14 DAY TRIAL // DLP/SLA 3D printing technology has mostly stayed outside the reach of the common man, because its technology, which consists of subjecting resin / photopolymers to intense light, is too expensive for consumer pricing. This has begun to change, though, and SeeMeCNC is one of the major reasons behind that.
You may have caught our article earlier today (July 28, 2014) about the awesome DLP Uncia 3D printer from QSQM Technology Corporation, which costs just $299 / €299. Doubly amazing in that it used to cost $999 / €999 back in January.
Now, SeeMeCNC is getting ready to match, or almost match, that offer with its own stereolithography 3D printer, called Droplit.
We can't really claim to know for sure if the price will be as low though. The product was listed on the SeeMeCNC official website for a while, as “sold out” but with a price of $399 / €399. The price has since been taken down, however.
Also, there is a problem: the price did not include the DLP projector, which normally costs $500 / €500. So we suppose that the new printer, even if it does sell for $299 - $399 / €299 - 399, might end up draining your wallet of an extra half a grand indirectly.
We can only wait and see how things turn out. We can't say for sure how long that wait will need to go on for though. SeeMeCNC hasn't provided a release date for the Droplit 3D printer
It did share some technical details though. The 3D printer has a build diameter of three and a half inches / 88.9 mm, and a build height of 7-8 inches / 177 - 203 mm. Arduino electronics drive it.
The detail level was not specified, but that is mostly only useful for FDM printers anyway (which create objects by building them from superheated plastic filament). Besides, SLA/DLP printing has a far greater level of detail than any FDM model could ever achieve.
SeeMeCNC will ship the Droplit open source 3D printer in kit form, and as we said, the DLP projector separately from the main product.
Below we've posted some photos of the development process, as revealed by the company itself online. At this point, we are not certain how much longer the engineers and designers have to work on the thing. Presumably, one prototype has already been tested, but things still need improvement before a satisfactory retail version is ready to market.
