Building a DIY 3D printer for less than $200

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One 13-year-old Maker just designed and built his own 3D printer for under $200. 

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Truth be told, a number of 3D printers still remain out of reach for many everyday consumers not looking to shell out thousands of dollars on a device. This leaves countless Makers dying to get their hands on a machine to do one of two things: either spend their savings account or create their own. We don’t know what you were doing at age 13, but chances are you weren’t constructing your own easy-to-use, inexpensive 3D printer.

Meet Zach Sousa, who recently unveiled plans for the second iteration of his DIY 3D printer that he devised, built and uploaded to Instructables — all by himself. The gadget, which he calls The Edge 2.0, is roughly the size of the Printrbot Simple with a slightly larger 6″ x 5.5″ x 4″ build envelope. The device weighs just over five pounds, and can be made from materials costing no more than $200. While he is still testing the final print resolution, 3DPrint.com reveals that he has managed to print successfully down to 200 microns!

The idea for an updated model of the Edge came about following its tremendous popularity, having garnered well over 125,000 views and thousands of likes online. Similar to its predecessor, v2.0 is controlled by an Arduino Mega (ATmega2560) and RAMPS 1.4 board, as well as driven by five NEMA 17 stepper motors.

The Maker crafted each of the machine’s parts using a combination of laser cutting and 3D printing, along with a little soldering and wiring to round out the Edge 2.0’s design. In order to complete the project, Sousa calls for a computer with Arduino IDE, running Pronterface and a slicer program like Cura or Slic3r.

Interested? Head over to its official Instructables page for a step-by-step breakdown of the project.

Report: Global 3D printing market to reach $20.2 billion in 2019

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Nearly 133,000 3D printers were shipped globally in 2014, accounting for $3.3 billion in revenue. 

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If you thought 3D printing was merely a fad, you thought wrong. According to Canalys, the market will continue to build upon its momentum from last year which saw 133,000 printers shipped — a 68% jump from 2013. This resulted in $3.3 billion in revenue generated by printer sales and their associated materials. That figure is expected to continue its growth, projecting upward to $5.2 billion by 2015 and $20.2 billion by 2019 — an expected compound annual CAGR of 44% from 2014 to 2019.

“As we expected, the 3D printing market has grown substantially over the past few years,” said Canalys Research analyst Joe Kempton. “There has also been a substantial increase in the number of vendors entering this space, with many coming from Asia, challenging the previous dominance of 3D printing hotspots such as Germany and the USA.”

The growth is being contributed to a combination of lower prices, new forms of manufacturing methods and improved printing speeds. Beyond that, the ability to accelerate product creation via crowdfunding platforms has also spurred more demand for 3D printers.

In a study released just the other week, the research firm estimated that 75% of 3D printers shipped in Q4 2014 were priced below $10,000. In that three-month span alone, the total market revenue exceeded over $1 billion for the first time in a single quarter, with some 41,000 machines shipped worldwide. This represented a 24% rise quarter-over-quarter. Regionally, the Americas accounted for nearly four in 10 (42%) of overall purchases, followed by EMEA and Asia-Pacific at at 31% and 27%, respectively.

“Whereas these consumer printers used to be almost exclusively material extrusion devices, we’ve seen large growth rates in the vat polymerization segment as prices have fallen, which means more options for consumers. There were large, positive growth rates for the dominant consumer players, such as MakerBot and Ultimaker. But also substantial increases in shipment numbers from Chinese vendors, such as XYZPrinting, which have benefited from creating consumer-friendly 3D printers at impressively low price points.”

Undoubtedly, the 3D printing revolution will revolutionize traditional manufacturing as Makers will be able to print real-life products and part replacements right from the comforts of their own home or office. In the coming months, a vast majority of these printers will be plug-and-play, turnkey devices that will begin to enter the sweet spot of $500 — a price point at which many consumers will likely shell out the cash.

It’s bound to have a major impact on industries like aerospace, automotive and healthcare over the next five years as well. Companies such as General Electric, Boeing, and BMW have already invested millions of dollars into the next-gen technology.

As we’ve previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, the Maker Movement has not only been using Atmel powered 3D printers like MakerBot, RepRap and CEL for quite some time now, but a slew of new devices popping up on crowdfunding sites are packed with AVR MCUs, most notably the ATmega2560.

Ready to delve deeper into the future of 3D printing? You can find the latest Canalys report here.

Startup creates the first 3D-printed, battery-powered rocket engine

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Rocket Lab adopts a new electric propulsion cycle and produces the first oxygen/hydrocarbon engine to use 3D printing for all primary components.

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Typically, the cost associated with launching a lightweight rocket into orbit can easily run upwards of $100 million. In an effort to curb the astronomical expense of space travel, Los Angeles-based startup Rocket Lab is redefining the way rocket engines are manufactured and how they function.

The Lockheed Martin-backed company recently unveiled its latest creation, dubbed Rutherford, which is said to be the first-ever battery-powered rocket engine. The design, which is comprised almost entirely out of 3D-printed parts and powered by batteries rather than liquid fuel, will be used on Rocket Lab’s Electron orbital launch vehicle later this year.

Powered by the brand new Rutherford motor, Electron will be able to deliver small satellites to commercial orbits at a much lower price and a greater frequency. The flagship engine adopts a new electric propulsion cycle that employs electric motors to drive its turbopumps, and is the first oxygen/hydrocarbon engine to use 3D printing for all primary components like its chamber, injector, pumps and main propellant valves.

Compared to the weeks typically associated with more conventional methods, it will only take three days to print the components of the engine out of titanium and other alloys through an advanced form of 3D printing called “electron beam melting.” This also allows for lighter rockets that can be manufactured faster, all while requiring customers to shell out less money per launch. In fact, the company is hoping to begin launching satellites sometime next year, and eventually aims to launch at least one satellite a week, with aspirations of providing at least 100 per year. The startup says its launch cost for the 65’ x 3’ system will be around $4.9 million and will be able to carry small payloads of up to 220 pounds into space.

Intrigued by this out of this world project? Head over to its official page here.

Open Gigabot is an open-source 3D printer concept

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As they say, everything is bigger in Texas… including the 3D printers.

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Nearly two years ago, Austin-based startup re:3D launched a super successful Kickstarter campaign for its Gigabot 3D printer, which garnered over $250,000 in a matter of weeks. The machine was not only large in size, but packed with a plethora of features. Most notably, a print volume that allowed for it to construct objects up to 30 times the size of other traditional desktop 3D printers at the time.

Two years later, the folks at re:3D have once again proven to be a crowdfunding success with their Open Gigabot concept 3D printer. Unlike countless other companies seeking to unveil the most lightweight, pint-sized gadgets imaginable, they have decided to take the opposite route. First unveiled at SXSW a few weeks ago, the team aspires to bring the DIY community the “most personal, most Maker-accesible and most inherently useful human-scale 3D printer on the planet.”

As its name suggests, the device is entirely open-source, offering users with unmatched transparency from its hardware to its software and everything in between. Constructed out of aluminum, the Open Gigabot allows users to attach anything to its frame without drilling holes, while extra headers with 3.3V, 5V and 12V at both the control board and the extruder give Makers the ability to personalize their own experience.

Impressively, the Open Gigabot boasts a build envelope of 24” x 24” x 20” yet is still super mobile and easily accessible. A touchscreen graphical user interface enables simple control and remote printing from afar. Additionally, users can seamlessly connect to a wireless network via Wi-Fi, USB or Ethernet.

With the DIY community in mind, the re:3D crew designed their latest machine with an expanded error detection set that reliably notifies Makers of filament feed errors, low filament, stepper motor drive faults and temperature issues, among any other problems one may encounter during a job.

“To enable all these new features we also created a brand new controller. Completely open-source, of course. Built as a shield for the popular Arduino, it includes a host of small but important features to make it expandable and customizable,” the company writes.

The new controller for OpenGB is loosely based on the highly-popular, open-source RAMPS 1.4 control and mounted on an Arduino Mega (ATmega2560). What’s more, board includes seven sockets for stepper motor drivers, three thermocouple support circuits, four thermo resistors, eight end stop terminals, five power MOSFETS, two serial connections with logic level conversion, input for induction bed sensor, hobby servo motor headers, a 12V cooling fan header, a header for all unused pins, and software-controlled stepper motor current.

As for its software, it is written in either Python or using the Arduino IDE. Beyond that, OpenGB’s UI is a pre-flight checklist that guides users through everything from leveling their build plate, to uploading their files wirelessly, to fine-tuning advanced controls.

Interested? While its Kickstarter campaign has just come to a successful end (the team raised $50,239), you can still head over to its official page to learn more. In the meantime, you can also check out MAKE: Magazine’s recent writeup here. 

PLEN2 is the world’s first printable, open-source robot

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Say hello to your new robotic sidekick. 

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R2-D2. GERTY 3000. Marvin. K-9. Jinx. These are just a few of the most well-known robotic sidekicks that super geeks like us have come to love over the years. Soon, PLEN2 may join the ranks of these memorable sci-fi characters, with the only difference being actual use in the real world. Whether you’ve ever wanted someone to go to class in your place, to break the ice with an attractive girl at the bar, or to fetch your morning cup ‘o joe, you’re in luck.

Launched on Kickstarter by Japan-based PLEN Project Committee, the 3D-printable, humanoid robotic kit consists of a control board, servo motors and other electronic accessories that allow Makers of all levels to put together themselves. What’s more, you don’t need any technical knowledge or special tools in order to bring your open-source PLEN2 to life.

3D data for the main components of the robot are provided free of charge, and with the help of a 3D printer, users can customize the data as well as make their own original parts. Upon completion, the easy-to-manuever and highly-agile humanoid stands approximately 7.87” tall, weighs just over 21 ounces and boasts 18 degrees of freedom. Designed to mirror its human counterpart, PLEN2 aspires to revolutionize the relationship between homo and robo sapiens. To help spur this adoption, the project’s creators have made its kit super simple to assemble, personalize, and of course, use.

The robot’s command center is built around an Arduino Micro (ATmega32U4), and by employing some open-source software, can be programmed to meet any Maker’s wants and needs. PLEN2 is equipped with 24 RC servo motors, 1Mb of on-board EEPROM and an RS-485 communication port in both its control and head board. The head unit also comes standard with a BLE113 Bluetooth Smart module and a six-axis motion sensor, while PWM will drive the LEDs that PLEN2 uses for eyes.

Gadget-lovers can take pleasure in knowing that each PLEN2 can be customized not only in color and design, but in the way that it is controlled as well — this includes by iOS or Android smartphone, facial expression, gestures, myoelectrics and brainwaves, among countless other input methods.

Not only for leisure activities, the humanoid can play an integral role in both educational and medical settings. A wide-range of uses cases include communicating with others in your place, carrying small items around, throwing a pickup game of humanoid soccer, as well as improving medical rehabilitation. What’s more, it can help entice children to pursue STEM disciplines and enable them to experience the joy of making things themselves.

As to whether this project takes off, or if you decide on programming a PLEN2 of your own, one thing is certain: Its theme song will get stuck in your head. Consider yourself warned…

…We told you so. Interested in learning more? Head over to its official Kickstarter page, where its team is currently seeking $40,000. If all goes to plan, you can have can have a PLEN2 alongside of you come November 2015.

Building a homemade filament extruder

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Maker creates a DIY extruder using common parts that can be found on any workbench. 

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What’s a 3D printer without filament, right? In an effort to reduce the costs typically associated with purchasing new materials, Dinçer Hepgüler recently decided to devise his own homemade extruder using parts that were readily available throughout his workshed.

In order to bring his DIY Filastruder to life, the Maker employed a metal body that contains the screw mechanism to extrude the substrate, two cartridge heaters, a 100k thermistor, a IRLZ44 MOSFET, an optional 16×2 LCD and any Atmel based Arduino. The device was driven by a powerful stepper motor, however Borsaci notes that even a household drill can drive the system for few hours.

To help ease the process, Borsaci created a CAD model detailing the parts that are required to construct the Filastruder. How it works is relatively simple: The plastic pellets go into a feeding cone that loads them into the heating element that melts the plastic. The stepper motor rotates a screw-shaped barrel, which in turn, forces the melted plastic out to the extruder nozzle forming the new filament.

“The radius of output filament can be monitored by a sensor for accuracy, but I do not think I will need that as long as the shaft is driven at constant speed. As for the heating control, I decided to use the same ceramic 12v heaters and 100k thermistors used in RepRap printer extruders (actually there will be more than one on the front end around nozzle),” Borsaci notes.

Interested? Head over to the project’s official Instructables page to learn more.

Hacked 3D printer decorates Japanese bento lunch boxes

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And to think, we were told not to play with our food as kids! 

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Over the past couple of months, we’ve seen some rather impressive 3D printers extrude a whole heck of a lot more materials than just plastic. One area in particular that has generated quite a bit of interest has been 3D-printed food. From chocolate to pizza to pancakes, additive manufacturing technologies will continue to revolutionize the way in which we prepare and consume our meals. Recently, Maker Yoshihiro Asano hacked an AT90USB1286 based Solidoodle 3D printer to create innovative designs on traditional Japanese packed lunches, also known as bento boxes.

For those of you who may not be familiar with bento, these are single-portion lunches that you can either make at home or purchase on-the-go. Housed in a box-shaped container, the meals consist of everything you would need to get through a day: rice, fish, meat, and pickled or steamed vegetables. It is also Japanese tradition to decorate the enclosed items with imagery of people, animals, buildings or other everyday things like flowers.

While the aptly-named Lunchbot doesn’t necessarily 3D print an entire bento lunch for you, it does lend a hand during the decorating process to help you one-up your friends and fellow colleagues while sitting around the table. As Asano explained, the device is essentially a hacked Solidoodle 3D printer that began as a joke yet turned into something much more enjoyable.

Inspired by a rice flour paste printing Delta bot, the Maker designed a specialty extruder for his Solidoodle and wrote a program in Processing for applying dry furikake to his boxes in any shape desired. The software then converts these pictures into simple patterns, which are translated into G-code and used to instruct Lunchbot how to draw the furikake. In order to make this work, the cartridges holding the seasoning are controlled by an Arduino Uno (ATmega328) and tasked with dropping the flakes onto the rice.

Watch it in action below!

NASA unboxes the first 3D-printed objects from space

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Quincy Bean, the principal investigator for the space station printer, removes and inspects the first items made in space with a 3D printer.

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Remember when the first 3D-printed objects in space touched down on Earth via SpaceX’s Dragon back on February 10, 2015? Well, now NASA has released a video showing the unboxing of the 21 parts that were manufactured aboard the International Space Station.

The Zero-G 3D Printing Demonstration, which is a collaboration between Silicon Valley-based Made In Space and NASA, represents the first steps toward realizing a print-on-demand “machine shop” for long-duration missions and sustaining human exploration of other planets, where there is extremely limited availability of Earth-based resupply and logistics support. In-space additive manufacturing technologies will ultimately help NASA explore Mars, asteroids, and other locations in the future.

“Before the printer was launched to the space station, it made an identical set of parts. Now, materials engineers will put both the space samples and ground control samples literally under a microscope and through a series of tests,” NASA writes.

In order to protect the space-manufactured items, they must remain in bags until inspection is complete and testing begins at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Once opened, project engineers will compare dimensions, layer thickness, layer adhesion, relative strength and relative flexibility between the identical items made in space and on Earth. From there, they will develop a database of mechanical properties, noting any difference in durability, strength, and structure.

Watch below as more than 20 parts were unboxed on April 6, 2015 at Marshall’s Additive Manufacturing Laboratory.

Tiko is the $179 “unibody” 3D printer you’ve always wanted

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This 3D printer is setting a new standard for design and price.

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Given the rise of the Maker Movement, it’s not unusual to hear about a new 3D printer making its debut on Kickstarter. However, when that 3D printer aspires to change up the game, it’s certainly worth noting. Tiko is a budget-friendly, Delta-style 3D printer that has set out to establish a new standard for design at a minimal cost, all without sacrificing the quality. Taking into consideration the complications often experienced in other devices, the machine sought out to rid these by using an enclosed “unibody” chassis with pre-aligned beams on the inside of its frame.

The printer is equipped with three sets of arms that move in unison to control the movement of the print head. It supports an array of printing materials including the usual PLA, ABS and nylon, as well as boasts a print resolution that goes down to just 50 microns. Other notable specs include a print volume of 138.3 cubic inches and a maximum nozzle temperature of 250° C.

Tiko also features a unique liquefier that can extrude PLA plastic without active cooling, and replaces expensive and loud fans with heat vents. Not only does it allow Makers, engineers and designers to print large objects, they can remove them just as easily. Its print bed is completely flexible, so once a job is done, a user simply has to lift the printer off the bed and twist to pop off the print.

The surprisingly lightweight machine is extremely portable, while its sleek design will make it a welcomed addition to any countertop. With mobility in mind, the Niagara Falls-based startup ensured connectivity played an integral role as well. The team explains, “Wires are so 1996. Connect Tiko to the cloud, and you can print from almost anywhere, even from your smartphone. No Wi-Fi? Tiko makes its own wireless access point so you can print directly, too.”

Not only can Tiko run off of the cloud, it doesn’t have any USB ports for connecting files to the 3D printer either. Beyond that, the device can even measure its own performance, and with permission, utilize that data to help improve the gadget and the overall user experience.

• Printer size: 15.4″ x 8.7” x 9.3″
• Printer weight: 3.7lbs
• Print volume: 138.3 cubic inches
• Filament type: PLA, ABS, HIPS, nylon (1.75mm)
• Layer resolution: 50-250 microns

Sound like a printer you’d love to have? Hurry over to its official Kickstarter page, where the team has already well exceeded its initial goal of $100,000.

Geeetech i3 Pro C is a dual-extruder 3D printer

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This easy-to-use printer lets Makers create their own two-color objects. 

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Recently launched by Shenzhen-based startup Geeetech, the i3 Pro C is a dual-extruder 3D printer with a laser-cut acrylic frame. In order to maintain its garage-built feel and handmade charms, the device also comes in kit form.

Like a number of devices currently on the market, the newly-revealed 3D printer uses plastic filaments such as ABS and PLA. Designed with the DIY community in mind, the Geeetech i3 Pro C is fast, easy-to-use, and affordable, which makes it a great option for projects that don’t require super high-precision.

The printer boasts a layer height resolution of 0.1mm – 0.3mm, a positioning precision of 0.1 – 0.3mm on its Z-axis, and a maximum build envelope of 200mm x 200mm x 180mm. Thanks to its dual-extruder, Makers can either print a single two-color object or two objects with separate colors in one job. However, since the dual-extruder motor pushes filament through two heads separately, mixing colors isn’t possible at this time.

What’s more, it is powered by a custom control board, the GT2560 (ATmega2560). As its team notes, “This is a perfect combination of Arduino Mega 2560  and Ultimaker, making 3D printing faster and easier.” The i3 is equipped with a control panel, enabling users to configure and calibrate their machine, view the extruder’s temperature, as well as stay informed of the print job’s progress. Makers can also use the control panel to print directly from the printer’s SD card slot.

• Printer size: 45cm x 44cm x 44 cm
• Build volume: 200mm x 200mm x 180mm
• Layer resolution:  0.1mm – 0.3mm
• Nozzle diameter: 0.3mm – 0.5mm
• Filament type: ABS, PLA (1.75mm)
• Connectivity: USB, SD card
• Software: Repetier Host, Printrun

Interested? You can learn more by heading over to the i3’s official page here.