Kickstarter campaigns for 3D printers are pretty common these days, so it takes a pretty good pitch to stand out from the crowd. The L5 3D printer has a forgettable name, but appears to have a pretty good setup going — including the use of injection-moulded parts.
3D printer campaigns that attempt to reach a wide audience often emphasize how good the hardware looks on a desk, and the L5 is no different. The design is attractive, and the Plus version features an LCD screen with control panel, so that the printer can be operated without a computer.
The L5 is meant to appeal to hobbyists, too. The printer can be ordered in kit form, and if desired the electronics can be replaced with a custom solution. Unfortunately, that hobbyist appeal may cause some headaches for non-technical users, who will be expected to use Slic3r in order to prepare objects for printing.
Objects can be printed at a layer height of 0.125mm, and there are several photos of good quality output on the campaign page. One of those prints is Dizingof’s Coral Wall Lamp Shade, which was being used without attribution until the L5 team was called out on Twitter. (Read more about the attribution issue here.)
Overall, the L5 looks pretty good to me, and the Kickstarter campaign should find some traction with a bit more exposure. The funding goal is $50,000, about a fifth of that has been reached with 22 days to go.
To see more details and photos, have a look at the L5 Kickstarter page.
