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3D printing poised on the edge of the mainstream (photo gallery)
There are dozens of companies selling 3D printers and printer supplies now, a sign that the market for home-based object printing is about to take off. Here's a gallery of some of the contenders.
SAN MATEO, Calif. — 3D printers haven’t quite made the leap to mainstream — they’re still a bit too finicky, unreliable, and expensive for most consumers — but they’re getting close. Next month, you’ll be able to buy a 3D Systems Cube printer at Staples for about $1,300.
We got a look at the 3D-printed future at Maker Faire Bay Area here.
At least a dozen companies are offering consumer- and hobbyist-friendly 3D printers now. They range in price from about $800 to $3,000 or more. Some, like the earliest models, can only make small plastic objects no larger than a few inches on a side. The biggest can (or will soon be able to) print objects up to two feet on a side out of a variety of materials, including ABS plastic, PLA plastic, nylon, ceramics, Play-Doh, cupcake frosting, and even hot liquids. (The days when you can tell your replicator you’d like a cup of “Earl Grey, hot” — well, that’s not quite here yet, but will be soon.)
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And if you’re not ready to make the leap to running your own 3D printer, you can work up 3D printing files on your computer (using software like Autodesk’s 123D app, an easy-to-use 3D design studio) and send them off to service providers like Shapeways.
There are so many makers of 3D printers and 3D-printed gadgets that the organizers of Maker Faire gave them an entire section of the main expo hall. The gallery here is far from an exhaustive look at this budding field — but it should give you a sense of how many options there are for 3D printing enthusiasts today.
Top photo: Makerbot Industries has done more than any other company to kick off the home 3D printing market. Its printers are looking more polished and professional than ever: Instead of the plywood look of the early models, this fourth-generation Makerbot has a black powder-coated steel chassis and decorative purple lighting on the inside that give it a futuristic look. The new MakerBot Replicator 2 can print objects in PLA plastic up to 11.2x6x6.1 inches with a resolution of 0.1mm. It costs $2,199.
Makerbot Industries has done more than any other company to kick off the home 3D printing market. Its printers are looking more polished and professional than ever: Instead of the plywood look of the early models, this fourth-generation Makerbot has a black powder-coated steel chassis and decorative purple lighting on the inside that give it a futuristic look. The new MakerBot Replicator 2 can print objects in PLA plastic up to 11.2x6x6.1 inches with a resolution of 0.1mm. It costs $2,199.
Type A Machines makes a 3D printer that competes with MakerBot. Why buy a Type A instead? It is $900 cheaper, prints larger objects (up to 10x9x9 inches), and is more reliable, according to Elijah Post (pictured on the right), who creates documentation and does tech support for the company. He said the machine had been tested out with a 48-hour continuous print job and didn’t stop once — a rarity in the world of 3D printing, apparently. Side note: Type A’s headquarters are on the top floor of TechShop San Francisco, a popular workshop for hackers and makers.
Type A Machines showed off a new, larger version of its 3D printer at Maker Faire Bay Areas 2013. It won a blue ribbon from the fair’s organizers.
The Ditto printer, from Tinkerines, is a kit aimed at making it easy to build your own 3D printer. Once complete, the printer can create objects up to 21×18.5x23cm on a side — fairly large for a modern 3D printer. It offers a resolution of 100 microns and can print in PLA or ABS plastic.
Fred White, the maker of the Apex 3D Printer, shows off his custom print head. One of the unique selling points of this printer: It had four extruder heads and can simultaneously print both solids (like PLA and ABS plastic) and liquids. “So I could make you a shot glass and fill it up with whiskey,” White quipped.
Tim Anderson, of Elefu.com, shows off the extruder board he offers to 3D printer manufacturers. The board is capable of controlling up to four extruders, enabling makers to create printers that can print a variety of different materials.
HyRel 3D aims to solve a problem that, they say, is endemic to many consumer 3D printers: Lack of reliability and consistency. With carefully-machined metal parts, the makers say that their machine can more easily produce parts exactly and consistently. It’s also the only model I found at Maker Faire with a built-in display.
Ben Reytblat shows off his 3D Monstr, an extra-large 3D printer project he’s working on. How is it different from other 3D printers? I asked him. “It’s big,” he replied simply: The version he’s got here can print 1x1x1 foot objects, but it will ultimately be able to print objects 2 feet on a side. Also, it’s foldable, for easy storage when you’re not printing stuff. It will be able to print objects with four different extruder heads, allowing simultaneous printing of four different materials. For example, you might want to make a big, glow-in-the-dark object, but you don’t want to print the whole thing with glow-in-the-dark PLA plastic, which costs $45 per pound. Instead, you could print the glow-in-the-dark part only on the outside, while a second extruder uses cheap, clear plastic for the interior of the object, he said.
The 3D Monstr’s print head is a compact, carefully-machined bit of equipment that’s designed to be compact. Why so small? That way, maker Ben Reytblat says, you can fit four print heads next to each other more efficiently.
RepRap is where it all started: The open-source 3D printing wiki that pioneered many of the basic principles used by modern commercial printers. At Maker Faire, the Bay Area RepRap group showed off a couple of large-format printers they had built based on these guidelines.
For ambitious makers, buying a 3D printer doesn’t offer nearly enough challenge or control. For those makers, there are a growing array of component makers, including B3 Innovations, whose Pico “hot end” offers greater performance, flexibility, and reliability than other print heads. It’s intended for use in 3D printers made according to the open-source RepRap specification. Here it is in action, printing an object in a RepRap printer.
The Jangobot advertises itself as “the world’s most affordable large format 3D printer.” For $999, it offers a 12x12x12-inch build area — big enough to 3D print a an object slightly larger than a basketball. It offers a print resolution of 0.1mm to 0.3mm and can print in ABS or PLA plastic.
The Up Mini 3D printer can print in ABS or PLA plastic and can create objects up to 4.7 inches on a side, with a resolution of 0.20mm to 0.35mm. It’s meant to be compact, lightweight (13 pounds) and portable. It costs $1,099.
Don’t want to go through the hassle and expense of buying and setting up your own 3D printer? Shapeways is a 3D printing service that will print stuff for you. Just upload your 3D file, choose materials (Shapeways can print in a variety of plastics, glass, ceramics, and even metal), and place your order. In two to three weeks, your object will arrive at your doorstep via UPS.
Vladimir Bulatov makes a variety of complex 3D objects created, his placard says, by “authentic computational design based on algorithms.” The pieces are then constructed by a 3D printer that composes them from steel powder and then infuse them with molten bronze.
Designer Todd Blatt makes a variety of 3D creations that he sells at his website, Custom3DStuff.com. He also does business at Comic-Con, a variety of enthusiast forums online, and, of course, Maker Faire. How’s business? “It’s all right,” he said.
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