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What’s up with the Upload Parts to Browse Services thing???

When starting out using 3D Hubs, I would look at the different hubs close to me to see

what types of printers people had and what their capabilities they were capable of.

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If I would have needed to upload a file, just to see who near me could print,

I would not ever used 3D hubs. WoW!

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I’m thinking activity by new people to 3D hubs has dropped way off lately.

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Just my 2 cents worth.

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Hi Garyg,

Thanks for your message and feedback.

The upload parts before browsing services is an experiment we’re running so that we can gather feedback on the new printability feature we launched and to offer more accurate pricing before you see hubs.

The 3D viewer 3D visualises your model and then provides printability feedback showing you where there might be challenges dependent on the printing technology. Alongside this we still show the amount of services online around you, we haven’t seen any negative impact due to this change yet. This also helped solve the confusion we heard from customers when they saw an array of hubs with varying “starting at” prices, which then all drastically changed when they uploaded their files.

If you could let me know what you think of the 3D viewer, it’d be great to hear your feedback and I hope this explains the thinking behind the temporary experiment.

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Lot’s of “feedback” over here: Talk Manufacturing | Hubs We don’t like being experimented on. Especially when the response to our feedback is non-existent.

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Gfisherwils

I uploaded an stl for the purpose of answering your questions.

I was able to select a Hub near me and saw what appeared to be the cost of the file.

I went back to the download a file page and started looking at the info there.

Nothing said, click here to view the file in 3D.

I clicked on the part and the 3D viewer came up.

I viewed the file in 3D, Not that it really mattered.

I had no direct contact with the Hub I selected and left the hub.

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Now, I noticed that, as I’m answering your questions, that in the upper right hand corner of my screen,

It says “3D Print” with a quantity of 1 next to it.

I do not wish to have the part made, as I now have a 3D printer of my own.

I also do not wish to waste a hubs time while just looking.

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Since I’ve purchased my own 3D printer, I still use Hubs services for printing in different materials than what I have and

If I’m having trouble printing something, I also have a Hubs service print one for me so that I can find out if my design

has flaws or if I just need to improve my designing or printing skills.

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So;

My feeling about your "Temporary Experiment is,

when using it, I feel like I’m getting sucked into something that I don’t want.

Contacting a selected hub for pricing without the instant stuff would get me an accurate quote because

the Hub will let me know if the model will print well and not need lots of unplanned supports etc.

and

The viewer is ok, but will not be used if there is nothing saying “Click Here for 3D View”

I hope I answered your questions.

I also believe your little experiment is costing your Hubs more than just a few losses in new orders

from people just starting out.

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Hi Garyg,

Thanks for the feedback, your definitely right about the 3D viewer we do need to make it more obvious that its a feature that can be utilised. Did you find the 3D viewer useful at all, as it should help show those design flaws you usually get the hub to address on the order page?

Thanks,

George

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George

I loaded another file that has a horizontal hole that needs support material.

3D viewer did not show supports.

I’m really not sure if the 3D viewer is useful or not.

I’m pretty sure that my models are in good shape before uploading them.

What type of file will will cause 3D viewer to show defects in the model?

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About the only real usefulness I see in the viewer is for a customer to “view” there part. It’s window dressing - that’s all.

Also, why are they being forced to pick a “budget” amount. At best this should be optional. this could cut out hubs that may have otherwise gotten the job.

Fore instance.

Hub A is 7 miles from the customer so they could pick up their part and get it quicker but the cost is $3 higher for the part and over the limit.

Hub B is 60 miles away and will have to ship which takes another 4-5 days minimum and $15 more in shipping.

So, hub B which was $3 cheaper on the actual part according to 3Dhubs, actually takes longer to deliver a finished part and is $12 more expensive.

Result - the customer has been ripped off by not getting to choose ALL hubs available to him and being forced to a hub that will take longer and cost more.

The ONLY one who benefits is 3Dhubs because the customer had to pay more.

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We think this is a major issue to. Since this change happened we have not had any orders coming in. More people have been contacting us through email and not ordering because they need to compare pricing. 3D Hubs needs to go back to how they had it before where you could view hubs and services without needing to upload parts. Some people just compare pricing without having their parts. 3D Hubs needs to fix this. Thanks.

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I could not agree on this more !!!

MOST people, even those who have heard of 3D Printing, have no idea they could actually make use of 3D printings services nearby and low cost without having to purchase a printer themselves.

Whenever I meet people and I tell them about 3D printing (which is easy as I ALWAYS carry 3D printed object on my person), I often would show them the 3D Hubs website and browse around.
This is now not possible anymore.

Any visitor who would just would to inform him- or herself about the available services in their area but without a specific printfile to upload can no longer search anything now.

It is a bit like wanting to look for a hotel in a city, but first you have to actually book a room before you can see available hotels!

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I’m hearing a lot of negativity on this topic. I can entirely agree. Changing the way you search for a printing service was a bad move. I like that analogy, it’s like looking for a hotel in your area by booking the room you want first, madness. I think you’ve killed the point of the service here guys. Pretty sure most of the hubs are trying to service their locality and boost the local knowledge of the technology, not go global!

The 3D viewer is cute but, it’s certainly no tool for the hubs operators. I like the ‘printable’ ‘not printable’ flag, that algorithm seems to work.

On a personal Hub note, since this move, I’ve had no new customers, and all my repeat customers are just contacting me via email because they don’t like the new search.

I get what that you’re trying to make the customer experience instantly accessible, and I’m not saying that a ‘print wizard’ wouldn’t be useful to many of them, but here’s an example. I’m a dentist and I need a prosthetic tomorrow, I’ll go on 3D hubs and search for a local printer…oh wait I can’t search for a local printer, I need to jump through this wizard thing first and…sod it.

The Grove :slight_smile:

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It is just one more thing in their long and growing list of ridiculous ideas that just make it more difficult for customers and hubs alike.

I still believe that a lot of what 3dhubs is doing is geared to drive business towards the more expensive services and away from the FDM hubs.