Here’s the detailed Rubric, and the questions that I use to grade my 3D printers:
| Capability | ||||
| Category | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Material Variety | Doesn’t seem to take any materials | Basically only good for a single material type | Some features to allow for different materials (IE capable of high temps) (common answer) | Additional features to allow for a wide variety materials (IE enclosures, heaters, very high temp nozzles, novel feed mechanisms, etc) |
| Concurrent materials (-0.5 if the result is “fiddly”, +1 if can mix materials) |
Capable of only single material at a time without manual effort or external resources (common answer) | Capable of 2 materials (dual material) | Capable of up to 4 materials | Capable of multi-material and material mixing |
| Unique Features | No unique features (common answer) | Has features that advance the technology. Things like discrete coloration, routing, or something new. | ||
| Speed | Unable to print without loss of detail if speed is not considerably dialed down. Prints take an unreasonable amount of time. | Prints take a reasonable amount of time, considering the model | Faster than you’d expect | |
| Hackability | Totally proprietary | One of the following: Built from common parts, designs and firmware are available, company embraces open source. (Default answer) | Two of the following: Built from common parts, designs and firmware are available, company embraces open source | Common parts, designs and firmware are available, company embraces open source |
| Accuracy | Inaccurate. Can’t even print a circle. | A 20mm cube with a 10mm hole in the middle is within .1mm (default answer) | A 20mm cube with a 10mm hole in the middle is within .01mm | Can print legos studs that work. |
| Ease of Use | ||||
| Category | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Assembly | Considerable Assembly Required | Simple Assembly Required (For instance, just a few bolts) (common answer) | Little to no assembly Required (Simply unbox and use) | |
| Room Presence (-0.5 for noisy, -0.5 for known safety issues) | Large and requires special consideration | Large or requires special consideration | Reasonable but unobtrusive (common answer) | Small and unobtrusive |
| First Time User Experience | Requires additional knowledge and/or materials not included “in the box” to provide a successful experience. | Has all the equipment necessary or well laid out instructions but no material for a successful experience. | Has all the equipment and well laid out instructions for a successful first time experience | |
| User Interface | Confusing User Interface, many steps required to use every time. (IE Bare Marlin) | Streamlined User Interface. Perhaps many steps, but a clear path. | Takes advantage of technology to streamline the process considerably (For instance, Wifi file delivery or super simplified UI that just works.) | |
| Common Tasks | Common tasks like changing material, hardware configuration (bed leveling, etc), or loading prints require a significant learning curve, written direction, and manual effort | Common tasks are partially automated, but still require some manual effort on your part | Common tasks are practically automated | |
| Reliability | Requires significant human interaction to catch the frequent problems that arise | Some error catching and recovery or is built reliably so that errors don’t occur. (default answer) | Prints reliably well and catches errors and recovers gracefully | |
| OEM Support | Manufacturer is unresponsive, provides no information, and it is likely to break | 1 of the following: Manufacturer is responsive, manufacturer provides good documentation, or it is well built and rarely requires repair (default answer) | 2 of the following: Manufacturer is responsive, manufacturer provides good documentation, or it is well built and rarely requires repair | Manufacturer is responsive, provides good documentation, and it is well built and rarely requires repair |
| Community Support | No one else seems to be using this machine | Small, unresponsive community | Large community or easy to find support, possibly due to common design that is easy to repair (default answer) | |
As for price, I do show the curve in the video, but here is is again:
| Score | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Price | $0 | $100 | $200 | $400 | $600 | $1,000 | $1,500 | $2,000 | $5,000 | $10,000 | $100,000,000 |
It’s not a mathematically perfect curve, and I thought about that for a long time, but it is a curve that, I feel, reflects the expectations of the market well.
Of course, for all of this, I’m open to criticism and new ideas, so feel free to hit me up with your suggestions!
I don’t often use a still from the video as my thumbnail. But when I do, it’s perfection!
Astute viewers may notice that my hair is longer in this video than the last one. That’s because this video was recorded before the last one, but after recording it I realized it was time to do March MadMess, finally, but that I needed an additional video to explain that. So I put this video on hold, recorded and edited that one, and then came back to this one. And it’s a good thing, too, because the next video has required some considerable setup, and I can’t wait to show it to you.
