Buyer’s Guide: New 3D Technologies
RESIN PRINTERS Nautilus $387
Build volume
open3dlp.blogspot.com Price
indiegogo.com/projects/nautilus-3d-printer-dlptech Price
Open3DLP
4"×3"×4.7"
Built by makers in Beijing and aimed at a low price point, this DLP printer handles multiple resins and can hit 0.1mm to 0.01mm z-axis layer height. The kit is inexpensive compared to other printers, but you have to provide your own projector.
$1,000
Build volume
3"×4"×5.1"
Maryland Institute College of Art student and MAKE 3D Shootout tester Anderson Ta has developed a DLP printer from off-the-shelf parts. He’s made some fantastic-looking prints and even detours into bioprinting.
Tristram Budel’s DLP Printer
instructables.com/id/DIY-high-resolution-3DDLP-printer-3D-printer Price
$2,362
Build volume
3.9"×3.9"×9"
Why buy a DLP printer when you can spend a year making one? Though still tweaking the design, Tristram Budel has put complete instructions for his scratch-built DLP printer on Instructables. At 1,000–1,500 man-hours, it’s not for beginners.
mUVe 1 muve3d.net Price
$599–$1,099 kits 5.7"×5.7"×7.3"
Build volume
With its variety of kit options and laser-cut wooden case, you could mistake the mUVe 1 for a throwback to FFF printers from 2008. Luckily, inside is a fresh resin-curing SLA printer, and its opensource design favors easily sourced, inexpensive parts ready for tinkering, like a 50mW UV laser upgradeable to 500mW. 104
MakerJuice makerjuice.com Price
$40–$45/liter
MakerJuice’s SubG resin comes in 8 different colors and cures with DLP projectors, UV lasers, and UV LEDs. They also sell pigments so you can mix the perfect resin color. Best of all, the resin is a lot less expensive than other suppliers.
3D SCANNERS Dimbody
indiegogo.com/projects/dimbody-3d-desktop-scanner Price
$540 kit, $810 assembled 12"×12"×12"
Scan volume
From Rimini, Italy, comes this open-source, Arduino-based 3D scanner that uses a rotating base, laser line, and monochromatic camera to build 3D models from real-life objects. It’s accurate to about 400−100 microns and takes 8−24 minutes to scan an object, depending on resolution. We’re intrigued by its Arduino roots; at press time it was an Indiegogo campaign in need of funds.