Looking for a very inexpensive 3D printer that works? You might consider the CraftBot PLUS by CraftUnique.
Hungary-based CraftBot offers their second-gem desktop 3D printer, the CraftBot PLUS for USD$1,099. That’s a bit more than the cost of a 3D printer kit, but the PLUS is completely assembled and ready to print out of the box.
An inexpensive 3D printer such as this is not going to offer all the fancy features you might find on a more expensive unit, but it does pretty decently in spite of the price. Here’s the highlights:
- Generous build volume of 250 x 200 x 200mm
- Finest layer size is 0.1mm, comparable to many other 3D printers
- Uses any 1.75mm filament
- Prints PLA, ABS and HIPS plastics with its heated print surface (up to 110C for ABS prints)
- Includes 2.8” color touchscreen for operational control
- Memory option to automatically continue stopped prints due to power failure
- Steel frame provides rigidity during printing
- Comes in six case colors
The PLUS version follows on from the company’s original CraftBot that launched in mid-2014. At the time, this early machine was priced at only USD$500 during their crowdfunding period. Now, the improved PLUS version is priced at more than twice that amount.
Unlike many inexpensive 3D printers, CraftUnique does not rely entirely on open source software and instead provides a custom-written slicing software package for the CraftBot Plus called “CraftWare”. It is said to produce optimal toolpaths for the CraftBot PLUS (and predecessor CraftBot), but can also produce GCODE for other 3D printers.
This machine and its predecessor are popular: it’s ranked in the 60’s on 3D Hubs’ distribution of hundreds of 3D printers and CraftUnique’s online forum boasts over 10,000 posts. Is it the machine for you?
Via CraftUnique
