Dremel, the company that makes the famous universal hobbyist tools, recently announced their own 3D printer. This was a surprise to me as I had not heard much about it before. It's not officially released until November but they have a lot of info on their website already.
After reading the specs though I was a little disappointed in the release. It only prints PLA (there are plans to make it work with ABS, but since it doesn't have a heated bed that is unlikely). Dremel tends to make nice products but this one seems about a year behind the market and a bit overpriced at $999.00.
After reading the specs though I was a little disappointed in the release. It only prints PLA (there are plans to make it work with ABS, but since it doesn't have a heated bed that is unlikely). Dremel tends to make nice products but this one seems about a year behind the market and a bit overpriced at $999.00.
Many of the features are already incorporated in units you can buy now for far less money. It has a nice enclosure and uses what looks like standard spools of filament which would please the "I don't want to buy cartridges crowd". The bed is removable which is unique. Not sure if that is a good thing or bad. It snaps in place which is important. A loose platform, like the glass platform on the Davinci 3D printers can cause shifting in the print if it's loose (more on that in a future blog post / YouTube video).
The price is just too high for me though based on what you get. You can preorder at Amazon or even Home Depot but don't expect any expertise there. (Why didn't Radio Shack get more involved in 3D printing, they clearly need better management).
A year ago $1000 for a PLA printer fully assembled in a nice case with SD card slot would have been a nice option. But now I can get a dual color Davinci Duo 2.0 for $649.95 or single color for $499 with a heated build platform and soon, cartridges to print in both PLA along side the currently released ABS.
The Solidoodle will do both PLA and ABS with a heated bed in an enclosed case for $699 and both the Davinci (7.8" x 7.8" x 7.8") and Solidoodle (8" x 8" x 8") have a bigger build platform than the Dremel at 9" x 5.9" x 5.5".
Printrbot Simple will do PLA printing for $349 in kit form or $599 assembled though not in a nice case and a slightly smaller platform (6" x 6" x 6").
So Dremel didn't shoot for the moon on their first printer but it appears to have a few nice features. Easily removable SD card and touch screen. The extruder looks easy to load which can be a bit of pain on some machines that don't line up the input with the extruder well.
The video's on their website show tape for the platform that looks like they are pre-cut to fit the removable bed. I'd rather have a heated bed.
Overall, I don't think it will be a big seller but who knows, maybe it will. I think it should have been no more than $750 and since it PLA only, really $699 would have been my max (have to give them something for the dremel name). One thing is clear, 3D printing is hitting main street in a big way. It's like watching the PC industry all over again as the IBM PC joined the Apple II and Commodore 64. Soon we will all have one at home.
A year ago $1000 for a PLA printer fully assembled in a nice case with SD card slot would have been a nice option. But now I can get a dual color Davinci Duo 2.0 for $649.95 or single color for $499 with a heated build platform and soon, cartridges to print in both PLA along side the currently released ABS.
The Solidoodle will do both PLA and ABS with a heated bed in an enclosed case for $699 and both the Davinci (7.8" x 7.8" x 7.8") and Solidoodle (8" x 8" x 8") have a bigger build platform than the Dremel at 9" x 5.9" x 5.5".
Printrbot Simple will do PLA printing for $349 in kit form or $599 assembled though not in a nice case and a slightly smaller platform (6" x 6" x 6").
So Dremel didn't shoot for the moon on their first printer but it appears to have a few nice features. Easily removable SD card and touch screen. The extruder looks easy to load which can be a bit of pain on some machines that don't line up the input with the extruder well.
The video's on their website show tape for the platform that looks like they are pre-cut to fit the removable bed. I'd rather have a heated bed.
Overall, I don't think it will be a big seller but who knows, maybe it will. I think it should have been no more than $750 and since it PLA only, really $699 would have been my max (have to give them something for the dremel name). One thing is clear, 3D printing is hitting main street in a big way. It's like watching the PC industry all over again as the IBM PC joined the Apple II and Commodore 64. Soon we will all have one at home.
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