Jun 12, 2015 | By Simon
Whether you’re a user that’s been looking for a high resolution industrial grade 3D printer that costs six figures or are a more budget-conscious consumer who is looking to get the best bang for your buck, the amount of options for 3D printers has never been as expansive as it is today.
Of course, not everybody is looking for a six-figure industrial 3D printer nor are they even looking for a significantly cheaper desktop 3D printer; many prefer to build their own 3D printers from scratch. Thanks to the wide variety of open source platforms to build off of as well the wealth of step-by-step build instructions out there, this process of building a 3D printer from scratch has never been easier.
Among other 3D printer builds that are worth checking out in the case that you’re interested in building a 3D printer on-the-cheap include the Cherry 3D Printer from 16-year-old Instructables user Vulcaman. The 3D printer - which prints using the fused deposition modeling (FDM) technique of additive manufacturing - has also been claimed as possibly the cheapest 3D printer in the world to build with an estimated supply cost of just 60 € (or roughly $70).
According to Vulcaman, the 3D printer works with the cheapest motors on the market and is capable of being fitted with other components that are among the cheapest available. Altogether, the build is focused on creating the best possible 3D printer around the cheapest available components ranging from the motor to the extruder and everything in between. Of course, if size is a priority for you, this may not be the printer you’re looking for; the largest build size using the printer is just 10 x 10 x 10 cm. With that being said, the printer is capable of printing those small objects pretty fast and with a decent resolution for the price; it features a print speed of 20 mm/s with a layer height of .2mm.
Vulcaman has conveniently supplied the links for gathering all of the necessary parts - including the multiple rods and mechanical components for creating the structure and guides for which the prints are created with. As for the onboard computer, Vulcaman has used an Arduino Mega 2560 - which, at nearly 17 Euros is the most expensive single item on the list. In total, all of the electronic parts add up to just over 27 Euros while the mechanical parts add up to just 17 Euros.
To create the rest of the parts, access to a 3D printer is required or users can choose to use 3D Hubs and find a local 3D print supplier. Vulcaman has generously supplied all of the necessary parts via his project’s Thingiverse page for easy downloading or printing using the 3D Hubs network. The project also makes use of the Bernis Simple 3D Printing Bowden Extruder by Spacefighter, which is also available as a free download on Thingiverse.
Once all of the necessary parts have been printed, the remainder of the project consists of assembling all of the components together and installing the supplied code onto the Arduino.
While the build will certainly take some elbow grease to complete, the money saved is small price to pay to call this 3D printer your own! For the full build instructions, be sure to head over to the project’s Instructables page.
Posted in 3D Printers
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can u give me the stl files of 3d printed models of this cherry printer
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