Oct 14, 2015 | By Benedict
The Kickstarter campaign for ZeroPi, an exciting new 3D printing gadget, has far surpassed its $5,000 target, reaching almost $30,000 with 24 days left to go. The ZeroPi, which customers can get their hands on for a mere $24 pledge, is an Arduino Zero Compatible development kit for robotic motion structure systems and 3D printers.
The ZeroPi has been designed to work with 3D printers, CNC mills, tracked mobile robots and more besides. The gadget has specially designed M4 holes, which enables its compatibility with Makeblock Aluminum mechanical parts. This allows designers to use the ZeroPi for a variation of open-source hardware or robotics projects. The ZeroPi has an MCU comprised of an Atmel SAMD21J18 and 32-bit ARM Cortex M0+, which is fully compatible with the official Arduino Zero, Raspberry Pi and other robot drive hardware.
The team behind the ZeroPi are emphasising its 3D printing potential, calling it the “next generation mainboard for [the] 3D printer”. The developers have already successfully ported the Marlin and Repetier firmware to ZeroPi for use with I3 and Delta open-source 3D printers. These open-source 3D printers can now be directly controlled by the ZeroPi without the need for an expansion board. The ZeroPi team claim that their device is four times faster than the Mega2560, as well as being cheaper and smaller.
The aim behind the ZeroPi project is to increase usability and provide a cost-effective solution for makers working on a range of projects. “We want to create the opportunity for makers and professionals to use boards capable of printing high mesh objects and easy to use open source motherboard,” the team explain on their Kickstarter page. “Our ambition is to advance the entire community through an open-source motherboard with creativity and innovation. We hope ZeroPi can be useful to as many people and projects as possible.”
The ZeroPi Kickstarter campaign is already a massive success. Having set a target of $5,000, the project has already received close to $30,000 in pledges. The team are offering a range of incentives to potential backers: All 200 Early Bird ZeroPi devices have been snapped up, but there are still plenty of standard-price $24 (a steal!) ZeroPi devices available. More dedicated users can choose the pay $29 for the ZeroPi plus a Debugger which provides a full debug interface. For $48, backers can receive a ZeroPi plus 4 Stepper motor drivers, and there are further more expensive options for multiple devices and different motor combinations to suit a variety of robotics projects.
The ZeroPi team are able to ship their devices anywhere in the world, and customers can expect to receive their product by December 2015.
Posted in 3D Printer Accessories
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Will this work with the rpi3 ?
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