3D Printers at CES

High-Res Printing: It is fantastic!

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) just ended, so what better time to talk about some of the 3D printing news from the show. The already insane amount of technology at CES now includes 3D printers on top of the range of computers, cellphones, tablets, and televisions. Exciting to see semi-mainstream interest for makers, engineers, designers, hobbyists, and tinkerers alike!

While they were busy NOT giving a CES award to Dish CNET found time to round up several of the shiny new machines. One of the big boys, 3D Systems debuted its CubeX tri-color printer. It's 1 more than 10....uuuhhh or dual extrusion. This appears to be a pretty high-end machine if you don't mind buying their cartridges. Also, Afinia announced a software upgrade that allows for 150 micron prints. They displayed their H-Series printer along with their line of ABS. MakerBot, best known for introducing 3D printers to home-based users, brought along the newest version of their Replicator, the 2X.  At $2800, will this be the Lisa to compliment the Cupcake/Apple I?  The machine has a redesigned extruder, casing to hold in heat, and a redesigned heated build platform that keeps prints from warping. Fabbr machines run enclosed as much as possible and the reduction in drafts does have a big impact on quality with large prints.

 

We've experimented with the Sailfish software and been able to attain the same high-resolution prints with our Replicator and need to check out the new v7 official firmware. The Makerbot branded, Thingiverse website also received a good size update. Particularly exciting is their Customizer App, which allows a user to simply design, customize and print an object. For example, you can choose from a few standard phone cases and then modify their thickness, shape, and durability. A user can easily create a .STL file within the webpage and upload it to Thingiverse. Exciting news if you are looking for 3D printers at an entry level or as a "prosumer".  Most of the things we've been getting excited about is suppliers of components for building our own machines.  Hopefully reviews of those will go up soon.