ALL-IN-ONE MACHINES
Zeus
Price $1,999
Build volume 10.2″×7″×5.9″
The days of one-touch 3D copying may soon be here. Kickstarted and venture-funded AIO Robotics is targeting a casual and business audience with this networked, all-in-one machine that combines a 3D printer and 3D scanner to print, scan, copy, and even “fax” objects from one Zeus to another.
Microfactory
mebotics.com/microfactory.html
Price $4,495
Build volume 12″×12″×6″
Born in the Artisan’s Asylum makerspace in Somerville, Mass., and billed as a “machine shop in a box,” the Microfactory combines a 3D printer and a CNC mill for wood and plastics. With four print heads it can 3D-print in four colors or two different materials at once, and mill the results! It’s run from an integrated onboard computer and can be used independently or networked. We wonder how well the vacuum port and filtered air inlet will keep dust from gumming up the printworks, but we’re highly intrigued.
R.P.M. Rapid Prototyping Mill
Price $2,798
Build volume 12.6″×13.1″×10.8″
A large-volume 3D printer with CNC mill, the R.P.M. promises to print in ABS, PLA, and polycarbonate, and mill plastic, wood, steel, and aluminum. Though still in beta testing, R.P.M. also touts future interchangeable and add-on equipment (like a 3D scanner and stereolithography printing capabilities).
NEW FFF PRINTERS
The Buccaneer
Price $347
Build volume 5.9″×3.9″×4.7″
Don’t let the pirate theme fool you — the Buccaneer is all about sleek design and simple user experience at a category-killing price. Use cloud-based tools on your Android or iOS device to design, mod, and share objects, and print wirelessly on your desktop. The hype is huge, and the proprietary filament cartridges suggest they’ll make their money on the consumables — but we’re watching like everyone else.
Printrbot Go v2
Price $1,199 assembled
Build volume 8″×8″×8″
Literally a 3D printer in a suitcase, the Go is ultra-portable — it folds out when you want to print and tucks up neat and tidy when you’re ready to go. Brook Drumm recently confirmed v2 is coming mid-October, with the same specs as the Plus.
ADVANCED FFF
Hyrel Engine
Price $1,995–$3,095
Build volume 8″×8″×8″
Why stop with ABS and PLA? The Hyrel 3D prints in these plastics plus air-dry or plasticine clay, and even Play-Doh! Up to four print heads can be installed simultaneously and can be removed or replaced in less than a minute, even “hot swapped” at extruding temperatures.
FILAMENT EXTRUSION
ExtrusionBot
Price $625
Extrusion rate 36ipm
Filament is expensive, so why not make your own? Pumping out 3–4 feet per minute, ExtrusionBot claims to be the world’s fastest home-built extruder, and its handy spooling system keeps your filament from piling on the floor.
DELTABOTS RISING
“Delta robot” printers use a three-point vertical motion system to move the print head faster than Cartesian robots, and they can move equally fast in the x-, y-, and z-axis. Only one delta printer was available for MAKE’s 3D Shootout this year (OpenBeam Mini Kossel), but new ones are rushing to market.
DeltaMaker
Price $1,999
Build volume 11″×10″ dia.
Kickstarted out of Orlando, Fla., the DeltaMaker uses MakerSlide aluminum extrusions paired with Delrin V-wheels on bearings to move fast and smooth. It’s got an optional heated build plate and the largest build volume of the deltas we’ve seen.
SpiderBot
Price $1,140–$1,750 (kits only)
Build volume 7″×7″ dia.
With a precision aluminum frame, carbon fiber arms, and magnetically attached extruder plate, the SpiderBot is available as either a full kit (with optional full enclosure), or an upgrade kit to Spider-ize your existing printer.
Orion
Price $1,499
Build volume 8″×6″ dia.
SeeMeCNC was the first to market with a deltabot kit, the Rostock Max. The Orion is their new fully assembled delta, with resolution as high as 0.05mm and a RAMBo controller board ready for hacks like adding lights or running more stepper motors.
Sumpod Delta
Price $640
Build volume 7.8″×7″ dia.
Striving to bring down the price of 3D printers, this deltabot uses leadscrews for vertical motion and will accept an optional standard MK2 Prusa PCB heated bed. We’re intrigued by the promise of an optional 3D scanning attachment.
RepRap Deltabots
In addition to the Rostock and Kossel designs, check out these open source deltas in the RepRap community, not yet commercialized:
Cerberus
reprap.org/wiki/Cerberus, makerpair.com
RepRap Simpson
RepRap Morgan (SCARA ROBOT)
Not actually a delta, but its hinged arm merits a look. reprap.org/wiki/RepRap_Morgan
NEW WAYS TO 3D PRINT
Hyperform
“4D printing” is shorthand for 3D printing objects that transform over time (the fourth dimension, see) to assume their intended shape. The idea has promise for printing and transporting things in small spaces, then unfolding them in big spaces (like space). MIT researchers Marcelo Coelho and Skylar Tibbits teamed with FormLabs to investigate folding strategies and print enormous chained objects in the comparatively small volume of the Form1 printer, and won themselves an Ars Electronica “The Next Idea” grant in the process.
DIWire Bender
Price $3,000–$3,500
Build volume Unlimited
This novel machine is a CNC wire bender, not a 3D printer, but it outputs your SVG files in perfect 2D curves of metal, to be assembled later into 3D creations. It handles wire up to 1/8″ steel, bends 5 feet in 3 minutes, and looks beautiful doing it.
RESIN PRINTERS
Nautilus
indiegogo.com/projects/nautilus-3d-printer-dlp-tech
Price $387
Build volume 4″×3″×4.7″
Built by makers in Beijing and aimed at a low price point, this DLP printer handles multiple resins and can hit 0.1mm to 0.01mm z-axis layer height. The kit is inexpensive compared to other printers, but you have to provide your own projector.
Tristram Budel’s DLP Printer
instructables.com/id/DIY-high-resolution-3D-DLP-printer-3D-printer
Price $2,362
Build volume 3.9″×3.9″×9″
Why buy a DLP printer when you can spend a year making one? Though still tweaking the design, Tristram Budel has put complete instructions for his scratch-built DLP printer on Instructables. At 1,000–1,500 man-hours, it’s not for beginners.
mUVe 1
Price $599–$1,099 kits
Build volume 5.7″×5.7″×7.3″
With its variety of kit options and laser-cut wooden case, you could mistake the mUVe 1 for a throwback to FFF printers from 2008. Luckily, inside is a fresh resin-curing SLA printer, and its open-source design favors easily sourced, inexpensive parts ready for tinkering, like a 50mW UV laser upgradeable to 500mW.
Open3DLP
Price $1,000
Build volume 3″×4″×5.1″
Maryland Institute College of Art student and MAKE 3D Shootout tester Anderson Ta has developed a DLP printer from off-the-shelf parts. He’s made some fantastic-looking prints and even detours into bioprinting.
MakerJuice
Price $40–$45/liter
MakerJuice’s SubG resin comes in 8 different colors and cures with DLP projectors, UV lasers, and UV LEDs. They also sell pigments so you can mix the perfect resin color. Best of all, the resin is a lot less expensive than other suppliers.
3D SCANNERS
Dimbody
indiegogo.com/projects/dimbody-3d-desktop-scanner
Price $540 kit, $810 assembled
Scan volume 12″×12″×12″
From Rimini, Italy, comes this open-source, Arduino-based 3D scanner that uses a rotating base, laser line, and monochromatic camera to build 3D models from real-life objects. It’s accurate to about 400−100 microns and takes 8−24 minutes to scan an object, depending on resolution. We’re intrigued by its Arduino roots; at press time it was an Indiegogo campaign in need of funds.
This article first appeared in MAKE’s Ultimate Guide to 3D Printing 2014, page 100. Check out the full issue for more!
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