14 DAY TRIAL // Sometimes it seems as though crowd-funding websites like Kickstarter are being turned into exclusive launch ramps for 3D printers and related technology. It's not actually happening, but lots of such products have been introduced to the world through these websites.
A man by the name of Felix Chan, who lives in London, has posted a Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign for the 3D4C FDM-based 3D printer.
This 3D printer is unusual in that it can print in full color, thanks to the four different cold-end extruders that send four distinct filaments to be combined by a fifth, larger hot-end extruder that melts and blends them together.
Sounds very cool indeed. The build volume is of 250 x 250 x 180 mm / 9.84 x 7.08 inches and the filament can be of PLA or ABS plastic (1.75 mm thickness). The nozzle diameter is of 0.4 mm or 0.8 mm.
The price of the printer, or at least the minimum pledge since the retail cost will be a bit higher, is of £850 / $1,445 / €1,059.
The only drawback is the rather large layer resolution, of up to 500 micron thickness for each layer. Fortunately, you can go as low as 100 microns, which is the normal, “good” quality for FDM printers.
UPDATE August 20, 2014: Corrected layer thickness range from 100-500 mm to 100-500 microns.