Remember buying third-party parts for your car? They might have been less expensive, or better in some way and were fun to install and brag about. Now you can do the same on your 3D printer with QU-BD, who are launching a fundraising campaign for their new product: a replacement extruder that costs only USD$34. The “Open Source Universal 3D Printer Extruder” is designed to be compatible with MakerBot’s StepStruder MK7, which currently retails in kit form for USD$199. MakerBot’s StepStruder is capable of being installed in pairs to enable “DualStrusion” of two different materials. QU-BD’s extruder can apparently do the same, but at a much lower cost, even when you add in the required NEMA 17 stepper motor to a USD$49 price point. For USD$129 you can even get two fully assembled units.
Their goal was to raise a mere USD$5,000, which they have already blown past as of this writing. It seems that there may be a lot of MakerBot owners who haven’t upgraded to the StepStruder yet or perhaps the backers are RepRap operators looking for a new extruder.
One more thing: we thought the name “QU-BD” seemed a bit awkward until we understood how it’s pronounced: “Cubed”.
Via QU-BD and KickStarter
