A fundraising campaign has launched for the Nautilus 3D printer. It’s a resin-based DLP printer, using a process similar to that used by Formlabs and 3D Systems. The Nautilus uses a DLP projection system to fuse each layer of photo-curable resin.
The Nautilus was developed by a team of four from Beijing who were fascinated with 3D printing and decided to do something about it, focusing on cost. They hope to raise funds to start serious manufacturing of this very low-cost device.
The device as pictured above is said to be able to produce up to 6 layers per minute at a minimum layer size of “less than 0.1mm” each. We like the resolution, which is among the best we’ve heard of. The speed of the Nautilus seems pretty good: six layers per minute means 17 minutes per cm or 42 minutes per inch. We’re not sure what software drives this machine, but we can say the build volume is 102x77x1200mm at 0.1mm resolution and half that when printing at 0.05mm resolution.
One interesting feature is a selection of different resins. They provide a standard resin that apparently is comparable to other manufacturers, plus a high-strength resin capable of making machine-usable parts. The resins are said to cost a fraction of other resins.
Their focus on low-cost is pretty clear: the Indiegogo campaign lists the least expensive kit (which to be clear, does not include the DLP projector) is a mere USD$387, far lower than any other resin 3D printer we’ve seen. They also offer a “whole printer”, which may or may not be assembled, for only USD$1099.
This could be the start of a big thing.
Via Indiegogo (Hat tip to konkit)
