Fierce market competition is pitting the multitudes of 3D printer companies against one another, forcing lower prices on higher-quality machines. Like a new iPhone, Solidoodle is releasing the third iteration of its printer with some updated parts, bigger size, and improved performance. A pre-sale offers the latest printer for $799, but it will not be shipped for eight to 10 weeks, so don't count on it arriving in time for Christmas. But perhaps, for the price, it may be worth the wait.
The resolution of obtainable printings is dependent on layer thickness. Solidoodle says the new system has a potential resolution of 0.1mm with an average layer thickness of 0.3mm. The extruder nozzle moves in the x-y plane with a resolution of 0.011mm to 0.1mm (taking into account the melty, gooey expansion), which translates to roughly 2,300dpi. The heated base plate, made of 1/8-inch aluminum, moves in the z-direction.
Solidoodle 3 hits the market promising 2,300dpi for $700. A useful tool for the budget-minded creator, the printer has an eight-inch cube work envelope and a heated platform. (Source: Solidoodle)
The new acrylic extruder incorporates a new spool design that prevents filament tangling. The 0.35mm extruder and its stepper motor (nichrome powered) require very little adjustment. Solidoodle 3 works using the fused filament fabrication method, which extrudes 1.75mm thermoplastic ABS (recommended and sold at $43 for a two-pound spool) or PLA filaments on to a heated base platform.
The build space is a bit larger than the previous printer. It measures eight inches a side and comes with an interior light and no door or cover, so you can see it at work, though you may want to keep it off the floor and away from pets, kids, or windows. If you turn parts on a diagonal, nine-inch parts are an option, as well. The entire printer measures 13.5 inches long by 14 inches wide by 14 inches high and features a steel frame that can support more than 200 pounds.
Solidoodle 3 is still compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux, and it can print any STL file. It's built on RepRap Sanguinololu v1.3a electronics and comes with a user-friendly GUI to print. It also includes a USB cable, 0.3oz of filament, and a 120V or 240V power supply (for the US and Europe, respectively).
Solidoodle says this printer is meant to print only individual pieces and is not for printing machine parts, but that may be flexible with discernment and application. The company has sold more than 1,200 printers to date and is expecting to break sales records in 2013. It's time to start getting familiarized with physibles. Also, it probably won't be long before the multitudes of printers hit the resale market. Deep discounts are on the way.
A 3D printer for $799 is amazing. A far cry from the first 3D-Systems Inc's earliest SLAs of the late 1980's priced in the Quarter-Million-Dollar neighborhood. But I think I will continue to utilize the growing market of rapid-prototype-providers, who are also fiercely competing with each other to provide the lowest cost and fastest-turn models. I can still get excellent quality, and lots of options; from SLA to Z-Corp and SLS parts all with extremely fast turn-arounds, and all serviced via Internet. Its worth the price of the prototypes when I don't need to maintain 4 different types of systems.
I've been thinking of 3D printers as being similar to 2D pen plotters. I see some sort of page-printer equivalent in our future, on our way to molecular deposition. Long before we get to 2200 (well, our great-grandchildren), we'll have Star Trek's replicators in our kitchens.
One thing I missed in this article was the speed of this 3D printer. What thickness can it lay down per unit time?
It seems these 3D printers are becoming more and more of a low cost commodity product. This reminds me of dot matrix and inkjet printers years ago. As prices kept going down and volumes kept going up, I expect these 3D printers to be produced more and more in low cost regions like Asia (similar to what happened to 2D printers).
Although I am a 3D printer fan, I take issue with advertising the 'resolution' at 2300DPI. While this is indeed the theoretical positioning resolution of .011mm in X and Y, with a printer head at .35mm the smallest 'dot' is about .013" or about 72 DPI or less. If I have two .35mm dots spaced .011 apart, they are essentially one 'dot'.
Great for making toys and such. I wonder how durable parts made from these would be? I don't know if I would trust parts made with 3D printers with young children just yet.
But 7 years old on up, it's time for some real fun. I think this would be a cool device for a father to buy and teach children how to build, the design process, patience, and dedication.
Good point JimT. I gues the smart money is to let those who want to be in the print-on-demand business work through all the start-up hurdles. If you ever get to the point where you can keep a 3D printer busy on a regular basis, then you can spring for one. In the meantime, you still get fast turnaround on prototypes. At $799, it's not quite an impulse buy, yet.
Yes ,,, but it IS getting tempting at this low price point.
While I'm miserably pragmatic about optimizing dollars (exactly my point, I just can't justify an $800 printer to be considered profitable,,,) It IS fantastic to imagine that a 3D printer is so close to my reach.
I wasn't quite this intrigued when I bought my first computer printer, if you get my drift.
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