3D Printing Update
Given the mention of sub $10K announcements in the recent dialog about Ponoko(thanks csven), I decided to take a quick spin around the web to take the pulse of the 3D printersphere. I found out that Desktop Factory’s $4,995 3D printer is now in external customer beta. They are estimating that the price will drop to $1,000 in 4 years. Their blog has a number of worthwhile links. The V-Flash Desktop Modeler is expected to come in before the end of the year at $9,900. I wonder if these products will cause Z-Corp to come down from the $19,000 entry level product I mentioned about a year ago. Along the way I also found this nice illustrated walk-thru of how the $40K Z-Corp Z406 works. Here are a few other interesting links I revisited or encountered:
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August 16th, 2007 at 1:44 pm
fwiw, right now I see the opportunity not in fabbing the final product, but in creating low-volume tooling at the pro-sumer level.
August 17th, 2007 at 6:38 am
You get what you pay for. You would be better off getting a small CNC
August 17th, 2007 at 6:43 am
The 406 from Z Corp has been replaced by the 510 over a year and a half ago. Why would Z Corp drop the price to compete with the expected poor part quality of a $5k box? Also I am curious how much tha material wil cost? Razor and the blade scenario?
August 17th, 2007 at 6:58 am
What is the material cost? Is this a here’s the razor now buy the blade scenario?
August 17th, 2007 at 8:27 am
Thanks Tver. I wondered about the quality comparisons, but a very quick look didn’t turn up anything. Do you have any links/references?
@CNC I suppose it depends on the target market. Things like safety, noise, waste, footprint, and perceived ease of operation could be significant factors for some markets.
@406 hopefully folks who shelled out $40K still have a useable machine or got a sweet upgrade deal
@material costs - great questions! I’d been wondering about that too.
August 17th, 2007 at 9:35 am
I wouldn’t be better off with a CNC (but I will have a Bridgeport available for personal use in two weeks).
August 17th, 2007 at 9:37 pm
IR,
The part quality and material costs are what I am most interested in. I know there are a few colleagues that either still run the 406 or were able to take advantage of a trade in program. Z Corporation seems to be pretty good that way.
I am also looking for comments on the new 450 from Z Corporation. I hope to see it at a show sooner or later. Nice to get some informed feedback. Thanks.
August 19th, 2007 at 11:42 pm
[...] in their hands” and providing engineers with insights into new forms of fabrication. With 3D printer prices dropping into the consumer electronics range, the number of people and organizations able to [...]
January 19th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Interesting the price is going from $5,000 to $1,000 over a few years. Good for open source fab at home.
Ivan
February 13th, 2008 at 8:57 am
It is true, you do get what you pay for. It does suck to pay so much though. But in the long run it pays for itself.
May 16th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Small Cnc Milling Machine…
I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you….
May 19th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Given the mention of sub $10K announcements in the recent dialog about Ponoko(thanks csven), I decided to take a quick spin around the web to take the pulse of the 3D printersphere. I found out that Desktop Factory’s $4,995 3D printer is now in external customer beta. They are estimating that the price will drop to $1,000 in 4 years. Their blog has a number of worthwhile links. The V-Flash Desktop Modeler is expected to come in before the end of the year at $9,900. I wonder if these products will cause Z-Corp to come down from the $19,000 entry level product I mentioned about a year ago. Along the way I also found this nice illustrated walk-thru of how the $40K Z-Corp Z406 works.