DIY Tech Shops i3xl Headache

I ordered an i3xl from DIY Tech Shop a while back, I have to admit I was growing anxious without a tracking number so I emailed them asking how long it usually takes to get these thing sent out (which never got a reply), I received the printer two weeks later, not bad at all. I started unpacking everything and it seems like everything is here, I go through the packing lists and everything is checked. I should mention that this is my first printer and I wasn't quite sure what each piece was so I really didn't know what was there and what wasn't. Well as I am getting everything sorted I notice that I have no hot end, or motors. No problem I'll shoot them an email and they will most likely ship them to me asap, probably before I can finish building. I was wrong, my first email (which was through the sites "contact us" section) was not replied to so I sent one straight from my gmail account. Neither of these emails got a reply, and still haven't to this day. I finally called them up asking about my motors and hot end and they asked if I was someone else named blah blah and I said no and gave them my name and order number. The person I talked to didn't ask me to repeat my name or order number so I doubt he wrote anything down, all he said was that they had just received a shipment and were drop shipping the rest and that I should receive a tracking number soon. Well this was two weeks ago and I haven't been able to reach them by phone since, and I and everyone else it seems have given up on emailing them. At this point the parts needed to complete the kit will require about 1/4 the cost I spent on the kit in the first place as I have a rod that will not accept a nut as the threads must be out of whack, no x carriage, and have had to make a few trips to the hardware store to make things work, as well as filing down poor quality parts to make them fit. I have received a part that seems like an x carriage but doesn't line up to anything I have, I have included pictures so that maybe someone can help me out. I was really hoping to avoid making a negative post as I am fairly reasonable but I am out of options.

And please, before anyone says it, yes this is my first post but that doesn't make my experience less valid than someone with 1000 posts, and yes this is my first printer but I am fairly inclined with things like this, not to mention I haven't even gotten close to the printing side of things, so at this point I'm just piecing things together with some help from google. (there are no i3xl instructions fyi, only i3x which is actually a bit different with assembly.)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/2014 05:22PM by bunk254.

The first photo is your X carriage. Four LM8UU linear bearings go into those four depressions and are zip-tied in. Make sure the heads of the zip ties are on the same side as the bearings.

The X carriage slides on to the two X axis smooth rods.

The extruder bolts onto the back of the X carriage. There should be four recesses in the extruder for four M4 nuts. This should help you line up the extruder with the X carriage. There should be a flat face on the extruder that mates up with the back of the X carriage. Four M4 bolts secure the carriage to the extruder.

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[3DKarma.com] - suppliers of quality, affordable 3D printer kits and filament for the UK market.

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3dkarma
The first photo is your X carriage. Four LM8UU linear bearings go into those four depressions and are zip-tied in. Make sure the heads of the zip ties are on the same side as the bearings.

The X carriage slides on to the two X axis smooth rods.

The extruder bolts onto the back of the X carriage. There should be four recesses in the extruder for four M4 nuts. This should help you line up the extruder with the X carriage. There should be a flat face on the extruder that mates up with the back of the X carriage. Four M4 bolts secure the carriage to the extruder.

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I am clearly missing something here, this is what I am looking at, and these are the three parts left.

You're good; it's just a slightly different design. Take your extruder and see if the two holes in this picture line up with two holes in the X carriage.



If they do, use them to bolt the extruder to the X carriage.

In this picture from left to right are your X axis motor mount, X carriage and X axis idler. The motor mount should go together like this (with the exception of the Z axis height fine adjust - looks like yours doesn't have it):



I don't have an exploded diagram for that type of idler, but there should be a bearing that goes in the tall vertical slot and a nut and screw that secure it. Two LM8UU linear bearings should be pushed into the idler the same as the motor mount. The X axis then goes together a bit like this (ignore the green bits - they're for a slightly different version):



Have you looked at the build instructions on the reprap wiki?

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[3DKarma.com] - suppliers of quality, affordable 3D printer kits and filament for the UK market.

I have seen the build instructions and understand the rest of the x axis, but the carriage does not line up with the extruder at all, the two holes on the extruder are way to far apart for the carriage to line up. I could drill new holes but then it would seem a bit too flimsy to support the weight of the extruder.
Also still haven't been able to get a hold of diy. Tech shop on all my missing parts, save yourself the trouble and do not order from these people.

In terms of the missing parts and lack of service that is easy. File a claim with the CC company or PayPal, whoever you used. That will always get their attention. They can either ignore it, in which case you get your kit for free, or they make things right.

Where are you located? If you post a list of what's missing you might be able to get someone to send you replacements. The Prusa i3 rework has a better extruder body that mates properly with your x carriage that you might be able to get printed for you, either by asking here on the forums or over at http://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprintmything/. The design files are available at thingiverse.

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[3DKarma.com] - suppliers of quality, affordable 3D printer kits and filament for the UK market.

I'm from Minnesota, and I will give that a shot, I am missing the hot end and motors for sure, which is my priority because I don't want to pay for those out of pocket

The build instructions for the i3x and i3xl are the same file. There are only minor differences between the two printers. Did you get those instructions from their website? I have a copy of them if you didn't get them but it is too large to attach here. PM me and I can send it via email. Communication with them seems to vary. Sometimes they do get back to you in a reasonable amount of time and sometimes multiple attempts go unanswered.

I filed a complaint with PayPal and I just received a partial refund for what I hope will cover the missing parts, I got the i3x instructions but a lot of the parts don't match the instructions but I got it figured out for the most part

I too am currently having an issue with Tech shops disability in overpromising, underdelivering and complete disregard for communication. I have been without a hot end due to it being faulty and jamming right out of the gate, which I being a newbie was not aware of it being an issue at the time and was told they are no longer offering the little brass hot end. It is still on their website for sale which is confusing at best.
It does appear that you do have the correct parts to complete the build just a different design than is in the instructions, which you would think would either be changed in the instructions and or noted somewhere. If anyone does happen to receive a response from diy tech shop it would be great to hear how it happened.
They have stopped taking calls per their voice mail and removed numbers from their website. Maybe a cc dispute will get things right.