A Chinese manufacturer has developed a 3D printer specifically for families.
Very is well-known in China for its diverse 3D printing products, which include not only several personal units, but also commercial and industrial options. Now, they’ve added a portable desktop 3D printer for kids, the “Lapple”.
It’s a plastic filament-based device, with a modest build volume of only 100 x 100 x 100mm, which is likely suitable for most children’s designs – and their patience, as 3D prints always take a long time to complete.
The Lapple prints only in PLA (or PVA) and not ABS, as it does not include a heated build surface. Xery includes their own XBuilder software to drive the machine, but it works only on Windows PCs. Touch controls permit pausing prints in progress.
While the USD$300 machine comes equipped with a 0.4mm nozzle, the standard size of most personal 3D printers, there is a 0.2mm nozzle also available, which they say can be used to “insure more exquisite extrudering and accurate printing”. We don’t recommend this option, as smaller nozzles are more prone to clogging.
