Evil Mad Science,Egg-Bot Kit Deluxe Edition

I ordered this to make Christmas ornaments for my family and they loved them! Now i love showing it off at maer events. I plot things on ping pong balls and pass them out to the kids.Very easy to build and really easy to use. Tons of pre-made art online and really easy to convert art you already have. If there was a way to mark a 6th star I would.

I purchased this kit after debating building it from scratch and I'm really glad that I did. The kit and instructions are so good that my 7 year old daughter was able to help me with many steps while assembling it. It's obvious that every detail has had lots of thought and it's very entertaining to see it in action.

Assembly went smoothly, software took a little fiddling but not bad. 2 months later, and we're still having fun with this gadget.

Software was sketchy as to how to install. Took several attempts before I got the right version to work, which is NOT the most recent. Just simply cant get it to work with 64-bit. That said, the device is NOT precise, and even simple images need to be converted before printing...leaving all but the most PERFECT of eggs (and PERFECT placement - something you cant do unless you're already drawing on it to test it) come out with a 90%+ accurate drawing. The ratio has to be manually stretched... it took be 13 tries to "stretch" an image using the "dot matrix" plugin to get the picture even close to what it should look like without being stretched or too thin.Best eggs to print on are hard-boiled or uncooked, meaning you cant save any eggs. Hollow shells break often. You cant blow the egg AFTER you print, or you'll smudge the ink. Sharpie simply doesnt dry in under 12 hours on a porous organic surface.For $200+, I suppose its a neat thing, but this is not a fast process at all. It bored the hell out of the kids on Easter weekend, them waiting and waiting for any image to come from it. Multicolor? Forget it.Assembly was only confusing due to extra parts (washers), and screw lengths not matching up with the quantities in the list. Packaging was strange. Edges SHARP of everything white you see in the picture. WIRING HARNESS GRABS ON THE FRAME, MESSING UP THE IMAGE. YOU HAVE TO MAKE YOUR OWN OR ADD SEVERAL INCHES FROM THE PEN SERVO OR ALL OF YOUR PROJECTS WILL BE MESSED UP

Be ready for what you're getting. You are getting a plotter that prints with pens on curved items. It runs with inkscape, and draws vector graphics on eggs.As it's a plotter, it's slow for solid items, and excessive lines.Also realize that every color is a pen that needs to be switched out.It needs very little attention with settings considering it's homemade.Before you buy this, play with Inkscape and build some egg prints to make sure it's what you want. If it is, buy away, and enjoy awesome Easter Eggs, Ping Pong Balls, and even glasses.Regarding Inkscape. Download it. it's free, easy to use, and powerful. Really a great drawing program.Really a fun toy. But more fun with more colors, and more subjects to print on.