Aug 22, 2017 | By Benedict
While crowdfunding will always be something of a lottery, platforms like Kickstarter remain the best place to get huge cost reductions on startup-made 3D printers and 3D printing equipment. Here are three 3D printer projects live right now: the New Nine, D2K Insight, and Toybox.
3D printer crowdfunding project #1: New Nine
Model: New Nine
Company: Easily Build
3D printing technology: FDM
Lowest basic cost: $199
Crowdfunding goal: $60,000
Campaign ends: September 20
Easily Build’s New Nine is a low-cost FDM printer that promises “the best features of much more expensive printers” and “engineered inexpensive design innovations.” Purportedly three times faster than printers in its (very low) price range, the New Nine is fitted with useful features like a patent-pending “Mass Damper” for reducing shake and maintaining accuracy during printing.
For $199, Easily Build does seem to have crammed a lot of features into the New Nine. The printer has a heated print bed (up to 120°C), high-temp nozzle (up to 250°C) and counterbalanced X axis, amongst other bits and bobs. The build volume is 200 x 200 x 230 mm, with possible layer heights of between 25 and 350 microns, while the printer can supposedly maintain accuracy even at 150 mm per second.
The $199 quoted is for the New Nine in kit form. A fully assembled version costs $399, while a “custom” version with tailor-made print bed and other tunable specs is available for $999.
Easily Build, the startup behind the New Nine, was founded by Rory Korathu-Larson and is “passionate about being part of the evolution of 3D printing.” The company says it is made up of “engineers, educators, and creative geeks who are committed to delivering a new, open source development platform for the 3D printing community.”
3D printer crowdfunding project #2: D2K Insight
Model: D2K Insight
Company: Mayc Creation
3D printing technology: DLP/SLA
Lowest basic cost: $599
Crowdfunding goal: $28,110 (220,000 Hong Kong dollars)
Campaign ends: September 1
Mayc Creation’s D2K Insight is described as a “high-performance, personal (DLP-SLA) LCD-based 3D printer” and “an affordable way to produce high quality 3D objects.” The Hong Kong-based company has already put out a few other printers, including the D2K Illuminate, though as with many of these kind of products, nobody is quite sure who is making the D2Ks. Mayc’s LinkedIn link from its official website takes you to the page of a seemingly unrelated web design company, for example.
If you’re willing to take a risk on a D2K, the benefits are supposedly pretty big. $599 isn’t much for a resin 3D printer, and the machine offers features like a Z axis stabilizer and accuracy-ensuring “gear gaps remover bolt” to tempt you away from more established brands. The printer offers “super fast” bed leveling, while a standalone 5-inch LCD touch screen device makes control of the printer simple. The printer can also be controlled by smartphone or web browser.
Mayc says the D2K Insight 10 micron (Z axis), 17 micron (X), and 50 micron (Y) accuracy, and can print at speeds 25 mm per hour. The 3D printer’s build volume is 132.5 x 74.5 x 130 mm.
“Unlike professional 3D printers that can cost tens of thousands of dollars, the D2K Insight is only $599 and produces stunningly similar results to professional high end 3D printers,” Mayc says.
This $599 package includes a 500 ml bottle of white UV resin, an additional resin vat, and two units of teflon film.
3D printer crowdfunding project #3: Toybox
Model: Toybox
Company: Toybox Labs
3D printing technology: FDM
Lowest basic cost: $259
Crowdfunding goal: $40,000
Campaign ends: September 22
Many in the additive manufacturing business have noted that 3D printers are pretty suited to making toys—even at home. 3D printers like the XYZPrinting Da Vinci Jr and even the MakerBot Replicator Mini target the kids market, while Mattel unfortunately had to postpone the launch of its kind-friendly ThingMaker 3D printer.
Mattel’s dithering could benefit startups, and with the Toybox 3D printer hitting Indiegogo today, customers have a serious new option to consider. Billed as “the first easy-to-use, one-touch 3D printer for kids to design and print their own toys,” the Toybox already has a growing catalog of 500+ toys available for immediate printing.
“Toybox’s advanced high-res 3D printing technology means precision details, bringing toys to life faster than ever before,” says startup Toybox Labs. “Each model in the library has been pre-optimized to minimize printing time and pre-tested to guarantee high-quality, detailed prints at a resolution of 200 microns.”
Of course, Toybox is more about safety than technical specs, and the printer’s special ink is appropriately non-toxic and biodegradable. The small build volume (9 x 8 x 10 cm) is suitable for the printer’s purpose, while printing speeds of 20-60 mm/s shouldn’t see kids getting to impatient. Surprisingly, the printer can purportedly print at 10-micron resolution on the X-Y axis.
The $259 early bird special on the Toybox includes the printer and a starter pack of 3D ink.
“We want to empower kids to make toys their own,” says Ben Baltes, CEO of Toybox. “Turning your creation into reality feels like magic.”
Posted in 3D Printer
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I call BS on the "mass damper" patent. Can't find it in patents database. Not sure how it would remove wobble anyways. And not quite sure why they "counter balanced" the x axis. Does that mean they put a mass on the other opposite side of the motor? Because the axis, as it is a revolution part, should already be balanced...Can't find anything on their founders anyways. Good luck..
MK wrote at 8/23/2017 1:54:53 AM:
There's another that was released today call the Pixel3D. Looks extremely promising!
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