Canada-based ISG3D’s new Eleven 3D printer launched on Kickstarter early in October and, with just a few days left, has received pledges of nearly double its $8,400 goal. The Eleven 3D printer is a very enticing FDM 3D printer sporting a very large build area, open source design, and a significant amount of flexibility, all for a very reasonable price.
One of the standout features of the Eleven 3D Printer is its build area, 220mm x 400mm x 400mm, which is almost as large as the Makerbot Replicator Z18 (300mm x 300mm x 450mm) at a fraction of the Z18’s $6,400 price tag. Early prototypes of the printer were 200mm x 200mm x 250mm; however, the founders soon realized that large frame 3D printers were too pricey and decided that they could scale up the size of the printer, while keeping it affordable.
One of the great things about the Eleven 3D printer is that it’s completely open source and the design of the printer is perfect for hackers and tinkerers. The design is inspired by the Prusa i3 and based on RepRap mechanics, allowing users to take advantage of a large and knowledgeable community. The printer has an aluminum frame and an open air design. The open air design allows for easy access to components for those looking to repair, tune up, or modify the printer. The Eleven 3D printer is capable of printing PLA, ABS, Nylon, NinjaFlex, polycarbonated fiber and wood. It comes with a glass build plate and can print highly detailed prints with layer thicknesses as fine as 100 Microns.
Considering its specs, the most impressive thing about the Eleven 3D Printer is its price tag. While the ridiculously low $878 printers are all gone, you can still back the project and receive a fully assembled eleven 3D Printer for $949. Not too long ago, it would be unthinkable to find a large scale 3D printer for less than a few thousand dollars and now you can have one for under a thousand.
If Kickstarter is any indication, we are starting to see that the scaling up 3D printers does not have to come with a scaling up of the cost. The Eleven 3D printer is another example and one that seems to have set the price bar even lower. After the campaign ends on November 6th, ISG3D will being working to ship the first batch of 3D printers in January 2016, with the final batch being projected for March 2016. For more details on the Kickstarter, check it out here.
Once the build area goes larger then 4″ x4″ the moving mass becomes an issue. In this case in the Y axis. Mass has inertia. This enhances backlash, overshoots and effects from vibration. The result is when you print small fine details they’ll be muddled with ringing effects. Sure, a bot like this works fine for larger items, but once one starts printing and attempts to do a fine, smaller layer (>.1mm) height these effects become hard to miss.