14 DAY TRIAL // 3D printers have probably progressed faster than any other tech field in history. How else would they have gone from costing tens of thousands of dollars to less than $75 / €55 in less than three years?
It wasn't too long ago that we, like everyone else in the world, were boggling at the fact that there were 3D printers that sold for less than $500 / €366.
But no, things had to go even further, so New Matter launched the MOD-t 3D printer for as little as $149 / €110.
Sure, only a few lucky backers got that deal, but even the retail price will be of just $249 / €182 or so.
Now, a man by the name of Tarkun Gelstronic has decided to play with our perception of reality even more.
His method of choice? Building a 3D printer for less than $75 / €55. And not only that, but he even shared how to do it with everyone else in the world.
He even seemed to have an almost brazen ease when it came to keeping things cheap. He did it all with the Arduino Board Mega 2560 ($13 / €10), a Stackable Motor Driver Shield ($8 / €6), a Hotend ($26 / €20), PTFE tube ($8 / €6), a fan ($2.73 / €2), and some additional small parts ($6.87 / €5).
To add insult to injury, he wasn't satisfied with just having the thing tentatively work. He wanted something good.
The result is that the 3D printer can print out of multiple materials (ABS/PLS plastics, though admittedly not at the same time), supports a resolution of 0.08 mm (80 microns, where the normal is 100 microns these days), and has a max print volume of 40 x 40 x 40 mm / 1.57 x 1.57 x 1.57 inches.
Gelstronic did have a lot of recyclable things on hand though. The dismantled old DVD and Blu-ray drives to get four stepper motors, for example.
He also used an old PC's power supply, a NEMA 17-stepper motor from an old printer, and a modified gear that once belonged to an HP printer. The bowden extruder was made with it. Needless to say, many washers, nuts, wires and screws were involved in the production.
As for the frame of the printer, it was made from sheet metal he happened to already possess. That's probably going to be the trickiest part if you intend to do like he did and build your own printer.
On that note, if you don't have salvageable PC parts to take apart, the extra parts in need of buying will raise the final cost a bit, but still keep it at around $100 / €74. Just don't be surprised if the 3D printer is noisier than commercial printers.
