About Friday, this question was transferred to 3D Printing Beta: Which NEMA 17 Stepper Motor for Titan?. I left work for the day without clicking send on my comment, or my answer, and found today that it had closed, locked, and rejected. A comment said it should be rejected for being a hardware recommendation question. Ultimately it was closed for being off topic.
IMO, both of these reasons are incorrect, and miss the point of the question.
Yes, the OP admitted that they were facing their conundrum because of a long delay from China, but the question was not about vendor A vs. vendor B. The question was about what the requirements are for a motor in a particular application. This was about specifications and parts selection, not, in the sense of I think it was intended, a product selection.
The OP wasn't asking about one 3D printer vs. another, or one system manufacturer vs. another. The OP was asking which of two motors would be more suitable to the application. This is engineering, not marketing. This is education, not shilling a vendor.
As for being "off-topic", are we rejecting all questions about components and 3D printer engineering problems? Have we become strictly a user group for off-the-shelf printing systems?
I feel strongly that this should be the place for discussing 3D printing engineering, and use, and tools. But, perhaps this interest is unique to me, and I should find somewhere else to interact with 3D printing users who have engineering problems.
Have others noticed that the volume of reddit traffic related to 3D printing has dramatically increased in the last few months. Has reddit become the preferred place for engineering questions?
As for the user who had the 3D Printing Beta door slammed in their face, IMO both options they presented were sub-optimal, and by closing the question we can't help them either with the choice, or with understanding why.
It is a shame when a curious OP with a question that is real to them is rejected.
