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 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 »

Print Me a Burger!

Cubify just announced that you can now order your 3D printed hamburger.  According to the Cubify blog you can print your tasty looking burgers on the 3D Systems zPrinter 650, but don't try eating them.  Download your own burger 3D model from Cubify today.

Star Trek Meets 3D Printing: Has the Replicator Revolution Started?

Cubify.com announced January 9th that they are partnering with StarTrek.com to offer the ability to print your face on the body of several 3D characters from Star Trek.  According to Scott Harmon, Vice President, Corporate Development, at 3D Systems,  “We will add be adding additional crew characters from more recent series, like The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. And there are other things we hope to do over time, like the customization of accessories, and maybe even ship customization.”

More on this story at StarTrek.com

Can't wait for your replicator to make you chocolate?  Me either!  LifeHacker.com featured an article about an Instructables user who created his own chocolate bar molds using a 3D printer.  The Roland Versa UV was his weapon of choice allowing him to create a custom 3D print to form his own silicone mold. Tasty!

The folks over at the Daily Telegraph featured a story about 2013 Tech Predictions.  You guessed it, one of the predictions is related to 3D printing.  The article claims that 3D printing will kill manufacturing and "will cause turmoil for manufacturers as 3D printing will start to dominate the market." according to Technology editor Claire Porter.  She quotes a Dr. Frey who say it won't be long before we can start to print our own food.  Romulan Ale anyone?

The Afinia H-Series 3D Printer

Just ran across another company that is making a 3D printer for home use.  The Afina H-Series is another 3D extrusion ABS printer with a build box of 5x5x5 inches and with an accuracy of .2 mm (8 thousandths). The printer weighs only 11 pounds making it fairly portable and can print in natural, black, red, blue, yellow and green (one color at a time).  For a basic 3D printer the Afinia H-Series seems a little expensive at $1,499.  However, this printer won the Make Magazine Best Overall Experience, Easiest Setup, and tied in the Easiest To Use category out of 15 other 3D printers.

The Replicator Revolution Begins?

I have decided to start a blog to discuss the new and exciting advances of 3D printing which many think is the beginning of what will eventually become the "replicator".  For those of you who are not familiar with that term, please watch a season or two of Star Trek.  Or, continue reading this post...

The replicator basically made almost anything you asked it to make on a molecular level.  At first, it was for making food and drinks, but then many other things were replicated as the series continued.  Everything from pork-chops to power converters were made by just asking the computer to "replicate" whatever they desired.  "Earl Grey, hot," was one of the most common requests from a certain well know captain on the series.

So how does this a blog make?  For the last 12 years I have been involved in some form or another of 3D printing.  Additionally, I have been working on creating 3D models for printing on demand on various sites which I will feature in future posts.  I predict that in the next 5-10 years a 3D printer will be as common in most homes as a laser printer.  You will be able to print a replacement plastic part for your small appliance by downloading a 3D model from the manufacturer or make a replacement knob for a piece of furniture.  Perhaps children will print out their own toys or a scaled model of themselves and their friends to play with.  The possibilities are beyond our current vision but very close on the horizon.

This blog is about my use of 3D technology as well as developments in the technology of 3D printing and its progression into the mainstream and into the average household.  I hope we both enjoy the journey and also appreciate looking back to where we started this revolution from.