Nov 6, 2015 | By Alec

Though most of our readers have long since converted to 3D printing goodness and the concept itself is hot in technology circles, the vast majority of the population are still very unsure about the technology. While the prices attached to the machines scare people off, 3D printing technology is also quite inaccessible and features a very steep learning curve. To expand the market, manufacturers therefore have to find new ways to approach customers, and Chinese 3D printer developers Longer3D Technology might have found a clever strategy. Their upcoming, very accessible budget miniOne Home 3D printer is set to launch through JD Online Shopping Mall, one of China’s largest online markets.

Longer3D Technology is a 3D printer developer based in Shenzhen, China, and seem to be betting it all on easy-access and unexperienced users with their latest machine. While fairly little is known about the miniOne Home 3D printer, it seems to be a complete package of accessibility and user-friendliness. Reportedly operated through smartphone software, users are provided with a wide range of 3D models in a repository app to remove the need for original design, and can start 3D printing through literally just the click of a button. However, for those interested personalized designs can also be uploaded to the smartphone app and 3D printed with similar ease.

At the same time, the miniOne 3D printer is compact and aesthetically pleasing, looking somewhat less like a conventional 3D printer and more like an espresso machine. In a way, it imitates a futuristic design concept that is appealing to many consumers. But it’s also portable with the help of a foldable mechanism, which could be called quite a 3D printing breakthrough. Being thus both portable and stylish, Longer3D Technology seems to be acting like a trendsetter in regards to audiences without an engineering background.

With the extrusion arm folded to the side.

This perfectly suits the intentions of the company, with one engineer being quoted as saying their main purpose was making 3D printing more popular and easier to do. In effect, making 3D printers a household device. While this doubtlessly means sacrificing on functionality (sadly, nothing is yet known about the machine’s exact characteristics), it is clear that functionality alone doesn’t bring in a wide shopper audience, so aesthetics and easiness might be a more successful route to take. And with a starter price tag of RMB1999 (approximately $300 USD), why shouldn’t they succeed?

And while more budget and accessible 3D printers are out there, the miniOne 3D printer seems to have another trump card: a clever marketing campaign. Instead of focusing on the regular 3D printing community, this machine is set to be launched on one of the biggest online markets there is, the JD Online Shopping Mall – one of the major consumer web stores in China. While that is no guaranteed path to success, it will be very interesting how it does there. The miniOne 3D printer is to be launched on November 11, when we will doubtlessly learn more about its specifications too.

 

 

Posted in 3D Printer

 

 

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