Apr 19, 2016 | By Alec
The market for desktop 3D printers has fundamentally changed over the last few years, with countless low-cost desktop 3D printers appearing everywhere. But just because your budget is low, doesn’t mean you have to settle for a machine that doesn’t quite match your expectations. If you have a few basic engineering skills, a DIY 3D printer kit can be a sensible, low cost alternative with superior capabilities. Veteran maker Billy Zelsnack of Polygon Robotics is about to launch a Kickstarter campaign for one of these high-performance 3D printer kits: a kit for the sturdy and high volume Polygon Delta 3D Printer, which costs as little as $500.
If you are skeptical about backing a small initiative you’ve never heard of before, you’ll be happy to hear that Zelsnack has been around for years and was actually one of the first makers to discover the potential of crowdfunding. Zelsnack and Polygon Robotics have come out of the making scene in Pittsburgh, PA., where he frequents the local makerspace. Way back in 2012, his love for 3D printers already grew into his very first commercial Printxel 3D printer kit. A basic Cartesian 3D printer, the Printxel successfully raised more than $12,000 on Kickstarter and showed exactly what crowdfunding could bring to a small tech startup.
But that early success was not without its problems, and Zelsnack learnt a lot from his efforts to deliver for that campaign. “Once big lesson was that just because you can make a working prototype, doesn’t mean you can easily create copies of that prototype. That lesson really stuck with me, and since the Printxel all my machine designs have focused on manufacturability using tools and services generally available to me,” he recalls.
Taking those experiences with him, he has now once again developed a very promising 3D printer kit. And this time, it’s a Delta model – which are known for their speed. “There is just something about the motion of a delta robot's arms purposefully building an object layer by layer that is mesmerizing,” he says of his decision to build a Delta 3D printer. “[But] of course there are technical reasons as well, such as the potential for faster speeds with less print artifacts, easier scalability, backlash preload via its geometry and gravity, and of course faster vertical travels.” What’s more, the hotend moves rather than the print, increasing accuracy and making maintenance and manufacturing simpler. The print is also very visible throughout the printing process.
What’s more, the Polygon Delta features a very sensible design and contains many of the features you look for in a good quality 3D printer in 2016. For starters, it features a very rigid frame consisting of a 20x60mm aluminum body and 1/4" aluminum plates, which will help to increase print quality and makes calibration less frequently necessary. Magnetic joints ensure very smooth movement of the print head, while a leveling probe increases accuracy even further. The Polygon Delta also includes a very reliable E3D Lite6 Hotend and a flying filament feeder, while a large build volume of 10 x 12 inches (254 x 305 mm) gives you all the room you need. A complete enclosure and built-in airflow system, finally, minimizes the likelihood of warping or delamination.
Most of these features are usually found on more expensive 3D printers, making this $500 kit a very tantalizing option. The only downside is that the kit doesn’t include a print controller and its power supply, but a good option can be purchased for less than $30 or so. And if you’ve built a 3D printer before, chances are you’ll have one laying around. What’s more, you can also opt for a E3D Eruption Pack add-on for an extra $60, featuring all nozzle sizes (0.6/0.8/1.0/1.2mm), a heater block, heater, a thermistor/wiring and a second blower fan to double airflow around the print. Perfect for optimal 3D printing flexibility.
If you’re interested in this competitively priced 3D printer kit, it is set to go live on Kickstarter on Wednesday, April 20th at 11:30AM EST. Should the Polygon Delta reach its target goal of $12,500, shipping is set to begin as early as July 2016. You can find it on Kickstarter here.
Posted in 3D Printer
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@Ken, be patient ;-)