Yesterday, we covered the LumiPocket, a pint-sized DLP 3D printer that looks super sleek and, from the looks of it, is actually capable of 3D printing tiny objects. Hopping on the pocket train (can you imagine a tiny train going “choo-choo-choo”??), is the Pocket3DPrinter, another petite printer with a technological twist. The Pocket3DPrinter (potentially) relies on a combination of FDM and SLA 3D printing technology.
Now on Indiegogo, the foldable Pocket3DPrinter is only in the conceptual stages. It hypothesizes the use of an FDM style extrusion technique, like you might see on a MakerBot or an Ultimaker, but, instead of heating up plastic filament, the project’s creator, Steven Middleton, proposes using a UV projecting LED light to harden curable resin onto the build platform. By doing so, Middleton believes that the 3D printer is made more portable, as there will be no need to wait for the extruder to heat up and cool down before printing. For even more portability, the machine would be battery powered and managed via Bluetooth through a smartphone app. Below are some of the Pocket3DPrinter’s possible specs:
- Print volume: 6” X 6” X 5” or 8” X 8” X7”
- Dimensions, when closed: 1” X 6” X 7” or 1”X 8” X 9”
- Built-in bluetooth, prints from your phone.
- Power: Uses a rechargeable battery pack or power supply and “prints for up to 3 hours on one charge!”
- Printing Material: “high resolution, photopolymer resin!!!”
With a background in Materials Science, Middleton may have the credentials to fuel his vision, but I’m a bit wary of a campaign without a substantial prototype. Particularly one that is after flexible funding, which means that, if it doesn’t reach its ultimate funding goal, the project’s creator still reaps the donor dollars provided, without guaranteeing the delivery of a product. The idea of curing layers of resin with a UV LED light, perhaps similar to the technology used by France’s Prodways, is an interesting one. Continual calibration of the printer would probably be necessary every time the machine is unfolded, though, and, without any specifics about how the components of the Pocket3DPrinter will be sourced, pricing for particular parts, it’d be nice to know how Middleton can propose to offer his product for $299, unassembled.
Until the project’s creator offers a bit more detail about his printer, including some possible working prototypes, I might look to other portable printing solutions, like the Bukito from Deezmaker, the Printrbot Go, or the Tobeca 3D printer. Or, if the Lumifold delivers, it may be a nice option, too.
