I think everything is in the direction of each persons perspective. It has been stated here. This is a Hobby machine. I started out with CNC routing to make chairs. 1 simple design, basically a box with a back rest added to it. I was very concerned about the way the motor is mounted. By hand I can flex the mounts. However the “standard” setup is not making fast transitions and I could see when I started testing that once under a load they are not going to move much. The point is to make my chairs it would excel. But then my mind started to wonder to making 8 ft tall lettering, more like 7.5 foot. This would push the bounds of what it can do based on other peoples input. It has been demonstrated doing very well at smaller lettering, there is a phenomenal pone case that has been done. So it depends.
I built a $1000 3D printer kit when they first happened in the home market. You could in no way compare the out put of that printer next to a $50k established 3D printer. I’ve used both.
In the same manner you can’t expect to have a $350 kit perform in the same manner as a $20k CNC router.
It depends on how you want to make this work for you. On the POD project Bar and Hanna demonstrated the power of using the Maslow to make Templates and using the templates with a traditional router to quickly reproduce a part multiple times.
The old racing adage - Speed is just a matter of money. How fast do you want to go?
the other - Speed, Quality, Cost - You can only pick 2
It is a good question and a good discussion. The real question is what is your business model? then we can look at how the Maslow could fit or not fit that model.
I could make a business out of my chairs. I could use the Maslow as part of the workflow to aid in making them. I would use more traditional methods to cut stock to size for instance. Then mount it on the Maslow. In this way I could be probably 400% more efficient then making a file then mounting a full sheet and having the Maslow do the entire job. Less labor but more time. Also if I were doing this as a real business, I’d have 3 Maslows to start. A relationship with Maslow to keep track of what parts I might need to replace to keep 2 machines working at all times.
I base my answer on what we know today. Over time the Maslow could become an entirely different machine depending on the community and the company. I was part of improving 3d printing and my designs have made it into many commercial products.
As provided the Maslow is not intended to replace professional industrial products. I’m going to state my opinion and para-phrase Bar I think - I think the intention of the Maslow is to bring a tool that was out of the price range of many hobbyist that have a skill set to use it but not the finical means to justify owning one to that hobbyist level.
In a perfect world this would be a tool to start a business and boot strap through ingenuity and workflow creating the financial structure to afford and justify moving to and industrial tool.
As always I hope this information is useful. I’m not here to decide for other people, I’m here to try to help and inform and let people decide what is right for them.
Thank you