Some companies in the booming 3D printing world begin with an idea, create a website then hit Kickstarter, try to find funding, then, after a usually unspecified amount of time, sometimes, are able to bring a product to market. Bad Devices took another approach: it build a high quality, solid 3D printer and launched it on the market. No fuss, no intermediate passages, and even before having a full blown website they already have a discrete number of satisfied customers.
I’m not sure if the BadPrinter2 and Bad Devices names were inspired by the “Bad Guy” from the cult movie Scarface, but the company did follow the very solid advice that Scarface gives to his friend Manolo after he just got slapped in the face by a beautiful girl: “first you get the money, then you get the power, then you get the… girl”. Only, for 3D printing world, it would sound something like this: “first you get the printer, then you get the power (to make things), then you get the money”.
Bad Devices took its little friend BadPrinter2 out to Rome’s Maker Faire for every one there to say hello to and that included myself, as I walked past their stand. I was already familiar with their system as a couple of 3D print shops have already begun selling it I know a couple of users that told me they were very happy with it.
The BadPrinter2 is, in fact, a badass 3D printer, with a black steel-carbon structure, a 4 mm glass heated plate and enclosed printing area (made for ABS), and two independent extruders that can work inside a print volume of 226 x 228 x 210 mm. The ratio to the 23 Kg GT2 belt driven H-bot machine size is almost 1:2 (420 x 460 x 500 mm). Printing speed goes up to 150 mm/s.
You can find all the exact specs here. I for one have to admit that what compelled me to stop by their stand is the quality of the prints I saw. As a sign clearly explained the machines 0.4 mm nozzle is capable of printing layers as thin as 50 micron and some of the objects printed for the occasion (a football mockup, the Maker Faire Robot mascot, GE’s jet engine miniature model) clearly showed what this level of precision and resolution mean.
The BadPrinter2 is already available at the fairly competitive price of €2,250 (+VAT), with different colour configurations for the several 3D printed components inside it. You can contact the Bad Devices team through their WordPress blog, in the meantime it’s time to “say good night to the Bad Printer” and, if you loved Scarface as I did, here is that Al Pacino clip, for me one of my all time favourite clips.
