2013-12-20 18:18:18 UTCA College Kid Couldn't Afford a 3D Printer, So He Built One Himself
By Samantha Murphy Kelly2013-12-20 18:18:18 UTCDeltaprintr Makes 3D Printing Affordable
Deltaprintr

The Deltaprinter costs $475 unassembled and $685 assembled.

Deltaprintr

A side by side comparison of the Deltaprintr ($475) and the MakerBot ($2000).

Deltaprintr

The Deltaprintr uses a fishing line so you can expand it to make it taller.

Deltaprintr

The Deltaprintr uses three stepper motors, which are located under the acrylic build platform.

Deltaprintr

Deltaprintr (left) and MakerBot (right)

Deltaprintr

3D printed objects.

When college student Shai Schechter didn't have access to an affordable 3D printer on his SUNY Purchase campus in New York, he set out to build his own model — one that would still crank out 3D-printed objects, but at a much lower cost.

"We have a laser- and powder-based 3D printer at school, but it costs about $500 for a bucket of powder and that only lasts for about one or two prints," Schechter said. "It's never used because it is so expensive and classes weren’t offered that much in the curriculum."

SEE ALSO: 20 Incredible 3D-Printed Gifts

He approached his sculpture professor about building a new 3D printer that uses plastic instead, and sought the help of three good friends.

Schecter and his business partners launched a Kickstarter campaign to bring their low-cost design to the masses; the project nearly sold out of preorders in the first week alone. While a new MakerBot 3D printer costs $2,000, the Deltraprintr is significantly less: $475 unassembled or $685 assembled for the large size (2 feet high). It's also available in extra large (2.5 feet), which has a doubled printing capacity, two more inches in diameter and six more inches in height, for a price of $705.

"We are targeting educational institutions first, so people can learn how to assemble them," Schecter said. "When you buy a MakerBot, and you read a manual about how to use it, you don't learn a lot about how the printer and technology works. This is why we are offering the assembly manual on Kickstarter, too — we want people to really get their hands on it."

The Deltaprintr uses three stepper motors, located under the acrylic platform where the objects are printed. Motors control the carriages that move the hot end and ultimately create the 3D-printed objects. Since a Deltaprintr design doesn't rqeuire as many parts as other 3D printers, the savings are passed on to consumers.

"MakerBot uses belts to move the print head, but ours uses a fishing line," Schechter said. "With the fishing line, you can expand it to make it taller if you want by changing the aluminum rods. It allows it to go faster than the MakerBot and is more accurate."

Although the Deltaprintr team is focusing on getting the product off the ground as an educational tool, it's eying the mass market, too.

"We want it to have a place in education, but it's still for the everyday user," Schechter said. "We have a lot of ideas that we plan to execute in the next year to make the Deltaprintr even better and lower the cost even more."

Image: Mashable, Christina Ascani

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BONUS: I 3D Printed a Gun

自制3D打印机

通过萨曼莎·墨菲Kelly2013-12-2018点18分18秒UTCDeltaprintr使3D打印经济实惠

Deltaprintr
该Deltaprinter花费$475散件和$685组装。

Deltaprintr

由Deltaprintr（$475）和MakerBot（$2000）的侧面对比A侧。

Deltaprintr
该Deltaprintr采用了鱼线，所以你可以扩展它，使之高。
Deltaprintr
所述Deltaprintr使用三个步进马达，其位于下丙烯酸类构建平台。

Deltaprintr

Deltaprintr (左) and MakerBot (右)

Deltaprintr 3D打印对象。

当大学生夏嘉曦谢克特没有获得在纽约SUNY他购买校园实惠的3D打印机，他开始着手建立自己的模型 - 一个仍然炮制出3D打印的对象，但在低得多的成本。

“我们有一个激光和粉为主的3D打印机在学校，但它的成本约为$ 500粉桶，只有持续约一两版画，”谢克特说。 “这是从来没有使用，因为它是如此昂贵，类没有提供那么多的课程。”

参见：20令人难以置信的3D打印礼品

他走近他对构建使用塑料，而不是一个全新的3D打印机雕塑教授，寻求三个好朋友的帮助。

SCHECTER和他的商业伙伴发起了Kickstarter的活动，使他们的低成本设计给群众;该项目几乎售罄预购的仅在第一周。虽然新的MakerBot三维打印机的成本$ 2,000，Deltraprintr是显著少：$ 475散件或$ 685组装的大尺寸（2英尺高）。它也是在额外的大（2.5英尺）可用，其中有一个一倍印刷能力，两个英寸，直径6英寸以上的高度，为$ 705价格。

“我们的目标是教育机构第一，这样的人可以学习如何组装它们，”SCHECTER说。 “当你买MakerBot，你读了关于如何使用它的说明书，你不学习了很多关于如何在打印机和技术的工作原理这就是为什么我们提供Kickstarter上的装配说明书，太 - 我们希望人们要真正拿到手就可以了“。

该Deltaprintr使用三个步进电机，设下的丙烯酸平台，打印的对象。电机控制的移动热端，并最终创建的3D打印对象的车厢。由于Deltaprintr设计不rqeuire的许多地区其他3D打印机，储蓄被转嫁到消费者身上。

“MakerBot使用传送带移动打印头，但我们采用了鱼线，”谢克特说。 “随着鱼线，你可以扩展它使如果你想让它高通过改变铝合金棒，它允许它去比MakerBot更快，更准确。”

虽然Deltaprintr团队专注于把产品离地面作为一种教育工具，它把目光投向大众市场，太。

“我们希望它在教育的地方，但它仍然为日常用户，”谢克特说。 “我们有很多的想法，我们计划在明年执行，使Deltaprintr甚至更好，降低成本，甚至更多。”

图片：混搭，克里斯蒂娜Ascani

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额外奖励：我的3D打印的枪