I’m pleased to be able to make a major announcement!
KITS ARE ON THE WAY!
We’re partnering up with Project R3d to make RailCore II kits a thing.
What this means for the Open Source RailCore:
The RailCore will remain Open Source. The BOM, Build Guide, and fusion models will remain published as they are, and will be updated as we make changes. Nothing changes at all there, all future adding and improvements will be compatible with existing RailCores. The option of self-source building will remain available.
So what are the kits?
To the largest extent possible Project R3d intends to offer a “True to the BOM” 300ZL kit - the final components aren’t 100% done, and some minor changes will be necessary, but overall it will be the same RailCore you can get today, just with “one click shopping”.
What to expect in the kit:
Duet & Duex5 electronics will be included.
A wiring harness to simplify wiring to the Y carriage. Cables cut to length and pre-crimped.
Aluminum parts including the Bed, Stepper Mounts, Idler Plates, and X-carriages. (Still sourced from 713maker & Mandala whenever possible)
Various options for hotnends including E3dv6, Mosquito, or no hotend. (so you can “bring your own”)
Options for an extruder or a Bondtech BMG, or no extruder (so you can “bring your own”)
The bulk of the parts will look much as they do today - right off the BOM, and the printed parts done in Atomic filament (CF PETG for the structural parts).
Pricing is expected to fall between $1300 - $1700, and has not been finalized.
The timeframe for kits has not been finalized, but we're hoping within the next 1 - 2 months for the initial batch.
Project R3d will provide hardware support, J. Steve White & myself will continue to provide build support & continue with R&D to keep making the RailCore better. 713Maker & Mandala Roseworks will continue to be partners, without them we wouldn't be as far as we are.
Next steps are putting together a forum (we’ll move off of SeeMeCNC’s) to offer support & info (we’ll keep the Facebook group alive too) and work on touching up the documentation. The initial batch of 10 kits will be coming in the next few weeks, and will be used to test out the process, catch any issues, etc.
We’re looking for feedback from the community - what do you want in a kit? What questions do you have?
We’re looking forward to the partnership with Project R3d, and to see the RailCore II be made accessible to a wider audience!
Tony Akens
J. Steve White
Joe Podgorski - Project R3d