Wanted: Feedback on the Nectar One 3D Printer

[NectarianNick]

Hello world!

I’m Nick, one of the founders at Nectar. Nectar is a 3D Printer manufacturer from Arnhem, The Netherlands. We have started shipping our first product, the Nectar One, and are keen to get in touch with and learn from the people in the 3D Hubs community to further improve our tech.

Nectar One is a Delta FDM Printer aimed at the professional / semi-industrial market. We’re aiming to achieve a 3D Printing process that is repeatable, easy and as close to hassle-free as we can possibly get, and we enter into collaborations with every one of our customers to get there as efficiently as possible.

Some examples of how we try to achieve this:
- A completely modular architecture consisting of 8 independently operating hardware modules that can be hot-swapped to dramatically decrease cost and time in servicing and system upgrades.
- A very intuitive user flow through our web interface (NectaWare) in conjunction with material recognition and auto leveling.
- Feedback loops on all movement systems.
- Heated bed tested up to 150°c with 4 individual zones for faster heatup times and smarter power consumption during operation.
- A climate controlled chamber with closed loop filtering system (HEPA + Carbon) so the machine can be used in a people’s environment.
- A very cool door system that you have to come see in live action.
- A very ambitious service mentality.

We developed the system in collaboration with a dedicated bunch from the 3D Printing community and we are now ready to make the next step: expanding the group of Nectar Ambassadors (Nectarians), collect all your feedback and keep increasing the quality and reliability of our system.

For this stage we’re focussed on getting in touch with Dutch 3D Hubs so we can keep communications quick and streamlined. We are no price-fighters, but Hubs have a special place in our heart.

To show this we’re doing a one time discount offer (20% = €4.799,- ex. VAT) exclusive to 3D Hubs. This offer expires 8 May 2017.

To make use of this offer, please approach us via 3dhubs@nectar3d.com.

Relevant links:
www.Nectar3D.com

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www.twitter.com/nectarThreeD

Cheers,

-The Nectar Team

[cobnut]

Hi @NectarianNick not sure what feedback you’re looking for since you’ve given us very little to go on, but here’s some thoughts:

#1 - Technical specs: Couldn’t find any specs on your website for layer height or precision; no one is going to buy something without knowing precisely what they’re getting. More details, less flashy scrolling would make the site a lot more useful for prospective buyers.

#2 - Those spool holder trays look very narrow. It’s nice that you’ll allow non-proprietary filaments, but they don’t all come in the same sized reels…

#3 - No SD card slot? What do you do if you’ve machines in another room? My machines are in a different room from my office and I have no LAN, so how do I connect? An SD slot should be a higher priority than a LAN port, especially as it can make a machine wi-fi connected using a wifi card.

#4 - Any video of the machine actually working, printing something?

#5 - All the images on the materials section of the website appear to be the same.

It looks very nice, but we’d need a lot more detail and more media of it actually working to make any real judgements without actually owning one.

[J0ram]

Hi,

Looks like an awesome machine to me, especially the automated door sounds really cool. First thing I would improve is to add a lot more information on your site. I had to scroll down all the way down and search for things like max nozzle temperature, I think it is better to place all specifications on top so everyone sees them without having to search for it. Things I would like to know when buying a printer are: Layer height, heated bed max temperature, nozzle temperature, heating time, printing speed, accuracy in X and Y, does it print with other filament than designed for this printer, does it have a USB buffer, is it possible to add extensions that are not designed by your company, how does it detect what type of filament you have loaded, how much does it weight, how and to where do you ship and if there are additional costs.

I would also add more pictures and videos of the printer printing, no one is going to buy a printer without seeing what it is capable of. The LAN option is really nice to have but I’m missing the SD option, or does it print from USB sticks from the USB port?

For the filter I would like to know how much particles it filters, I added a filter to my printer but that does not take away all the smell, I guess yours does but I can’t find that anywhere.

The body seems really strong and has a really cool design, does it have lights in it so you can see your print as well? For me this is a real must-have.

You say we really should see the door system in action live, does this mean you have a showroom or something were people can visit? It would also be nice to add a video of the door because I’m pretty curious now.

If I was looking for a printer is this price range I would only take a look at it if I could find technical details, else I would just skip it.

In my opinion it is a great printer, for me it is way to expensive but if you are looking for a Dutch student to test it for a student budget you can always ask me

[Xeno]

So, this is a upcoming Kickstarter project from 2 students ?

But without any specs of the machine, this reeks of vaporware.

at least give is specs on what you think this machine will do, like build volume, and max speed (but we all know this is just in the lowest quality setting and you can’t guarantee it will finish the print )

All the images are renders of the supposed final project, and using an older man to be the face of your “company” is a smart move.

Even the supposed “Full Review” on the site has nothing…nothing about the printer !!

otherwise sod off and we see you on kickstarter, and …maybe this gets made, and …maybe backers get it delivered, and maybe within 2 years !

[RCole]

“Web based” - hosted from the machine? Does that mean that there is a computer on-board that you can download the model into? Instead of SD cards? For a commercial/industrial machine that makes sense (SD cards do not make sense in multi-system setups). SD cards would make more sense in a home/hobby environment.

I do agree about wanting to see more information and more pictures of it working (especially video).

For commercial / industrial you should also make sure it can handle larger spools - our shop regularly uses 5kg and 10kg spools. Maybe a spool holder above where the smaller spools sit?

[hobbyist]

The printer looks awesome. How about the spare parts, all source in Netherlands?

[NectarianNick]

The web interface runs on the machine itself. The models are also stored on the machine. We are looking into adding a cloud version so you can toggle between storing and slicing models on the machine and in the cloud, based on your company’s policies.

Working on that video and will run the spool idea by the team. Thanks for the suggestion.

[NectarianNick]

Thanks for your thoughts J0ram.

I see what you mean with regards to the website. We will have a look to see how we can improve navigation on our site.

You can find specs determined up til now here: nectar3d.com
Does it print with other filament than designed for this printer: Yes, you can use your own materials but it won’t recognize the spools so you will have to find the right settings manually.

Does it have a USB buffer: You connect to the printer via the web interface > network > UTP, but there is a USB-B port if a direct connection to the system needs to be made for servicing.

Is it possible to add extensions that are not designed by your company: it’s not a machine you would typically want to be tweaking, but depending on the type of extension you have in mind, it might be possible. Can you elaborate?

How does it detect what type of filament you have loaded: RFID tags in our spools are recognized by the machine

How much does it weigh: ±33kg

How and to where do you ship and if there are additional costs: at this time our focus is on The Netherlands as to be sure that we can offer good support. The level of demand from abroad is one of the factors that helps determine how quickly we will set everything up for sales and servicing abroad. Where are you located?

More pictures and video are coming up.

Controlling the printer is done completely through our web interface. As such, it does not print from an SD or USB stick.

For the filter I would like to know how much particles it filters, I added a filter to my printer but that does not take away all the smell, I guess yours does but I can’t find that anywhere.

We’ve recently published a blogpost about this: http://nectar3d.com/2017/04/07/the-nectarone-integrated-carbon-and-hepa-filter/

The body seems really strong and has a really cool design, does it have lights in it so you can see your print as well? For me this is a real must-have.

The entire chamber is lit. During the printing process the light is white. When you insert a (Nectar) spool the chamber pulses in the color of the spool to confirm it recognized the correct material.

You say we really should see the door system in action live, does this mean you have a showroom or something were people can visit? It would also be nice to add a video of the door because I’m pretty curious now.

Those who are interested in a demonstration can come by on several locations in The Netherlands (e.g. Amsterdam and Arnhem). More videos are a great idea. We are working on that.

[NectarianNick]

We are not doing a Kickstarter.

Specs can be found here: http://nectar3d.com/specs

More will be added.

The machine is done and 10 are currently in operation. However, I agree with you that it would be good to add more real footage.

[NectarianNick]

Hello @cobnut,

Thanks for your feedback!

#1 - Technical specs: Couldn’t find any specs on your website for layer height or precision; no one is going to buy something without knowing precisely what they’re getting. More details, less flashy scrolling would make the site a lot more useful for prospective buyers.

Some specs can be found here, but more need to be added soon: nectar3d.com

Improving website navigation is something we will be looking at.

#2 - Those spool holder trays look very narrow. It’s nice that you’ll allow non-proprietary filaments, but they don’t all come in the same sized reels…

We have tested spools of up to 1kg in there. What size spools would you be looking to use with our printer?

#3 - No SD card slot? What do you do if you’ve machines in another room? My machines are in a different room from my office and I have no LAN, so how do I connect? An SD slot should be a higher priority than a LAN port, especially as it can make a machine wi-fi connected using a wifi card.

You would have to connect your machine using a UTP cable to your router for now. An SD slot is not something we’re looking at adding any time soon, but wifi is.

#4 - Any video of the machine actually working, printing something?

We will be shooting and posting more live footage.

#5 - All the images on the materials section of the website appear to be the same.

Interesting. Adding the others asap.

[NectarianNick]

Thank you. The machine is produced in the Netherlands and then stocked by our distributor. When you order spare parts they will be shipped by them.

[sweenzorrr]

Give one to Thomas Sanladerer of Tom’s review to evaluate. He’s an honest guy and will tell you (and everyone else) anything that’s wrong with it. Single best thing your company can do to gain the trust of the 3D printing community, to sell more printers.

[NectarianNick]

We love that idea and will be in touch with reviewers.