The BotMill Glider

By on January 6th, 2011 in printer

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A new printer has just been announced from BotMill: The Glider. This RepRap-inspired printer includes a slew of great features, but the one we like best is this: It’s Assembled. 
 
Here’s the key features:
 
  • USB based printer (did we say “assembled” yet?)
  • Big build size of 20.3cm X by 20.3cm Y by 14cm Z. Huge!
  • Precision rods for very smooth and accurate operation
  • Prints both ABS and PLA plastics
  • Thick aluminum table
  • Stepper/Thermistor-based extruder with high-quality parts
  • Heated print bed
  • One pound of plastic (not sure if it’s PLA or ABS)
  • Ships in different colors on request
  • No word on which software might be included; we assume you’d use the standard open source suite of 3D printing tools
 
Each item is “produced individually for each incoming order.” We take that to mean “hand made”. If this is as good as it looks, we fear a shipping backlog might develop if mass orders appear. 
 
BotMill chief Gil Mayron said:
 
BotMill set out to bring to market a very affordable consumer 3D printer with cutting-edge hardware and easy-to-use software. The BotMill Glider has been through all the tests and has proven a quality and standard that the consumer requires.
 
Priced at a discount of USD$1395 (from the apparently normal price of USD$1545), the Glider is available at BotMill’s online store right now!
 
Via BotMill

By Kerry Stevenson

Kerry Stevenson, aka "General Fabb" has written over 8,000 stories on 3D printing at Fabbaloo since he launched the venture in 2007, with an intention to promote and grow the incredible technology of 3D printing across the world. So far, it seems to be working!

8 comments

  1. @Steve There are many different software programs for developing 3D Models (they're not called drawings when they are 3D). Sketchup would be OK to start with for purposes of learning the basics of 3D modeling and design, but it really isn't the greatest for producing models suitable for printing. This is because Sketchup doesn't recognize the concept of "solid" models that are mandatory for printing. Sketchup and most other 3D design programs are first made for "rendering", where the objective is to produce a 3D scene viewable by eye – not for printing that requires each and every nook and cranny of the model to be consistent and "whole" (e.g. not have any open faces,etc.) Recommend that you look at some of the links in our resource list here: http://fabbaloo.com/3d-resources

  2. @Steve There are many different software programs for developing 3D Models (they're not called drawings when they are 3D). Sketchup would be OK to start with for purposes of learning the basics of 3D modeling and design, but it really isn't the greatest for producing models suitable for printing. This is because Sketchup doesn't recognize the concept of "solid" models that are mandatory for printing. Sketchup and most other 3D design programs are first made for "rendering", where the objective is to produce a 3D scene viewable by eye – not for printing that requires each and every nook and cranny of the model to be consistent and "whole" (e.g. not have any open faces,etc.) Recommend that you look at some of the links in our resource list here: http://fabbaloo.com/3d-resources

  3. What software is best for generating the drawings that will be plotted by the glider? Is SketchUp sufficient? Does any geometry hidden by the visible surfaces cause a problem?

    Thanks to anyone who can enlighten me. I love the idea, but am getting mixed signals about what works for drawings.
    Steve

  4. What software is best for generating the drawings that will be plotted by the glider? Is SketchUp sufficient? Does any geometry hidden by the visible surfaces cause a problem?

    Thanks to anyone who can enlighten me. I love the idea, but am getting mixed signals about what works for drawings.
    Steve

  5. Good questions! We're not sure, but from the website it appears that you can get the device in a variety of colors, likely whatever ABS plastic they happen to have around. Unfortunately, there is little other information – I'd recommend you send them a direct enquiry and see what they say.

  6. Good questions! We're not sure, but from the website it appears that you can get the device in a variety of colors, likely whatever ABS plastic they happen to have around. Unfortunately, there is little other information – I'd recommend you send them a direct enquiry and see what they say.

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