Students at the University of Washington have designed a very large format paste-based 3D printer that can be built for as little as USD$1300.
Called the “KiloPrint”, the device has a staggering print volume of 533 x 838 x 813mm, for a total of around 363L volume. It’s an adaption of a previous experiment, and designed by four sophomores, who are members of the student 3D printing club:WOOF.
The team designed the device to print pastes, which is expected, since the Solheim Additive Manufacturing Laboratory in the Mechanical Engineering Department has long done research on 3D printed ceramics. However, they say they’re interested in refitting the KiloPrint to print in plastics as well.
This machine is certainly not commercially available, and would not be priced at USD$1300 if made for sale, as that is only the cost of the build materials. But there is a point here: 3D printers need not be as expensive as they are priced, particularly for larger volume machines. The larger machines are often simply stretched versions of existing smaller units, with little added technology demanded by the increased size.
This project is a work in progress, but then, isn’t the entire 3D printing world?
Via Open 3DP
