It’s not exactly a 3D printer, but more of a 3D cutter. The 2Bot ModelMaker is intended for architects and students to print 3D representations of landscapes, layouts and terrain.From what we see, it appears to be a 50lb computer controlled drill that traverses an inexpensive 12″ x 12″ x 2″ foam board, cutting out bits to reveal the intended 3D model. While inexpensive (apparently “less than USD$1.00 per model”), this technique obviously has some constraints on the shapes that can be produced. However, there are some fairly sophisticated objects in their sample images. It also accepts 3D models in a variety of formats, including Google Sketchup.
We had great difficulty finding a price for this unit, but finally found evidence that it’s priced at a completely astonishing, spray-out-your-beer USD$12,000! No wonder the price is not posted on any of their dealers’ sites. We suspect their ongoing USD$500 discount on ModelMaker purchases isn’t going to sway your decision.Via 2Bot
Hi Ben,
I got a good smile from your description on the price. So as a new player in the market, please tell me what you think an appropriate price is? As far as 1/20 the cost, our materials at $0.06/in^3 compared to an additive machine at $5/in^3 is better than 1/20 the cost. While we are a CNC based machine, we took our product much further into a printer application in the software. Traditional CNC based systems still deal with G-code, tool paths and other feature adjustments. Our software eliminates all those issues, and leaves the user just specifying the size of the model. We tile models, place supports etc all automatically so that the end user experience is as close to printing as anybody can. While the mode is subtraction vs addition, we are going after a market segment that is used to the term 3D print. I look forward to any comments you have for us.
VBR – Darren
Hi Ben,
I got a good smile from your description on the price. So as a new player in the market, please tell me what you think an appropriate price is? As far as 1/20 the cost, our materials at $0.06/in^3 compared to an additive machine at $5/in^3 is better than 1/20 the cost. While we are a CNC based machine, we took our product much further into a printer application in the software. Traditional CNC based systems still deal with G-code, tool paths and other feature adjustments. Our software eliminates all those issues, and leaves the user just specifying the size of the model. We tile models, place supports etc all automatically so that the end user experience is as close to printing as anybody can. While the mode is subtraction vs addition, we are going after a market segment that is used to the term 3D print. I look forward to any comments you have for us.
VBR – Darren
I am a little confused by your comment Ben. I don't understand why you think some things 2BOT says "seems to be very false." Yeah the printer might seem expensive but when you look at the materials they are using and how much a model costs – you will see that making models is extremely inexpensive and it balances out the cost of the printer.
I browsed around on 2BOT's website and I found a page about how much a model costs compared to other companies: http://www.2bot.com/consumables
Hope this helps gives you a different perspective.
I am a little confused by your comment Ben. I don't understand why you think some things 2BOT says "seems to be very false." Yeah the printer might seem expensive but when you look at the materials they are using and how much a model costs – you will see that making models is extremely inexpensive and it balances out the cost of the printer.
I browsed around on 2BOT's website and I found a page about how much a model costs compared to other companies: http://www.2bot.com/consumables
Hope this helps gives you a different perspective.
Yeah that's pretty cool, but they do put a lot of emphasis on "affordable", "solved the problem of cost", and "1/20 the cost of other 3D printer models". This seems to be very false.
A Zcorp will run about $15,000 (after all the extras you need). And a nice CNC machine would run well below that. So I'm not sure they've broken the boundaries they claim.
Props for bringing another option to market though.
Yeah that's pretty cool, but they do put a lot of emphasis on "affordable", "solved the problem of cost", and "1/20 the cost of other 3D printer models". This seems to be very false.
A Zcorp will run about $15,000 (after all the extras you need). And a nice CNC machine would run well below that. So I'm not sure they've broken the boundaries they claim.
Props for bringing another option to market though.