The Cheapest Printer, So Far... Update!

I had no idea when I posted "The Cheapest 3D Printer (So Far...)" on Saturday that I would have to provide an update on Tuesday!!  Kickstarter seems to be the place where the majority of the battle to be the first cheap 3D printer is going to be fought (and won?).

The Peachy Printer Project on Kickstarter just reset the bar by offering a 3D printer for less than $100 dollars.  Here is their pitch (check out the video below):

"You know how everyone and their Grandmother has a paper printer? Well, wouldn't it be cool if everyone and their Grandmother had a 3D printer? It definitely would, but this isn't a reality for 2 reasons:

- 3D Printers still quite expensive.

- They aren't very simple. Good luck teaching your Grandma how to use one!

The Cheapest 3D Printer (So Far...)

Ding, ding, ding...  In fight to be the lowest has a new contender.  MakiBox starting shipping it's A6 LT model in the beginning of August with its first 5 units.  Check out the details below.

The MakiBox A6 LT has been designed to be the best of both worlds, affordable and dependable. It comes with a frosted acrylic printing bed that is suitable for PLA and similar lower temperature plastics. All MakiBox kits come partially assembled. They have been designed to be more simple with less parts and very little configuration.

Specs:

Outside Dimensions: 290mm wide x 235mm deep x 235mm tall
Printing Output: 150mm wide x 110mm deep x 90mm tall
Positional Resolution: 0.04mm (full step resolution) in XYZ, output resolution depends on output speed and nozzle size.
Movement System: Drive Screws (8mm movement per rotation) and Stepper Motors
Nozzle: 0.4mm Default, 0.3mm and 0.5mm available
Drive Electronics: Printrboard Rev B with MakiBox Firmware

Kit contains:

1 MakiBox A6 Frame
4 Stepper Motors with Drive Shafts
1 Controller Board
1 60W or higher power supply (100V-220V AC)
1 Hot End with 0.4mm diameter output
1 Acrylic Print Bed
1 Clear Acrylic Casing
0.5kg of PLA 1.75mm Filament, Assorted Color
Assembly Instruction Manual

Now get ready for this...  The price is only $200!!!!  The next closest 3D printer is The Buccaneer at $347 which is currently a Kickstarter project that (to my knowledge) is not yet in production.

To my knowledge this is the lowest priced 3D printer in production.

Who will be the next contender?

Stay tuned....

So You Want to Buy a 3D Printer?

So you think you are in the market for a new shiny 3D printer?  Well It looks like there are a lot of companies out there that would love to sell you one.  In fact, it looks like some of the top manufacturers are buying up advertizing from top sites like Google.  When I searched for "3D Printers" I got the results below.

Stratasys and Solidoodle are familiar names in the 3D printer arena, but I've never heard of Zeepro.  After further investigation, it look like it is a Kick Starter project.  According to their website, "Zim is the first personal 3D printer to feature a dual extruders printing head with Ethernet & WiFi connectivity, an onboard micro-camera, smartphone and tablet control, and an exclusive refillable cartridge system. With Zim, 3D printing is about to go mainstream, as everyone from hobbyists to children will now be able to print high quality 3D objects quickly and safely using various materials and colors, at an affordable price."

It almost seems like there is a new, "cheap" 3D printer on the market every week.  This is a trend I will keep a close eye on.

3D Printing News - 3D Printer Stocks, NASA Considers "Printing" Satellites, 3D Printed Buildings in the Future, See The 2014 Spring/Summer Collection of Fashion 3D Prints, and More...

3D Printing News

3D Printing Stocks: Taking Investing Lessons From Apple NASDAQ Apple ( AAPL ) is by many counts one of the most successful brands of all time. After dark days during the '90s, Apple re-emerged to pioneer new products like ... See all stories on this topic »
NASA targets 3D printing for astronauts, cheap satellites Computerworld Computerworld - SAN JOSE --- NASA contractors have created 3D printed satellites -- tiny wafers that could be deployed by the hundreds from a mother ship to ... See all stories on this topic »	Computerworld
3D printing techniques will be used to construct buildings, here and ... Computerworld Computerworld - SAN JOSE -- Within a couple of years, researchers at the University of Southern California believe 3D printing techniques will be used to ... See all stories on this topic »
Inside The Inside 3D Printing Conference Forbes Jonathan Schwartz's first Inside 3D printing conference earlier this year in New York City surprised him. "I thought to myself, "Wow, This is really small," says the ... See all stories on this topic »
Slideshow: 3D Printing in the Medical Cloud Design News The cloud is being used for lots of things these days, such as storage, design collaboration, editing code online, and manufacturing quantities as low as one. See all stories on this topic »
3D printing in pole position Engineering Capacity Nazeing-based Industrial Plastic Fabrications (IPF) is supporting car and bike race teams at every level with 3D printed parts for a variety of on-vehicle and ... See all stories on this topic »	Engineering Capacity
3D printing advancing into medical field Arirang News 3D printing advancing into medical field. Kim Min-kyoung, an office worker in her late 20s, recently decided to get double jaw surgery. She was very hesitant ... See all stories on this topic »
Designer Camilo Alvarez Creates Spring/Summer 2014 Collection ... Azom.com The ability to print with multiple materials having different physical properties was the most important criteria for Alvarez when selecting the Connex 3D printing ... See all stories on this topic »	Azom.com
3D Printers Arrive in US Stores Voice of America These machines were once only used by universities and big corporations, but now, stores with 3D printing services are popping up around the United States for ... See all stories on this topic »

Need a Free CAD Software to Make Your 3D Prints From? Check Out The Free 3D CAD Software List Below...

Free 3D CAD Software

The average 3D printing enthusiast rarely has the budget for a high end CAD system to build their designs. You could always download models created by someone else or shop any of the top 3D printing shops on the internet.  For the rest of us, there are plenty of great modeling tools available for free.  I have included the list below which I am positive is not a comprehensive list.  Please feel free to post a comment if you have a favorite free 3D modeling software I missed on my list.

Free CAD - "FreeCAD is a general purpose feature-based, parametric 3D modeler for CAD, MCAD, CAx, CAE and PLM, aimed directly at mechanical engineering and product design but also fits a wider range of uses in engineering, such as architecture or other engineering specialties. It is 100% Open Source and extremely modular, allowing for very advanced extension and customization."

SketchUp Make - "Hobbyists, kids and backyard spaceship builders all agree that SketchUp Make is the easiest, most fun, entirely free 3D drawing tool in the world. We think you will, too."

LibreCAD - "LibreCAD is a free Open Source CAD application for Windows, Apple and Linux. Support and documentation is free from our large, dedicated community of users, contributors and developers. You, too, can also get involved!"

3D Crafter - "3DCrafter is a real-time 3D modeling and animation tool that incorporates an intuitive drag-and-drop approach to 3D modeling."

Blender - "Blender is 3D creation for everyone, free to use for any purpose. Free Software, great community, and 100% open."

Scupltris - "Sculptris provides an excellent gateway into the exciting world of 3D. It's features are easy to learn, even for someone with no experience in digital art, yet robust enough for creating base models that can then be refined in other applications, such as ZBrush."

Creo Elements/Direct Modeling Express - "Creo Elements/Direct Modeling Express 4.0 is a popular 3D CAD choice for leaders in product design who have short design cycles and frequent one-off designs. Its speed, flexibility and responsiveness to change also make it the ideal tool for short-series production runs."  This one I have actually tried.  It's a little hard to get used to compared to Creo Parametric.

What free 3D modeling software did I miss?

USA Today Says 3D Printing Is "Overhyped", Yet Another 3D Printed Gun, Using 3D Printing For Education, A Two Year Old Gets A "Hand Up", More About Additive Manufacturing...

3D Printing News

'3D Printing Is An Ecosystem, Not A Device': Jennifer Lawton ... Forbes Today I met an amazing woman entrepreneur: Jennifer Lawton, President of 3D printing leader Makerbot (now a subsidiary of Stratysys following the mid June ... See all stories on this topic »
3D Printing With Two Extruders? Why Not Four? EE Times Commercial filament 3D printers have been around for several years. One upgrade that people commonly desire is to increase the number of filament extruders ... See all stories on this topic »
Promise of 3D printing may be overhyped Tucson Citizen For an industry rife with chewy buzzwords such as "the Internet of things" and "augmented reality," it's refreshing to come across a concept as intuitive as "3D ... See all stories on this topic »
3D Printing Technology Offers a 'Hand Up' for Huntsville Tot Kate ... whnt.com HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) – Two-year-old Huntsville toddler Kate Berkholtz was born missing four finger on her left hand. Watch the tot play on any given day ... See all stories on this topic »
What Works And What Doesn't In 3D Printing: A Talk With Terry ... Forbes The hype around 3D Printing bothers Terry Wohlers, president of Wohlers Associates, a research consultancy focused on additive manufacturing and 3D ... See all stories on this topic »
3D printing: educational tool, artistic medium Kenyon Collegian 3D printing: educational tool, artistic medium. The Visual Resources Center's 3D printer will be available for student and faculty use alike. Published: Thursday ... See all stories on this topic »

3D Printing In Singapore Could Be "The Next Big Thing", 3D Printing Featured At WESTEC, 3D Printing Robots in Space, 3D Printed Custom Eyewear, The 2014 3D Printing Challenge and More...

3D Printing In The News

Singapore's 3D printing industry could be the next big thing Channel News Asia Sample objects, printed with 3D printers, are on display during the "Inside 3D Printing" conference and exhibition in New York. (AFP/Emmanuel Dunand). See all stories on this topic »
Latest 3D Printing Innovations on Display at WESTEC DigitalJournal.com WESTEC, the premier West Coast manufacturing event, will feature a series of additive manufacturing resources for manufacturers. This will include an Additive ... See all stories on this topic »
3D-printing robots could enable solar arrays to self-fabricate in space Treehugger Getting large structures, such as solar or antenna arrays, into space is a tricky proposition, as they need to be able to fold up or contract to fit into a delivery ... See all stories on this topic »
New centre to host Singapore's first international 3D printing ... Nanowerk (Nanowerk News) Soon, life-saving body parts such as corneas, skin and heart tissue may just be a click away, thanks to the rapid advancement of 3D printing ... See all stories on this topic »
3D scanning and 3D printing resurrects lost Tudor sculpture TCT Magazine 3D scanning and 3D printing technology have been instrumental in the resurrection of a lost Tudor sculpture. Experts at the University of Leicester have been ... See all stories on this topic »	TCT Magazine
iSchool Professor, Syracuse Designer Author 3D Printing Guidebook Syracuse University News When an easy-to-understand guide to 3D printing technology wasn't readily available in the marketplace, Anthony Rotolo, assistant professor of practice at the ... See all stories on this topic »	Syracuse University News
3D Systems' Anchors San Jose's First Inside 3D Printing Conference MENAFN.COM 3D Systems DDD announced today that it will bring its consumer and professional 3D content-to-print experience to San Jose's first Inside 3D Printing ... See all stories on this topic »
Here's Why 3D Printing May Become Even Cooler TheBlaze.com 3-D printing – when a product is created layer by layer – may be the coolest disruptive technology around for some, but the technology has had its fair share of ... See all stories on this topic »	TheBlaze.com
Custom Eyewear: The Next Focal Point For 3D Printing? Forbes Bespoke eyewear manufacturer Tom Davies' plans for 3D printers in his business were simple: convince opticians all over the world to buy them. The opticians ... See all stories on this topic »
Stratasys Kicks off 10th Annual 3D Printing Challenge Modern Machine Shop Stratasys has announced the opening of its 2014 Extreme Redesign 3D Printing Challenge. Now in its tenth year, the contest invites students worldwide to ... See all stories on this topic »

Need a Job? 3D Printing and Social Media Are Growing Opportunities

News	3D Printing

3D printing, Android among top online job-creators MarketWatch Technology is a big driver of freelance jobs. Bill Little of Freelancer.com tells Adrienne Mitchell that 3D printing and social media are among the hottest fields for ... See all stories on this topic »

3D Printing Company ExOne Offers Investment Opportunities, How You May See Custom Printed Teeth and Bones In the Near Future...

3D Printing News

The ExOne Company Announces Pricing of Public Offering of ... Wall Street Journal 10, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The ExOne Company (Nasdaq:XONE) ("ExOne" or the "Company"), a global provider of three-dimensional ("3D") printing ... See all stories on this topic »
Bones made to measure Global Times 3D printing, which fabricates a solid object by building up successive layers of materials, usually plastic or metal, has lit the technology world on fire. Aerospace ... See all stories on this topic »	Global Times

President Gives Priority to 3D Printing and Now You Can 3D Print, Scan, Copy and Fax All In One Machine

3D Printing News

Obama Administration Prioritizing 3D Printing Wall Street Journal As cutting-edge technology company Quantum International Corp. (OTCBB: QUAN) becomes increasingly involved in the potentially lucrative 3D printing market ... See all stories on this topic »
Slideshow: 3D Print, Scan, Copy & Fax in 1 Machine Design News You can design products in a CAD program, or you can 3D scan an existing object to generate a CAD file for 3D printing. You can also upload an .STL file to ... See all stories on this topic »

Man Prints a Replacement Hand, China Hosts 3D Printing Fair, Cyber School Explore 3D Printing, Wired Article About 3D Printing, and More...

Robohand Uses 3D Printing to Replace Lost Digits ABC News Richard Van As, a South African carpenter, lost four fingers from his right hand to a circular saw two years ago. He was unable to afford the tens of thousands of ... See all stories on this topic »
Qingdao to host 3D printing fair next year China Daily According to the World 3D Printing Technology Industry Alliance, Qingdao has been selected to be the host city for the second 3D printing fair from May 7 to 8, ... See all stories on this topic »
Pennsylvania Cyber Students Explore 3D Printing at Hands-On ... T.H.E. Journal Students from Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School's GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) and School of Engineering programs were offered the opportunity to ... See all stories on this topic »
The Fine Print Wired STL file from almost any CAD program into the software, or you can do what I did and turn to one of the internet's various repositories for 3D printing enthusiasts. See all stories on this topic »	Wired

3D Printing In the News

News	"3D Printing"

Why 3D printing might be about to get even cooler CNBC.com 3-D printing - when a product is created layer by layer - may be the coolest disruptive technology around for some, but the technology has had its fair share of ... See all stories on this topic »
3Doodler 3D Printing Pen Review eCoustics.com 3Doodler may not yet be a household name but those familiar to Kickstarter will certainly know of the device. It has been one of the highlights of the ... See all stories on this topic »
Breakthrough Technology Enables 3D Printing Of Transplant ... Inventorspot Did you ever think that during your lifetime you would witness an organ transplant that was made by a 3D printer? That if you desperately needed a liver or a ... See all stories on this topic »	Inventorspot
Fedora adds 3D printing support Network World Network World - The latest version of Fedora, nicknamed "Schrodinger's Cat," features a number of improvements aimed at IT users. But its strict adherence to ... See all stories on this topic »
MakerBot launches flexible 3D printing filament just-style.com MakerBot has launched a 3D printing filament which it claims is softer and more flexible than other filaments. The MakerBot Flexible Filament is made from ... See all stories on this topic »
Transformer maker uses 3D printing ElectronicsWeekly.com 1reo Resistive and inductive wound components manufacturer REO UK has introduced a 3D printing machine in its factory in Solingen, Germany for product ... See all stories on this topic »	ElectronicsWeekly.com
The Future of 3D Printing With Terry Wohlers ENGINEERING.com 3D printing industry consultant, analyst, author, and speaker Terry Wohlers is president of Wohlers Associates Inc. and is well known as a leading authority on ... See all stories on this topic »
Teen inventor uses 3D printing to revolutionize prosthetics Al Jazeera America (blog) Teen inventor uses 3D printing to revolutionize prosthetics. by Meredith Kile. "I would never have imagined that something I made in my bedroom would be ... See all stories on this topic »	Al Jazeera America (blog)
3D printing: what are the opportunities for brands? Marketing There is no doubt 3D printing has captured the popular imagination and, as a consequence, brands such as Nokia are investigating the possibilities offered by ... See all stories on this topic »
Oxford Performance Materials Opens New South Windsor Facility to ... DigitalJournal.com "It has always been our intention to pivot from biomedical 3D printing to Mission Critical aerospace and industrial structures," said Scott DeFelice, President and ... See all stories on this topic »