14 DAY TRIAL // The 3D printing revolution of recent years has done wonders for the hobbyist space and even the prosumer space. But professional 3D printers, which have been around for decades, are still extremely expensive. Helix, by Acuity Design, aims to change that.
The company is trying to create a professional grade 3D printer at a very low price, for a professional model. But it needs money to do that, so the company went to Kickstarter a couple of weeks ago.
So far, it seems that the high price has been keeping people away, as the company is not even halfway through its Kickstarter goal. But the campaign still has 17 days to go.
The Helix is designed for people serious about 3D printing, but who don't have the money or the expertise to opt for one of the traditional models. The Helix comes fully assembled, and a big focus was put on reliability, so maintenance wouldn't be a problem.
"Our vision is to make professional-level 3D printing widely available to engineers, architects, k-12 schools and universities, maker spaces, machine shops, and anyone else that doesn't have $15,000+ [€11,100] up front and $8,000+ [€5,900] per year for service and materials," Acuity Design explains.
"We want to produce affordable machines that ship assembled, calibrated, ready to print, and won't require service every couple months because of a stretched belt or worn out plastic drive pulley," it adds.
The company is asking $5,250 (€3,888) for the Helix, certainly outside of the range of all but the most dedicated hobbyist, but you can get one for slightly cheaper if you hurry. Still, the printer delivers some solid specs for that money. Build volume is 320 x 300 x 310 mm at a layer resolution of 100 microns, though 200 microns is the standard setting.
The printer works with pretty much anything you can throw at it, ABS, PLA, Taulman 618/645 Nylon, Taulman T-Glase (PETT), PVA, Polycarbonate, and HIPS.
The project is close to the $37,000 (€27,400) mark, but it needs $95,000 (€70,340) to be funded. Considering the price of one printer, the gap may close very fast, selling just 11 devices should cover it.
