast. Apparently they did not feel that it was important to communicate this information to me directly or at the time I ordered when I explained that I was on a tight schedule.

I find the way these guys operate to be very unprofessional and not at all businesslike. I am going to be in a really tight spot time wise because of their BS. I built my i2 from a kit from NW reprap and I had a great experience in terms of the delivery, documentation, quality and support they provided. Email was answered in a matter of hours, I had two minor problems with parts which were resolved immediately no questions asked. These guys are clearly amateur league by comparison.

From what I gather reading around the web, there are a lot of other people who have had problems with them both in terms of quality and customer service. All I can say is if you are considering doing business with them pay attention to all the negative feedback. I wish I had. Spend the extra money and avoid the hassle and aggravation. My guess is you will wind up saving money in the long run anyway.

Oh, and Styrofoam packing peanuts? Really? Could you be a little less environmentally friendly?

Well this is encouraging....??
... I have a machine on order with them as well. I do have to stress as with any businesses of this nature, as I have a product that we sell at a low price. That is of great quality. Difficult balance, supply and demand.. And performance sensitive..With impatient clients as well...
Honestly when we ordered from them, the little voice in my head did see this. Im thinking to give them a honest chance to over come their growing pains. From what Im gathering they need more printers running plastic. As opposed to sending them out. (J/P).. As with my products we fall into a similar situation. To charge them back will only push the problem onto the next guy and kill a promising product source. Most likely me. lol. Im about ready to send them an email and see if their is some way they can be helped. (Molds etc)
I have been in the rapid prototyping business before it was even a term. We make and create with all sorts and for all. AND ALWAYS the one thing that kills things is timing. Now with this, I have always claimed "Our quality has long been remembered after the price (and timing) is forgotten."
I have also placed "my issues" of piss poor planning "upon them" as I TOO asked to receive my machine within the ten days as I have a few pieces for a tier one automotive company and my other machine is down. Big program. I have to be honest and say I REALLY need this machine and am thinking Craigs list if I have to to make the deadline. And will be genuinely bummed.
BUT in the long term. We have all ordered from them based on two obvious facts. Design and price. At the end of the day. Im certain I will be happier with this setup not only for aesthetics, but for the size and price. I actually found this thread prior to my order. And considered just building one. But as you are all aware after you spend the time and money. Your going to go through more than the above. Ive read about the hot end and (of course) Im sure theres alot of starter pieces. Already know to think this way as is with anything extra parts are always an excuse for an upgrade.. lol

Made in the U.S.A.,,,,,, Being forced to by a kit from china was going to kill me personally... I know the parts come from there but Id rather support US
I will be the first to praise the ground they walk on if my machine arrives on time.. And if it doesn't ,is my fault.. Their not Walmart, theirs actually real live bodys on the other end that are working to give me a good bargain and with the hope Im going to receive and see it as such...
(Fingers crossed) Ill keep ya posted.

AutomotiveEngineeringAndDesign.com

Received my package on Friday. Big box very well wrapped. Lined out all the parts and all is in proper order. The one I ordered is the IRON3D XL 12x12x14
One word,,, AWESOME! None of this pencil rod stuff...

Now as with anything like this type of product people. These along with almost all "Rep Rap" machines are more like " pre-production prototypes.
So the (Walmart) mentality is the wrong approach. Work with your suppliers. Give yourself a good time frame. And take your time.

This machine is huge. Very happy customer here. Keep up the good work DYI Tech Shop.
Ill be sure to post the finished product.
Thanks,
L Dodd
AutomotiveEngineeringAndDesign.com

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/2014 03:49PM by LennyRacer.

Quote
LennyRacer
The one I ordered is the IRON3D XL 12x12x14
...
This machine is huge. Very happy customer here. Keep up the good work DYI Tech Shop.
Ill be sure to post the finished product.

Hi LennyRacer,

hope to see some photos from this printer here soon... At the time when I bought the i3XL this new printer wasn´t available and the i3XL was the best I could get. Maybe I will order this printer later this year, shouldn´t be a problem to sell mine here in Austria.

In the meantime I´ve got some respone from DIY Shop to my emails. I´ve used the sales@diytechshop.com and found out that this email adress works best. I´ve got several email supporting me the last week and can honestly say that the things are getting better there. Hopefully it stays that way.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/02/2014 05:07AM by ciutateivissa.

Those iron machines looked pretty great. I think the key to good quality prints is smaller tolerances and that of course involves a nice rigid frame. I'm putting together their omega right now, but it was very tempting at the time to go with one of their iron printers.

I'm considering welding up a frame eventually and transferring these components over to it.

Enjoy!

So how has the service and quality been from diytechshop recently? I originally was going to order an i3xl from them a couple months ago, but was reading about a lot of problems both with their service and quality of parts. I'm back again thinking about an iron3d (9x9) printer now. I probably would've pulled the trigger already, but i'm a little gun shy from what I've previously read about them.

Thanks

In the end my experience with DIYtechshop wasn´t that bad. When i´ve ordered my kit at the end of December, they told me it would take approx. 4 to 6 weeks and I received 1 box with almost all parts in it. Don´t want to tell the story a second time, but finally, when I wrote to the right email adress, I´ve received an answer latest after 2 days. Since shipping cost in my case would be far to high, I´ve got a credit note and some money back. I had several issues later, after that credit note (e.g. broken hot end) but I didn´t ask them again for anything because I appreciate what they had done before and try to support their efforts in getting better.

If I would buy a second printer most likely it would come from DIYtechshop again.

Sorry to say my experience has been bad with DIY Tech Shop and is still unresolved with no communication...

i3XL

Here's the Short story...
I recieved unusable Plastic parts--all of them were bad
Promised to overnight replacements parts--twice, never did
Stopped answering calls and never returned any of my 5 or 6 messages
Replacement parts finally arrived, but was missing 2 parts
Still no communication
Recently discovered they originally sent 3mm extruder instead of 1.75

I've filed a dispute with my credit card. Maybe hitting them in the pocket book will get a response...

I can't recommend this company to anyone.

--Doug

I've worked with DIY tech shop before and I had a good experience. I received free threaded rods beause mine were a little warped and I also got a whole new RAMPS Kit when my arduino was blown out along with some stepper drivers. They had great customer service and the fact that they were even willing to help was amazing. This is a kit and most people will just leave you to figure it out on your own. If it's your first printer it's not going to be easy and you will have to familiarize yourself with marlin and the nicknacks of the i3xl and your own personal printer. Every reprap is different... In the end it is worth it and amazing. On another note... I do have a serious complaint about the store because I purchased one of their newer kits over 3 weeks ago and it still has not shipped out to me. I contacted them many times about it and got one reply over a week ago saying it would be shipped out later that week. They have my money and I don't have my printer... They arnt returning my emails anymore either. I really hope I get in touch with the because I had an amazing experience before and that's why I came back to them. Someone said hit or miss and at this point I somewhat agree.

I'm in the middle of a pretty unsatisfying experience with them at the moment.
It's all going on over at "Xssink Boxd 3d printers - Good or Bad reviews anyone?" thread.
They started a new website that is a clone of they DIYTS one and it's the same story.
No e-mails response, some phone response with empty promises and no printer after 7 weeks, and counting.
Pretty bummed here.

I would recommend doing what I did... File a complaint with your credit card and the credit card company will reverse the charges. When DIYTS lost the sale money, then they started communicating -- a little bit. I finally got the right extruder parts from them so it wouldn't plug up every time I tried to use it, and agreed to a refund for the $45 heat bed kit that could never have worked as provided. They still got the full price for the printer with sub-standard parts.

(see my post, 2 posts before this one)... It's hard to believe that almost a year after my experience they are still doing business the same way.

Looks like the bottom line is still -- AVOID Do It Yourself Tech Shop!!

Do NOT buy from DIY Tech Shop. Plastic parts are of a terrible quality, they look awful, some of them are literally falling apart in your hands. I couldn't imagine someone would sell such a junk. Many parts are missing (plastic, electronics, metal). The overall design of the mod is poor as well. They ignore emails, there is no such thing as "Customer Support" in this shop. Huge waste of time and money. I'm filing a claim to PayPal, will see how it goes.

I went into the Washington State Sec. of State site, Dept. of Revenue site and gathered a little more info.
XSSINK llc. and DIYtechshop llc are not the same company technically but share the same owner, address and phone.

"http://bls.dor.wa.gov/LicenseSearch/lqsLicenseDetail.aspx?RefID=367077"
and,
"http://bls.dor.wa.gov/LicenseSearch/lqsLicenseDetail.aspx?RefID=694557"

I have a bunch more information on them if anyone wants it. I just want this info in people hands before they buy.
I'm going to aggressively pursue this until I get my money back but I'm still pissed off because even when I get it I will have given them a 900 dollar interest free loan. I paid with my debit card
so I don't have Paypal recourse. If I have to file in Clark County WA small claims court then I'll seek additional damages. I hate having to deal with this crap but I've found that you just have to muscle through it if you want people like this to shape up or shut down. My friend was looking over what they sent me and it's difficult to not just start putting it together because we KNOW we can make it work but that's not going to help change the situation. They suck at businesses and shouldn't be rewarded for it.
Meh, enough blowing off steam for now. I'm going to go work on the motorcycles.

I would encourage everyone who has an issue with DIYTechShop to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. This is a reference many people use before deciding to purchase from an unknown company. I had also left a review on YP.com.

Good idea. I just went and filed a complaint and also sent a Paypal request for a refund.
If worst comes to worst, it's $29 to file a Small Claim with a $5000 limit. I'm sure it would be settled in arbitration if they even bother to show up. I doubt they would.
Their BBB score is C- currently but my complaint hasn't processed yet. I wish I would have checked before I paid. Caveat Emptor.

Unfortunately, I have similar, even worse experience with "DIY Tech Shop llc, Vancouver wa" . Got from them Prusa 3di kit; lot of pieces was missing including the hot end. As I started assembly, it turned out, they sent parts for extruder of two different kits. I have contacted then immediately; First they required a photo proof, then another and another.... Their responses were from rude to mildly polite... Finally they sent some of the right parts, but I had to rig up the extruder head until I could print my own. As conclusion; I cannot recommend, nor would I EVER buy anything from DYI Tech Shop llc in my life again. Kinda too bad since I thought and felt that 3d was a 'community' supporting each other...

Hello folks. I purchased an I3 9x9x12 from diytech back in the summer of 2014. I had several issues with them. It got so frustrating i had to just stop working on my printer. I have recently decided to try again. I have no experience in anything similar to this. So its a fun learning experience. Ive got the printer all put together. The downloads from DIY were terrible. Very generic. Can somebody please give me the proper software/firmware? As im sure i didnt change all the variables correctly. At the moment the only issue I am having, that i know of, is the extruder wont push the plastic through the hotend. Also after reading past posts, im wondering if i have the wrong motor on the extruder?