A new promising Kickstarter just launched for The Maker Kase, a durable and customizable cabinet intended to protect your 3D printer or for use as a model makers drying cabinet. And while the stainless steel cabinet looks great, it’s more than aesthetics that influenced the design; the designers insist that it was born from necessity.
Desktop 3D printing is an industry in its infancy, and, as such, we have very limited information about how it will fit practically into our lives homes, and workspaces. People Wear Inc. has been working with rapid prototyping for years, and has worked it seamlessly into their business. So much so that they even boast that being able to 3D print prototypes has cut their production times in half. Whenever you work with a machine that closely for that long, you’re bound to bump into quirks, annoyances and design problems not considered by the manufacturers. From their first Cupcake, then to a PrintrBot to their current Afina machines, they all ran into the same problems: bad prints caused by temperature variance, people bumping into tables and printers, causing the print to shift, or vibrations loosening kit pieces.
According to the team: “It was then that we decided to use our resources and create our own cabinets that could sit on our desks and protect our equipment from all of the variables that left us frustrated.”
What they ended up with is pretty great. The cabinet is 24” x 22” x 22” and, at 45 pounds, this thing is solid. It has a lockable door so printers can be secured, an opening top lid for greater access to your machine, and rubber feet for greater stability and to prevent shifting and sliding. It also has cut-out options to customize your cabinet with things like lights, exhaust fans heat lamps to improve printing, temperature controls and power cable access slots to run power cables in and out of the cabinet. It’s available in three finishes, stainless steel, powder-coated white for Apple offices and powder-coated black for Microsoft offices. Each case will set you back $300 for the black or white versions and $450 for the stainless steel version. An office that uses a 3D printer regularly will probably save that in wasted ABS filament in a year alone.
Here are the Maker Kase specs:
- Available in solid Stainless Steel or mild steel with White or Black Powder coat finish.
- Top lifting panel to access cabinet from the top only. Handle is flush with top panel when not in use. Will be added in PRODUCTION.
- Front opening panel with clear Plexiglas window to see what is printing. Handle is solid steel for years of operation.
- Dual knock out panels in front of cabinet for personal customization.
- One knockout is for a standard metal single gang electric box
- One knockout is for a PID Thermostat Controller Model STC-1000
- Each side of the cabinet has a 2” knockout panel for cables or venting.
- Cabinet has 4 rubber feet to reduce vibrations and ensure a sturdy footprint.
- Cabinet has a lock on the front door for security or accidental opening during printing.
- All materials are ROHS compliant for environmental impact guidelines.
- Cabinet weighs roughly 45lbs
- Cabinet has basic dimensions of: 24” Wide x 22” High x 22” Deep
As 3D printing more commonly becomes a piece of standard office equipment, we’re going to see a lot of new peripherals like this, many of them not designed by people who actually use 3D printers. The group behind this Kickstarter are clearly users and makers, and they’ve come up with a great product, so head on over to their Kickstarter page if you want to check it out and/or support them.
