Desktop Factory's cheapo 3D printer is coming

Tinkerers, schemers, makers and DIY-buffs: grab your ball-peen hammer and heaviest piggy bank, because you're about to need a loan. A company called Desktop Factory is going to make your 3D-printing dreams a serious reality with the introduction of its 125ci 3D printer, a $4,995 hunk of concept-plastic magic which could possibly represent a paradigmatic shift for the state of three-dimensional printing for the masses. The DF crew calls the pricing "disruptively lower than the nearest competitive offering," and we're inclined to agree, as most 3D printers crest easily over the $10,000 mark. The printer takes up a paltry 25 x 20 x 20-inch space, and weighs about 90-pounds, while the maximum size of printed objects is 5 x 5 x 5-inches, and Desktop Factory says per-cubic-inch printing costs will hover somewhere around $1. One of these beautiful babies could be all yours, just put down your $495 reserve fee, and then go to work on that string of robberies you've been planning.

[Via TG Daily]

[matt @ Sep 14th 2007 1:18PM]

Man, this thing is really cool. I do a bit of design work and to be able to SLA my own pieces would be AWESOME. There are a lot of online vendors who offer the service of rapid prototyping parts out there now, and some have relatively good material selection and turn around, but to have a machine sitting on my desk next to the printer would be seriously amazing.

[Bradley @ Oct 25th 2007 6:27AM]

Here is some information I got back on 8/27/07 just figured I would pass it on:

Bradley:

Thank you for your inquiry and interest in Desktop Factory. We are still a little ways from launch – we plan for first quarter of 2008. International launch will be 8 - 10 months later

We are putting together a spec sheet over the next few weeks so until that is ready I will just give you a few particulars. In terms of sending you a part – we are in the process of extensive integration testing and we log and retain every part built for our records. It will be a few more months before we can fulfill our very long list of parts requests.

The Desktop Factory 125 ci will be $4995.00 US – there will be few, if any additional expense items besides consumables.

The form factor you see on the web site is the actual look/feel.

The build envelope is 125 cubic inches at 5X5X5, you may build multiple parts in the envelope.

The layers are 10 mils, and finest detail would be 40 - measured as 0.01 and 0.04 inches respectively.

The build speed is 1 cubic inch in 1 – 3 hours.

The material is a nylon composite and will be the only material that can be used – our target price will be $1.00 per ci. We are still playing with package sizes.

The final part is quite robust, we have dropped many without breakage; various tests will be run prior to formal launch.

The software we support is almost any CAD 3D Solid Object Modeling package as long as it outputs an STL file. This includes SolidWorks, Catia, AutoDesk, Rhino, Alibre, etc. etc. We provide the software that accepts the STL file, rotates it and sizes it with final preparation for printing. The file can be submitted thru email, downloaded from the web and/or sent via FTP. The system this software will need to reside on is a Windows PC.

We will have a 90 day warranty and annual service contract – the cost should be industry standard at about 15% of purchase price.

The product will become commercially available late this year / early 2008. Shipments outside the US are planned for late 2008. If you would like to continue to receive information – please sign up for our Desktop Factory newsletter!

Regards,

Desktop Factory, Inc.

[Paris @ Sep 14th 2007 1:21PM]

does it do anything else?

[jroc @ Sep 14th 2007 1:23PM]

Blend perhaps?

[WorldCTZen @ Sep 14th 2007 1:26PM]

You could play Doom on it, but the refresh rate sucks...

[Lemmiwinks @ Sep 14th 2007 4:04PM]

Yes. It's a friggin' all-in-one. You should see the 3D faxes this thing sends...

[IsLNdbOi @ Sep 14th 2007 1:33PM]

This looks like a very primitive version of a replicator like in Star Trek.

[tso @ Sep 14th 2007 3:41PM]

well the replicator works by converting energy into matter (atoms), as in the reverse of a atomic bomb, and then building objects based on said atoms.

but yes, the basic idea is the same, only on a very different scale...

[Zal @ Sep 14th 2007 1:33PM]

I couldn't find anyplace on the website that describes the substrate(s) that can be used. Anyknow know? Styrofoam?

[Jason @ Sep 14th 2007 1:37PM]

"The Desktop Factory 3D printer builds robust, composite plastic parts
that can be sanded and painted when desired."

[fuse @ Sep 14th 2007 1:36PM]

Tea, Earl Grey, hot.

[Harry Wagstaff @ Sep 14th 2007 3:52PM]

'OT BOVRIL.

[crash+burn @ Sep 14th 2007 1:44PM]

i loved using the rapid prototype machine at work. we actually made some production parts out of the abs plastic that would have otherwise doubled the cost of the product if we made it any other way.

[engadget @ Sep 14th 2007 2:03PM]

What the material cost for this printer ?
Most 3D Printers have high material cost, as you can only get if from the vendor.

[Chekote @ Sep 14th 2007 2:20PM]

The article says $1 per cubic inch.

[notYou @ Sep 14th 2007 2:29PM]

From TFA:

Lowest priced material on the market
The cost of the build material is expected to be about $1 per cubic inch.

[engadget @ Sep 14th 2007 2:24PM]

yea, but is that actual cost, including print heads (or what ever they use) , supports, ect.

[steve @ Sep 14th 2007 2:23PM]

Yay! Imagine all the custom legos you can make!

[Gnaget @ Sep 14th 2007 2:34PM]

Why spend that much, Fab@Home is coming along nicely
http://www.fabathome.org

[engadget @ Sep 14th 2007 2:48PM]

One thing the resolution stinks on the DIY version.

[dj-kenpo @ Sep 14th 2007 2:46PM]

fa@home costs about 2300$ for soemthing that doesn't really work all that well. if I'm going to spend in the thousands I'd rather just spend doule and have a fully working unit.

if fab@home cost like $300 and worked much better than sure.... but not right now.

[Harry Wagstaff @ Sep 14th 2007 4:46PM]

http://www.reprap.org/bin/view/Main/WebHome
£300.

[GazzyC @ Sep 14th 2007 2:36PM]

Could you make Doom the board game on it?

[Tom T. @ Sep 14th 2007 2:53PM]

it would be cool to have this on one side of your computer and a similarly sized 3d scanning sarcophogus (or whatever they are called) on the other. you could scan a real world object to create a basic wireframe to start with, tweak it into what you need, and then print out the new version.

[HOLLAND @ Sep 14th 2007 3:06PM]

Can't wait till i can print a coffee cup!

[Ron Smith @ Sep 14th 2007 3:07PM]

what is funny is when you can print out a 3D printer with a 3d-printer. Maybe not now, but imagine printing out half a printer, then printout the other and put them together. A product driving down its own cost, who would have thought of that?

[Kevin @ Sep 14th 2007 4:15PM]

on a guess... You.

[Joe @ Sep 14th 2007 7:57PM]

Each 'generation' would me smaller and smaller.

[chris fredette @ Sep 14th 2007 3:22PM]

OK, so this is a good idea so I wish them luck but there are some caveats:
OK for 5k maybe. They say .01 build layers and every RP machine I’ve seen lies about this so it is probably double that.
The part surface quality seems poor.
There are better machines for under 20k today.
There are way better machines for 100k-200k. both type of machines have bigger build envelops too.

They have a Xerox and a 3D systems guy on board so that’s good.
I guess you have to start somewhere.

[chris fredette @ Sep 14th 2007 3:22PM]

ok the xerox "guy" is girl, but you get the idea.

[Kevin @ Sep 14th 2007 4:17PM]

This is aimed at the small shop that doesn't necessarily have 100-200k to spend on an RP machine.

[chris fredette @ Sep 14th 2007 5:18PM]

agreed but as a mechanical engineer with 15 years experience I can tell you for many things you need a certain resolution. .005 would be a good starting point for me.
Also the resulting surface is important for coating /plating and accuracy/desired output of the part.
In general I would say they are competing against $20k machines and the cost of buying parts made on %60k-$250k machines. maybe $300-$1500 per part.
Jewelry or toy's would probably be the market for now as they don't need very tight tolerances.
At some point price is not the problem it's the quality of the parts. For instance, some other methods can be used for making tooling. I doubt this is acceptable for that.
They show a rubber duck as an example which is fine for conceptual work but they imply you will be printing these at home for use as a toy. As I'm sure the part is rock hard it unlikely to be very child friendly.

[Herbert Neal @ Sep 14th 2007 3:23PM]

Guess I can now have my very own dildo factory.

[Joe @ Sep 14th 2007 7:57PM]

5 inches long... max.

[Herbert Neal @ Sep 14th 2007 10:33PM]

Only five inches, I was thinking 20 inches. Give the ladies something to write home to mom about.

[Paul B. @ Sep 18th 2007 3:10PM]

Actually, if you build it diagonally, you could maybe get up to 8 inches... ( sqrt(25+25+25) = 8.66 )

=:o}

[Mark @ Sep 14th 2007 3:32PM]

Let the age of physical piracy begin.

[DJ @ Sep 14th 2007 3:45PM]

This question is probably absurd, but given my distinct lack of knowledge I am going to ask anyway, what kind of "res" does it have? I know I can't print say, a microprocessor model, but could it do a hairbrush? Holes accurately to put screws through? Either way this is an awesome unit, I am sure one could find millions of uses for it!

[Gotung @ Sep 14th 2007 5:01PM]

This is the Apple II of a whole new revolution.

[shazam @ Sep 14th 2007 5:03PM]

Saw this and several 200K+ machines at a factory yesterday, they even had a couple for metal (DMLS) including titanium! The detail is incredible, you can make a complex working gearbox with all the cogs inside from a single 'block'. It is the future of manufacturing no doubt..

[mastershake3 @ Sep 14th 2007 5:07PM]

Any chance they'll have these down at Kinko's?? That would be fantastic!!!

[Kevin @ Sep 14th 2007 5:10PM]

In all serious, that's amazing.

Remember just a few years ago when we were paying $5000 just for color laser printing?

Now that much money buys you a replicator.

Wow.

[JP @ Sep 14th 2007 8:05PM]

I work in the same building as DF for another Idealab company and have been watching this 3d printer's progress over the last few years... The parts it produces are sturdy, precise and just plain beautiful. Other Idealab companies here use the printed parts for their own prototyping work and they tell me it's far faster and cheaper than "ordering out." Glad to see DF's printer almost ready for actual sales!

[duke @ Sep 15th 2007 3:25AM]

think of it this way: if 1 cubic inch costs $1, then the whole 5in x 5in x 5in cube that you stick in the thing would cost $125. to make a coffee cup, for instance, at 3in x 3in x 4in + an extra 4 cubic inches sticking out of the side to make a handle would cost about $40.

before the prices come down i doubt people will be using this thing to make everyday objects. i know my friend would love making warhammer (ummmm...figurines?) out of it, despite my disapproval (and his wife's) of him spending so much money and time on a silly tabletop game, lol.

[Ed @ Sep 22nd 2007 6:24PM]

Actually, duke, it would not cost $40 for the coffee cup because even though your coffee cup is bounded by a 3in x 3in x 4in box it is not a solid 3in x 3in x 4in box so less than (MUCH less than) 36 cubic inches of material would be used in its manufacture.

[duke @ Sep 22nd 2007 7:12PM]

the way I understood it was that th hollowed out material is ground down into powder as the machine makes each pass. Unless you can melt it back down then that wont work.

[Sean @ Sep 15th 2007 4:53PM]

I wish I could see some of these in public libraries.

[Alfred @ Oct 16th 2007 11:18AM]

Resolution is EVERYTHING, especially for those who cannot otherwise sculpt.
Those rubber ducks look truly marginal -- one writer is right, its the Apple II of a new medium....
so keep your expectations in check.
This has been going on for a while in the vinyl toys world, with much cleaner results.

I got an estimate from a RP outfit today of $USD 1550 for a 8x8x8 "part", though it is just a model.
Thats waay high for my interests, but "its jus' fine" because the resolution IS there!!!!