After making their initial announcement last month, the Cetus 3D printer is finally ready for funding. They’ve made many improvements along the way and now their Kickstarter campaign is up and running. The team has been keeping fans up to date on their Facebook page, announcing new collaborations, applications and developments regularly. Starting at just $199, the hackable Cetus 3D printer is a product of Beijing-based Cetus 3D, a subsidiary of Beijing Tiertime Technology LTD., a company that has been developing and making 3D printers since 2003.
Backers who pledge amounts starting from $199 can expect many exciting perks and early bird packages, and even have the chance to receive a printer at 33% off of the suggested retail price. In anticipation for the exciting launch, we got a chance to sit down with an important member of the Cetus 3D team. With Jason Wu, we discussed the unique specifications of the new printer, the company’s hopes for the campaign and more. Read on below to learn more from our exclusive interview and don’t forget to check out their Kickstarter page to help this project come to the public!
3D Printing Industry: Who are you and what is your position at Cetus 3D?
Jason Wu: My name is Jason Wu, I am the product manager at Cetus 3D. My duties with the company are to create a bridge between marketing and development. I strive to get them to work in synergy.
3DPI: How did you become involved with the company and with the 3D printing field?
JW: First and foremost, I am 3D printing hobbyist. A few years ago I was working as an instrument salesman and I wanted to pursue something I loved, so I just went off to find a job in this field. That’s how I ended up at Cetus 3D.
3DPI: Why do feel there’s a need for a printer like the Cetus 3D?
JW: Compared to other similar products, such as 2D printers, cameras, computers etc., we believe price, ease of use and reliability are still lagging behind with 3D printer. We wanted to make something that would be comparable to other types of consumer electronics in terms of these three aspects. In other words, we think the market wants and deserves a super reliable and easy printer at a mind blowing price, so we gave it a try.
3DPI: What separates the Cetus 3D printer apart from others on the market? What are its unique specifications?
JW:
- It has an effective build volume and is lightest printer at 3.2 kg.
- It has the best value in its price range. For example, an open source 3D printer for $200-$300 usually comes as a kit with no dedicated software. So people have to spend extra an $200 to buy third party software like Simplify3d. But for Cetus3D, you pay $200 for a ready-to-use printer with an advanced software package that is tailor made for the printer, and allows for equal and better print quality.
- At 0.25, the build volume to machine volume ratio is the best amount of all 3D printers I’ve seen.
- We built an authorization system into the printer so we could offer extra protection for 3D content. Because of this, we were able to build a 3D printing content system to be part of the printer’s ecosystem.
3DPI: In what field do you see the Cetus 3D being best applied?
JW: The Cetus3D is an entry level priced machine with advanced features. Its print quality could rival much more expensive FDM printers. Using its 0.2mm nozzle, it could achieve similar quality as entry level SLA printers. Although its lack of a heated bed may limit its print material selection, its hackability allows further upgrades by the company or by users themselves. Therefore, it is a very versatile printer that could be very competitive in the desktop 3D printer market in general prototyping and education. For specific fields, however (such as jewelry, dentistry, etc.), it would not be very suitable to use a $200 product as compared to the professional models.
3DPI: What are some projects that have already been made on the Cetus 3D
JW: We have collaborated with three other companies to offer some 3D printable content, which will also be offered along with the printer itself. The projects include a series of printable Mecha based on the Mybuild Mecha Frame, a 3D printable puppet by Chedder Moon and a 3D printable educational drone kit in collaboration with Flexlab.
3DPI: What is your pledged goal for the Kickstarter campaign? What will the campaign be funding?
JW: Our goal is $100,000. The hardware part is mostly finished and we are going for a second round of user testing now. We believe we can deliver our product to customers by Christmas 2016. So the majority of the funding will not be used for the development of current hardware, but it will be used for making better software and for the development of the content platform. We believe this is the most important aspect for Cetus 3D to make a real difference in the near future.
3DPI: Will the Cetus 3D become available to resellers after the Kickstarter campaign?
JW: Yes, it will be. We have already received some inquires. I would suggest potential resellers to back our project and get the machine first.
3DPI: How do you think the Cetus 3D will impact the 3D printing field?
JW: Instead of just making a printer, we plan to work toward a distributed manufacturing model as well as related business. In other words, we want to build an ecosystem.
