3D Printers

HD^2 3D Printer on Kickstarter Claims to Have Highest FFF Resolution Yet

It seems as though it’s been awhile since a new FFF 3D printer presented itself on Kickstarter.  I thought that it had meant that the well of RepRaps had run dry, but, it seems that there are still Makers out there working on new RepRap forms, eager to take advantage of the home 3D printing market.

The HD^2 is a mid-sized[1] RepRap-style 3D printer, with a build volume of 200mm x 200mm x 225mm (about 7.8″x7.8″x8.8″), constructed from a sturdy aluminum frame.  Evolved from creator Ryan O’Donaghy’sMendelMax and MakerBot Replicators, the HD^2 uses a direct-drive extruder and a 3-point leveling system for bed calibration.  It features dual extruders capable of handling 1.75 mm filament.

3d printer comparison hd2

By now, you’re probably wondering what HD^2 stands for.  Well, silly, it clearly stands for high definition and heavy duty.  “High definition, you say?”  The creator makes the bold claim that the HD^2 can print resolutions up to 25 microns.  Compared to the 100 microns of the Replicator 2 and 150 microns of the Afinia H-Series, this would make the HD^2 the highest resolution FFF 3D printer on the market.  Unfortunately, the project’s creator doesn’t provide any print samples for us to scrutinize, so I’ll refrain from suspending my disbelief for now.  In other words, I’ll believes it whens I sees it.

hd2 3d printer

Backers of the project can obtain, at the time of this writing, the HD^2 at the early bird price of $1,249.  The price will, however, eventually rise to $1,799.  Not that bad of a price for a fully-assembled machine.  And, if the resolution is as high as the Kickstarter claims, it may be worth it.  Watch the KS video below and visit the campaign page!

Source: Kickstarter


[1] Though the size of FFF 3D printers seems to be growing everyday.