I am a big fan of the LED strip around the clear tank solution. UV Cure Tank. Randy Chon invented this, and gave the instructions in this post. Gathering the materials took longer than making the thing. The LEDs do warm up the tank after a while. I leave the lid ajar to let moisture out.
Where did you get this ultra clear piece of glass?
Please be specific about what more info you need. Chamber size is 12" x 12" x 7". This info is available if you scroll down towards the bottom of the product page as are may other specifications. Much bigger then the B9 Model Cure.
As for backorder, yes. January 16th is the ship date. We are still on schedule for that date. Any day now weâll be switching over to a four week rolling lead time. There are two more available at the original ship date.
Iâm glad you like it. Me too! 
Personally I donât think its spam, but I do think that your product is grossly overpriced and setting people up to be disappointed.
If someone spends 20 times as much for your CureBox as a UV Nail Dryer, I think itâs safe to assume that people will expect it to work faster or better, but at 36 watts (same as a cheap nail dryer), I suspect that is not the case.
I think its a nice looking box, and like the touchscreen timer, but mechanical, digital, or even WiFi app controlled timers can be had for $10-$26.
Nice marketing answer for âslowâ or not any faster than an enclosed UV nail dryer.
What curing solution are you referring to that doesnât have reflective panels?
A lot more to it? Like what?
One day you will pour your heart and soul into a project and someone will tear it to pieces. Then you will feel what I feel after reading your post. Your post is highly offensive to me, but you are entitled to your opinion.
I will put together a response to your points and post it here, but not to argue with you. I have nothing to say to you. I will do it to defend my product against your unfounded and likely damaging opinion. Thanks for ruining my night. I hope people can see through the fog that youâve just created for me.
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Alright⌠I have been following this thread and I feel like I need to say something at this point. First of all, I think that the curing chamber looks badass. If i didnât already spend $300 to make my own I would definitely buy one (may be laterâŚ). I think that everyone has their own needs and their own basis of comfort with these things. Some people want to do small prints and nail oven is perfect. But it gets to a point where you can not fit your prints into it and you will have to step up to something larger (yes mine is an overkill with a size of 12x12x24 but I need it, so Iâm fine if people say thats too much). I really like that fact of all detail you put into your design. Its the little things that matter! And that you thoughts about all of those details as well. If people donât want to pay this much that is fine (frankly $500 is what i saw online for your product and I donât think thatâs overpriced). As far as costs go, saying that you can buy some parts of the chamber for $25-$50 I would agree that its true. BUT i gonna have the knowledge of how those parts work, how to put them together and what to do about setting things up so they actually work. And you gotta have time to put those things together. Not everyone has that know how and not everyone has tools to do so. Some people just want the final product that makes sense and is simple to use. Bottom line you are not paying for parts. You are paying for labor that went into it and experience to do so.
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For the most part Iâll hold back. Iâll just give a quick analogy.
I can go to the grocery store, buy a cut of prime rib, cook and eat it at home. On occasion I go to Lawryâs (expensive steak restaurant). Iâve ordered a prime rib meal for probably 10 times what it would cost me at the grocery. Iâm paying for an experience, for the chefâs years of expertise as well as all of the different foods/spices that go into the meal.
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Oh I have, and the only thing that upsets me is baseless criticism, I am all for feedback.
I was just trying to add some objectivity.
Wow. I was trying to bash you or your product (hell I even complimented on it), but I fail to see why it is a vastly better solution than a UV nail dryer in a reflective enclosure.
What did I say that you feel is âbaselessâ? It was only my intention to state facts.
Sorry that people canât raise questions about your product without making you emotional.
I think practically anyone has the tools and intelligence to follow Formlabsâ DIY Curebox video. What special knowledge and tools are required? A box cutter?
My concern is that the $500 CureBox wonât cure parts any faster or better than something like you can make for $30, and people might be disappointed expecting it will work better. True itâs not as aesthetically pleasing, and yes you need to spend a little time to build one, but personally, I am not willing to though an extra $470 for looks and to save 15 minutes.
Here is another quick analogy.
You can buy a white cotton t-shirt from Paul Smith for $200. You can buy a functionally identical 3-pack of Hanes white cotton t-shirts for $14.
Besides cost, pretty much the only difference is bragging rights. I suspect most people would go for the 3-pack.
Cant argue with that. I think its all about aesthetics and comfort. Do you want a timer or not? Would you like to have it with presets or not? Is there a need for a bigger volume with better heat distribution and reflectiveness or not?. I started with that exact thing that Formlabs suggested. But i didnât like how it looked and I wanted to make it more professional. But thats just me. I also agree that time may not be effected since that is a function of materials and power of lights vs just something that can do it faster. I think that product is not overpriced. I am comparing it to similar products on the market with similar features. I also think it has a lot of features that are just icing on a cake and may not be necessary but if there people would certainly use it. Its all about what each individual wants for their project and what budget and time they have to do things.
Those are all trivial things to implement if they are a wanted. And not hard to find an aesthetically pleasing enclosure for a very reasonable cost if one looks.
It outputs about half the watts of the B-9 Model Cure and costs the same. How many mW/cm² does the CureBox offer?
It looks like youâve put a lot of thought into the Curebox, and it looks well made. Itâs out of my budget, but I wish you the best of luck!
Iâve gotten very good results with the âLED strip wrapped around the inside of a coffee canâ approach, but the LEDs are getting dimmer, so Iâm thinking of switching to a CFL based setup in the hopes that theyâll have a longer lifetime.
Like I said before, for the most part Iâm going to hold back. I think heâs made a great product, it may be out of some peopleâs budgets, but he will find a niche. I guess weâll just have to agree to disagree.
I never stated its useless garbage or that he wonât sell any of them. I just think that some people may be disappointed with its performance compared to a UV nail dryer that they likely already own. It seems that @pmcgarr essentially even stated this himself, although in a more run-around marketing manor.
@3DTOPO I said nothing of the sort. You read into it however you want. Following is my response to your comments. I wonât be surprised if you challenge it further.
I feel forced to defend my product against the comments made by @3DTOPO so here goes.
First off, to establish my credibility, I am a research and development engineer for Agilent Technologies, a four billion dollar company. Here is a link to my LinkedIn profile. Judge for yourself if I am capable to put together a respectable product. https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-mcgarr-5b2a37117 I would be embarrassed to design and manufacture something that is less than what is necessary to do itâs intended job and do it well. I am proud of my work and I am a man of integrity.
About price, I have 25 years in manufacturing-centric engineering. I design and source custom components practically every day. I have established relationships with literally hundreds of suppliers in the states and around the world. At the current build quantity my costs for components are almost the entire cost of the product. I donât intend to make any significant profit off this product until build quantities go up, and trust me they have to go way up to make a difference. But, to be perfectly clear here is a BOM of all the components with the costs. The only thing I am editing is the descriptions if they reveal to much specific information:
TITLE COST PER UNIT
ASY HOUSING BOTTOM $ 45.55
ASY HOUSING TOP $ 40.85
PLATFORM $ 5.73
BUMPER RUBBER $ 2.61
ASY BRACKET PCB $ 8.85
POWER ENTRY MODULE $ 8.13
M3 X 6 PHILIPS HEAD SCREW $ 0.89
M4 X 6 BHSCS $ 2.01
M4 X 10 BHSCS $ 1.29
ASY CUREBOX PCB $ 67.00
M4 X 5 BHSCS $ 1.21
TAG MACHINE $ 2.79
M3 X 4 BHSCS $ 0.83
TOUCH DISPLAY $ 22.45
M3 X 5 BHSCS $ 0.93
FAN $ 3.00
LAMP HOLDER $ 4.55
UVLED LAMP $ 22.00
ASY PLATE LAMP AND FAN $ 13.25
HEATER $ 14.65
ASY COVER HEATER $ 14.90
ASY BRACKET MAGNET SENSOR $ 7.50
MAGNET $ 1.30
CABLE KIT $ 27.24
ASY BRACKET TEMP SENSOR $ 7.15
M3 X 5 BHSCS $ 0.95
M4 X 5 BHSCS $ 2.01
FAN GUARD $ 2.01
10-16 X 3/8 PHILIPS HEAD SCREW $ 1.17
GROMMET $ 1.13
POWER SUPPLY $ 8.80
ASY DOOR $ 9.95
HINGE $ 1.84
HANDLE $ 3.36
BRACKET DOOR SWITCH $ 5.70
10-24 X 0.375 BHSCS $ 0.97
M3 X 6 PHILIPS HEAD SCREW $ 0.50
BATTERY $ 0.51
POWER CORD $ 5.43
SIDE REFLECTORS $ 10.20
BACK REFLECTOR $ 6.50
DOOR REFLECTOR $ 6.80
BOTTOM REFLECTOR $ 8.65
TOTAL $ 403.20
These are my costs for the initial build. Most everything comes in done, but then I have to assemble everything, engrave the platform, engrave the machine tag, upload firmware, test, package, I could go on. I would say $500 is under priced and everybody I know that has any business sense would agree with me.
As for my âmarketing answerâ for slow. I have no interest in speed. I did not even consider it with the design. Lamps are a small part of the cost. I could have put two or three times as many in. It would be too much power. It would create too much uncontrollable heat. It would cure too rapidly causing excessive dimensional change and would go against what was determined by Formlabs to be ideal and what was observed by me regarding dimensional stability and engineering properties of cured materials. So, I have very good reason to put the exact lamps and power that I put in. To be honest if anything it is too much power. It is not a marketing answer at all.
I was not saying that other curing solutions donât have reflective panels, but was trying to say that the materials I used for reflectivity are among the best you can get. My point was there more to it than a shiny surface which most of the units have. A shiny sheet of stainless steel looks pretty, but when you look at the radiometric power reflectivity it is not so great. Better than the shiny plastic in other solutions. But, I am using very specific specially coated aluminum reflective material manufacture to be used for reflecting these exact energies at high efficiency. 87% to be exact. They are expensive but serve a very specific purpose and play big role in the consistency of the âlightâ and the amount of it that makes it to the target. Ultimately making better use of the 36 watts of the lamps.
It is not reasonable for a user to expect a faster cure, but I make that clear in all my communication. Curebox is not about speed, it is about quality and consistency. It is very reasonable, and absolutely expected, that a user will expect a better cure if by better we are talking about quality and consistency of cure. To me that is better. If all you care about is speed Curebox is not for you.
As for explaining how there is more to it? I could talk for days about it. How I think about ease of use, updatability (firmware updates) to keep current with new resins, to tune power, to react to imperfections as/if they arise. I can do this with Curebox, and I thought long and hard about it. I doubled the cost of the electronics to be able to allow for updates by the user. The UI is well thought through. Super easy for someone that doesnât want to play, but customizable for someone that does. What type of material to use for the platform took a lot of consideration. It is not just plexiglass. It is polycarbonate because it is stronger and has better optical transmissive properties. How to manage temperature, where to place fans, how to size returns to not impede air flow. All to get the most consistent temperature. These are all things I thought long and hard about and didnât sacrifice for. All stainless steel fasteners for corrosion resistance. No electronics on the bottom in case of a spill if someone wet cures, proper prep for powder coating (not wet paint) so this looks nice for a long time. Silk screen artwork so stickers donât peel with heat. Not to mention compatibility with virtually all countries power standards. Like I said, there is more to it. Curebox is a product of passion. It is well built. It has real value and is not overpriced. I truly built it for the community. Donât get me wrong, I plan to profit off it, but not unfairly.
So, excuse the writing style. I am feeling very defensive. I just want my intentions to be clear and to defend my product over what I feel was an unnecessary tearing apart by someone who doesnât see the value in a quality product. I hope this restores faith in Curebox to anybody that might have been questioning any of these points. Now I can get on with my night.
Let me wrap this up by apologizing for the train wreck this thread turned into. I never wanted to be a part of a conversation like this.
Paul
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What competing product uses stainless steel? Polished aluminum is around 90% reflective for UV. Nothing really out-of-the-ordinary:
Do you have data that shows your reflectors perform any better than say aluminum foil or mylar?
Can you quantify that? How much more consistent is a cure with your box versus one with a UV compact fluorescent bulb in each corner using aluminum or mylar siding?
If you donât want people to comment on your product, I could only advise you donât make posts about it in a public forum.
May I suggest that everyone quit feeding the troll. Its a bit humorous, but quickly getting old.
One isnât allowed to express their opinion or ask questions about a product being plugged on a forum without being called a troll?