Aug.27, 2013

Brooklyn, NY based Gordon T. LaPlante is raising funds for his gMax 3D Printer on Kickstarter. gMax is a new personal desktop 3D printer with an extremely large build volume: 16'' x 16'' x 9'' (2,304 cubic in) / 406 x 406 x 229 mm.

Studying and working in architecture, LaPlante bought a Prusa RepRap kit in 2010 but felt his design was limited by the bed size. He started to work on his own 3D printer and used his RepRap to print the parts. The gMax 3D printer is born this year and is now available as an easy to assemble kit on Kickstarter.

The entire printer is designed for easy future modifications and customizations. The extruder module can be popped off and replaced with a number of future tool heads, for example drill heads for drilling patterns, laser etching, light CNC millingor roller blade for paper cutting etc. All of the colored parts are 3D printed so you can easily upgrade to new or customized parts.

Main Features:

  • 1.5'' x 1.5'' inch strong aluminum frame system
  • Precision milled aluminum z-axis motor couplers
  • LCD screen and SD card reader
  • Very easy assembly – just need to slide in and screw.
  • Quiet when running
  • Works with most common open source software (slic3r, pronterface, etc.)

Specifications:

  • Build volume: 16'' x 16'' x 9'' (2,304 cubic in) / 406 x 406 x 229 mm
  • Resolution: 75 micron (0.075mm/0.0029'') to 350 micron (0.35mm/0.0138'') layer thickness depending on nozzle
  • Nozzle: 0.35mm or 0.5mm diameter
  • Extruder: MK-7 drive gear, J-head hotend, LED light, integrated blower fan
  • Electronics: RAMPS v1.4 electronics preloaded updated and customized Marlin firmware
  • Motors: NEMA 17, 1.8o step angle with 1/16 micro stepping
  • Dimensions: 28.5''W x 24''D x 21.5''H (724 x 610 x 546 mm)
  • Weight: Approx 35 lbs (16kg)
  • Filament: ABS or PLA
  • Power Supply: 120 VAC 340 Watt power supply (printer uses approx. 40 watts)

As of this writing, the Early Bird Kickstarter Special are all sold out. An all-inclusive gMax Printer Kit with the added LCD screen and filament spool holder will cost you $1,295 (EUR969 / GBP833) and the estimated delivery time is December 2013. Check here for more information and other tiers of rewards.

75 micron

120 micron frog

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Don wrote at 10/24/2014 2:59:03 PM:

This is how business fail. You offer. Then can't/won't respond to your customer base. They go away. Especially in today's evolving market. Others will come in and poof you wonder what happened. Start returning calls Start answering emails Both in a timely fashion

AB wrote at 9/21/2014 6:21:09 AM:

This this gMax printer doesn't exist in the "Price compare" page?

Joe Carusi wrote at 1/9/2014 5:26:58 PM:

Hello need speek to a rep to buy a 3d printer if some can help me call 18152809845 ask for Joe the gmax printer.

james b wrote at 12/22/2013 7:40:48 PM:

How to reach Gordon LaPlante ? I have tried to reach him on Kickstart for past 2 months, 3-4 messages - no reply. I want to see about ordering a machine, but, now i am wondering if he has already gone out of business? ? ? call me at 3 eight 6 three 2 zero 6040

ram713@frontier.com wrote at 11/29/2013 9:26:08 PM:

Still cant find how to order. Should not be this difficult.

Jeff Moe wrote at 8/31/2013 6:27:33 PM:

@jinger, We (Aleph Objects, Inc. that owns LulzBot) have printed well over 100,000 parts on LulzBot AO-100 and TAZ printers. At present, we print about 3,000 to 4,000 parts/week. They definitely work for more than a month... @Gordon, thanks for your nice comments, best of luck with your launch, and thanks for creating more open hardware! :)

Benjamin wrote at 8/29/2013 10:10:53 PM:

Hi, what do you use for heating the plattform? I cant find a heatbed for printing with ABS?

Tom wrote at 8/28/2013 3:10:11 PM:

Thanks for the thorough response Mr. LaPlante. I really do appreciate responses that are well thought out so thank you for helping not add to web trolling! Best of luck in your up coming launch! -Tom

Gordon LaPlante wrote at 8/28/2013 6:21:32 AM:

Thanks for the input Tom. It was our intention to produce a very strong and rigid printer which will hold up to fatigue. Many of the the joints loosen in about 1-2 days while the plastic adjusts and you tighten the printer to compensate. After this the printer is solid, very solid. I have been picking the 1st prototype up from the top bar for over a year and it doesn't budge. Every part has gone through many iterations and fatigue has not been an issue. It's also designed to allow for future upgrades and adjustments which is very important to us. While I fully support the lulzbot, I am very confident in our printer and its design. Joseph has done a lot for the community and I commend him for that. Also, while I'm not a mechanical engineer, I am a licensed architect so I am at the other end of the line. I have many years designing spaces and fixtures which must hold up to heavy abuse. We appreciate your criticism and concern since we aim to provide a solid and useful 3d printer. In the end, if our customers aren't happy we aren't happy. We have nothing to gain from providing a bad printer. Best to you.

Jinger wrote at 8/28/2013 3:01:28 AM:

Your obviously not an engineer if you think the Lulzbot Taz is better than this... Agree with JD90, STOP WITH THE MENDEL CRAP. They work for a month, and that is it. Sure it might cost twice as much to build a quality machine, but it would be worth it. Look at lulzbot, they sell shit like this, and for the price they sell at, you would think you would get a quality printer. lol...

Jd90 wrote at 8/27/2013 2:57:38 PM:

Yet another damned Mendel design.

Tom wrote at 8/27/2013 2:28:35 PM:

I'll be frank as a mechanical engineer the design (not the frame) does not look good for long term stability. Fatigue limits will be approached for some of the printed parts such as the Y-axis pulleys. In general the design looks flimsy, I see a lot of right angles where there should be fillets and a lot of components that should just be printed thicker. I am pretty sure this printer was designed to look 'cool' which it does and that is great and all but yeah if you want a printer with the same or much better capabilities look at the Lulzbot TAZ, I love mine.



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