Micro 3d printer (M3D)

[notzippy]

How cheap can you go with a 3d printer before it is no longer useful ?
http://kck.st/1jnC9nl

Thoughts ?

[Marco]

There are already 300$ 3D printers around ... all this seems to offer is prettiness.

[8086]

How are they going to pay all those team members with just $350,000 in funding? Or even the $50,000 goal?!

Am I missing something?

[bronson]

Marco, I want to buy a small, inexpensive, hands-off, low maintenance 3D printer.  Any suggestions?

This printer looks great but the language is just too schmoozy.  Lots and lots of promises, almost zero details.  What OSes?  Why not show it working at normal speed in the video?  Why waste time on swipe-to-print software?  What is an "Aerospace Grade Ceramic Heater System"?  (A pitot de-icer?)  Exactly what will be open source?

And their whole "you'd better buy now, the price will only go up!" hints sure aren't subtle.

And, I agree, there are far too many people listed as associated with the project.  "Sasha M."?  "Syed R."?  That smells like bullshit.

Looking forward to seeing how this one turns out.

[miguelvp]

http://www.3ders.org//
But there is not much out there for $300 some are under but no spool holder and not really available to purchase now.

http://www.3ders.org/pricecompare/3dprinters/
price compare with links.

[SPRX]

How cheap can you go with a 3d printer before it is no longer useful ?
http://kck.st/1jnC9nl

Thoughts ?

Seems it is moving fast

[bronson]

Holy cow, they're at almost 2 mil?  I really hope it works out.

Time for the Fed to raise interest rates!  It appears the public's appetite for risk is back.

[Corporate666]

Time for the Fed to raise interest rates!  It appears the public's appetite for risk is back.

LOL!

Holy cow, they're at almost 2 mil?  I really hope it works out.

It would be great if what they produce matches what they show in the video, but so often that doesn't happen with KS/IGG.  I wonder at what point the government gets involved and starts regulating these things.  It really seems like a loophole that they are able to seek $$ from the public at large who are not accredited investors and without really having any oversight or even requirement to deliver - just to "give it a shot".

[notzippy]

Interesting /worrisome update regarding cracking 2mill. "... We know that some of you wonder if having more backers can affect your delivery dates, and rest assured more backers actually helps us hire more staff and get more Micros produced quickly and efficiently ...". Anyone who has ever had to mass produce a product knows this is not true. Something for them to learn I guess

Nz

[GiskardReventlov]

Anyone who has ever had to mass produce a product knows this is not true. Something for them to learn I guess

Yeah, if anything they should be reducing their workforce as the project nears completion and is handed off to manufacturing. But learning on other people's money can be good.

[GiskardReventlov]

My first thought was ok now you can order the raw material and print out crap you used to have to buy from china.
(but still have to buy filament and it's from???  china!)

head peon:  "We need a plastic rabbit by end-of-day, what are we going to do?"
peon: "I can print one out for us!"

[SteveThing]

I really wish they'd put some tech specs in there.  What kind of resolution does it have?  How fast/slow is it? Etc.  Otherwise, it looks interesting.  Then again, the video was probably done by a professional studio to look "that good".

[Kean]

There are already 300$ 3D printers around ... all this seems to offer is prettiness.

Not sure how solid or reliable it will be, but being pretty and more or less fully enclosed is a huge bonus for the average user - compared to the typical designs of low cost printers with shafts, cables, etc pointing in every direction.

Anyone who has ever had to mass produce a product knows this is not true. Something for them to learn I guess

Yeah, if anything they should be reducing their workforce as the project nears completion and is handed off to manufacturing. But learning on other people's money can be good.

I presume they were always planning on mass production - what I think they mean is now they know they have the money to ramp things up, both more internal staff (to manage order, suppliers, customer service, QC) and external suppliers.  Their low initial goal was a major red flag though - can't see how they could have moved forward and delivered anything with much less than $1M.

My first thought was ok now you can order the raw material and print out crap you used to have to buy from china.

Yeah, I'm still not sure what the average user would do with a 3D printer - your need either engineering or artistic tendencies (both probably) to be able to design 3D parts.  I own an 3DPS UP+ printer, and it has been real useful for prototyping parts for checking interference, and for design review.  But I have to admit I use it pretty infrequently - even less than the CNC.  That said, these would be awesome for education!

I really wish they'd put some tech specs in there.

There actually are some tech specs listed on the KS page, as well as on their website http://themicro3d.com/ - and I think they've made mention of print speed in the comments (not incredibly fast)

One thing they don't really explain in any detail is their "Micro Motion Technology".  Presumably they use some sensing chip (magnetic/capacitive/?) to sense the position of the printhead in XYZ space, and this allows them to use cheaper motors & drive mechanics with servoing rather than the more common stepper motor.

Disclosure - I'm a backer... for now!  I will see in the last couple of days how things are panning out.

[electr_peter]

There actually are some tech specs listed on the KS page, as well as on their website http://themicro3d.com/ - and I think they've made mention of print speed in the comments (not incredibly fast)

I looks that every image on their page is computer graphics generated (CGI).

[Kean]

I looks that every image on their page is computer graphics generated (CGI).

Agreed, but this isn't at all unusual at all in marketing.  If you have 3D renders of a product, they tend to look much better/cleaner than photos of the real thing.
The KS page and video appears to shows real prototype printers in operation (as required by KS terms), and you can see some of the parts are just prototypes themselves (3D printed).

I see some extra specs are also in the FAQ section - e.g. movement speed is 60mm/s.
One thing a friend noted was that the software they show in the video is common open source stuff, and only the "swipe to print" part is unique (and silly!).

[GiskardReventlov]

Disclosure - I'm a backer... for now!  I will see in the last couple of days how things are panning out.

Are you here looking for some company? As-in misery loves company?  Nothing personal but it does seem a bit like you're cheerleading for this. No harm and I only mention it because you disclosed your affiliation.

I know nothing about kickstarter. You say "I'm a backer for now". Are you saying that it's possible to backout of a kickstarter once you've committed?

Also in another post you mentioned that the CGI pictures look better than real ones. But that's really a scam and it's meant to fool the foolhardy contributors. So they don't look better to the keen eye, they look worse. Like some people that put on too much makeup.  What's hiding under there? It's cheezy and seems a little desperate.
I hope all the contributors are satisfied in  the end but we'll have to wait to see.

One question for any contributor, what's the first and second thing you'll print?

[Marco]

I have no dog in this game, but a prototype using 3D printed parts etc not looking as slick as your projected end product with injection molding is hardly a scam.