Oct. 15, 2014
Peachy Printer, the world's first $100 3D printer, has today released it's latest prints. The Peachy Printer project was successfully funded on October 20, 2013 and it raised CAD$651,091 from 4,420 backers.
Unlike most low cost 3D printers on the market which focus on using cheap component but similiar 3D printer design, Saskatchewan, Canada based Rylan Grayson invented his own: the Peachy Printer. When combined with a camera, the Peachy Printer also functions as a 3D scanner.
The peachy printer is a Photolithographic printer which uses a controlled beam of light to cure light sensitive resin into hard objects. The peachy moves a laser beam along the X and Y axes to create the shape of the object, while using a drip system to control the level of the resin on the Z axis which determines the height of the object.
How does it work?
Grayson wrote an add-on to blender which translate 3D model into an audio waveform. It then plays the audio file out to the printer through the headphone jack in your computer. This waveform drives a pair of electro magnetic mirrors which reflect and control the path of the laser beam. The higher the volume, the higher the voltage, the more the mirrors move. The laser beam can then draw out the shape of the object along the X and Y axes. You can also uses smartphones, radios, stereos, and mp3 players that have DC coupled audio to control the X and Y axises of the printer.
The drip system: the salt water in the top container syphons down to a drip feed. The rate of this drip feed is controlled by a valve. As each drip leaves the feed, it passes through two contact points creating an electrical connection that is detected by your computers microphone jack. The drip continues to fall into the bottom container where it causes the resin floating atop it to rise. The software listens to the microphone level, counting each drip that falls and calculates the resultant level of the resin. This allows the software to send the layer that corresponds with the current Z-level of the resin. This process continues until the print is complete.
Here are a few prints from the company and Peachy Printer's beta testers:
A print done by tookys. He simply played the "Memory Hourglass" calibration pattern while letting the dripper run.
Here are Jstrack's first 6 yoda attempts! He changed settings each time he printed to see if he could reduce the amount of holes present in the prints.
A print done by Jstrack.
A birds eye view of the same rook.
Eiffel Tower coming in at 5.5cm. As you can see it is leaning slightly to it's left.
At 9.4cm this unique model rocket is one of the tallest prints made on the peachy printer.
This rocket printed with nearly no holes! However If you look closely you can see two very small holes just above the fin.
From this angle you can see the guide hole on the side of the rocket and the spiralled fins.
A model rocket engine.
This extremely unique design has resulted in a very affordable 3D printer. For those who missed the Kickstarter campaign, Peachy Printer is now available here for pre-order.
Posted in 3D Printers
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I am legitimately surprised that it's made it this far. I think the idea is feasable, but far from complete. The final product will be at least $600 since, as is, it lacks light control, valve control, and robust software. But it's good seeing it get this far.
Adam wrote at 10/18/2014 5:30:28 PM:
Well I have high hopes for my peachy pro I ordered. I do not doubt it will be fucking awesome think of the researcher thats been going into this. if this is just the normal one imagine what the pro will do!!
Marco wrote at 10/17/2014 8:26:50 PM:
It's and its: check back what they mean and when to use them.
Julio wrote at 10/17/2014 1:35:08 AM:
Although not ready for a comercial product, the idea looks promising.
Dech_Amim wrote at 10/16/2014 10:35:17 PM:
To be fair, I think the development team has been very open and honest about the process with regular updates so I never felt scammed. At the outset, it was very clear that the project was still in the development phase and the estimated times of delivery were extremely rough. Besides, making a $100 SLA printer that isn't completely awful is ambitious to say the least. Even if it turns out that it's a complete failure, I'll still be rooting for the Peachy team.
MC Allen wrote at 10/16/2014 5:56:57 PM:
This forever-delayed Kickstarter project has so far been a failure, and has still not yielded a viable product. This kicked off with an abundance of order$ and an extended deliver date 10 months. Then they moved that by 4 months. Then another 4 months, but no promises. Meanwhile other small printers get funded and shipped. The latest update is only showing photos of beta prints from many months back. Save your money.
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