MatterControl Touch

[lars86 42]

Has anyone added one of these to their Ultimaker?

Having the Ulticontroller is pivotal for sure, but I am finding that using the UC is the main annoyance I have with the printer. Mainly the unpredictability of the knob steps... you never know where it will land. I can't count the number of times I have tried to adjust flow, only to have the UC jump down one step to "change filament" and ruin a print.

Plus, the "wheel+click" interface is just outdated and cumbersome to quickly make changes.

I'm not sure what functionality this package provides over simply running their ( or other's) free software on a Windows tablet for example. But I really like the idea of a color, touch screen control interface for the printer to bring it into the 21st century!

http://www.matterhackers.com/store/printer-accessories/mattercontrol-touch

[lars86 42]

Well, I went ahead and ordered one.

It seems like the forum community here isn't as engaged as it used to be. :/

[chrisw 70]

The Touch device seems like a great idea.  I've been on the fence about ordering one, but haven't yet.  No good (3rd party, independent) reviews showed up in my searches, so it'll be nice to hear your feedback on it.

Edited June 7, 2015 by Guest

[lars86 42]

Well, I've got bad news. I really had hoped for more from this product, especially for the money.

What I received was a Chinese Android tablet, lacking the feel of decent build quality. I had hoped to also be able to use it as a general tablet. But, it has no battery, so it must stay plugged in all the time, and obviously can't be used as a tablet because of that.

The rear camera is really bad, and has no autofocus. I had no dreams of a camera on level with my M9, but still hoped for more, even for print monitoring.

My unit must has been defective, because after connecting to my wifi, and verifying the browser connected, I couldn't get Matter Control to connect for an update (Maps wouldn't connect either). The MC software also crashed a number of times just navigating around, not working on models. It's possible that the newer version available would be more stable, but this did not impress.

They show it always in a printed cradle, which I assumed was included. Nope, up to you to find somewhere to put it, and keep it hooked up to the short power cable.

The support response has been very good, and they would replace the unit no problem, but I don't think a fully working unit will be up to my expectation for $300. I don't see where the value has been added over what feels like a $50 tablet.

[chrisw 70]

So basically it sounds like they're creating good ads with pretty pictures, but not backing it up with quality hardware. Bummer!

[nallath 1,124]

Well, they do have a 30 day money back guarantee.

[lars86 42]

Yes, I am thankful for that!

I'm thinking about just buying a decent windows 8.1 tablet and running the printer with that.