BotObjects Announces First Full-Color Desktop 3D Printer 29
Zothecula writes "In the ProDesk3D, 3D printing outfit botObjects has come up with not only the first full color desktop 3D printer, but thanks to its anodized aluminum body, unquestionably one of the prettiest. The company's goal was to think about how 3D printers might look in 5 years, aiming to put clear water between the ProDesk3D and its "kit-like contemporaries." To print in color, it uses a cartridge system capable of mixing five base colors of PLA."
No Print Images? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:No Print Images? (Score:4, Informative)
Yup. I guess its a slashvertisement.
Re:No Print Images? (Score:4, Insightful)
Cartridge system? Fuck that. (Score:3)
It's a waste of money and environmentally unfriendly. Some of the commercial printers even have chips to keep you from refilling. There are cheap machines to make filament from raw material now, going to cartridges from filament reels is the wrong direction.
Also, inb4 the 3D printing haters/snobs!
Re:Cartridge system? Fuck that. (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Cartridge system? Fuck that. (Score:4, Interesting)
Almost anything you can 3D print that isn't available off-the-shelf, and is required in low volume, will be cheaper than an off-the-shelf part. Do you know how much it costs to retool an injection molding machine, never mind purchase one in the first place?
People have been making 3D printed replacements for a lot of little plastic brackets on cars that would otherwise have to be pulled off a junkyard part (if they can be found at all). I plan to print an ITB adapter for an engine in Ultem.
Re: (Score:2)
FDM type 3d printers actually use around as much energy to construct things as an injection molding machine. Factoring in transport costs, they are probably a little bit better for the environment than injection molding. However, if you use a giant printer cartridge this probably changes, as they will get thrown away(seriously, who recycles cartridges anyway.
put clear water between (Score:2)
>> put clear water between
Smashing! I'll take a lorry-load of these. Just put them in the lift and I'll send the boxes down for the bin men.
Can't buy one (Score:4, Informative)
At least not yet, best you can do is click on a link to "register your interest"
What's next? a kickstarter campaign?
Vapourware/slashvertisement of the worst kind.
Doesn't Exist (Score:1)
It's not "the first" of something, and it isn't "news", until they actually build one. It looks more like an independent attempt at a kickstart. I assume "register interest" is hip-kid slang for "get asked for money to fund our attempt to actually engineer this". One of their paragraphs even let a "will" slip in: "The ProDesk3D will be capable of printing down to 25 microns..." Yeah, once you invent it.
How about blue steel? (Score:1)
> "thanks to its anodized aluminum body, unquestionably one of the prettiest."
Anodized aluminum, or does it just look like anodized aluminum?
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
A rigged demo? (Score:2)
How ironic that last night I was exploring 3D printer choices. This thing sounds interesting but A) no prices anywhere and B) cartridges? Really? How much material do they hold? Right now, 1kg of filament from Makerbot is about $40. Are these cartridges going to be competitively priced or is the company attempting to repurpose the inkjet printer business model (aka the razor blade model)? Aside from these obvious issues, I'm forces to ask what practical uses are there for full color other than printin
Re: (Score:2)
Vapourware (Score:3, Insightful)
So we have computer generated images of the printer.
No images of prints.
No images of the device proper
No cost
No details on the 'cartridge system'
No price
No details on the internal mechanics (Either say 'based on the reprap pro' or say 'entirely new guide/position system')
Claiming capabilities and qualities far beyond what the most advanced/expensive devices on the market can claim
I can't smell anything, so I'm suspecting vapourware.
Re: (Score:2)
I can't smell anything, so I'm suspecting vapourware.
That's odd, because I smell the distinct aroma of bullshit.
"Proprietary" (Score:5, Informative)
A clue for the people posting these Slashvertisements. The use of the word "proprietary" may get the venture capitalists knickers all moist, but it sets off all sorts of alarms when trying to sell a product to an end-user. (Not including clueless CIOs reading Gartner reports.)
"Proprietary" translated to end-user speak means "once you buy this we have you by the balls. You're locked in to buying our over-priced, exclusive consumables until you swallow your pride, admit your mistake and dump our product. With luck, that time will never come to pass as we'll be dug in deeper than a starving deer tick. Bend over and grab your ankles."
For examples, please see Oracle and Microsoft.
WTF? (Score:2)
Obviously, this is paid advertising. Of very low quality. Probably a direct result of slashdot's corporate whor..., I mean takeover. Shame.
Nice! (Score:2)
Very nice 3D rendering on that big-ass scrolling webpage.
What do you mean, they're not selling 3D rendering software? Could've fooled me!
good idea. not (Score:4, Insightful)
color printing(ink on paper) has been around for centuries, but was a selective process, applying color to discreet areas(initial caps, image insert pages). and it was a costly and time consuming process. true full color printing which was reporoducable at scale was when chromolithography and color separation process was refined. it was the advances of the halftone screening process that really propelled color printing to enter the mainstream.
3d printing is more complex the its flatland brother, since halftone color process might not be a viable solution to rendering color hues(maybe with multiple hotends). 3d printing is also complicated by the fact that your printing substrate is the "ink" you are using. i've been mulling over 3d printing in color, and my opinion is 6-7 colored filaments, not 5. CMYK+white for color spectrum mixing, grey(cause it's cheaper and faster than mixing expensive pigments) to also be used for infill, and a brittle rafting material.
How much did this ad cost? (Score:2)
So how much did the slashdot ad cost, and how do I block this kind of ads with adblock?
Did timothy and Zothecula share the cash equally?
I've had more than enough of this (Score:3)
To all slashdot submitters: If you are going to post articles about amazing new tech please stop trying to gain interest by making it sound like you can buy it right now when its actually still in the wet dream phase.
>> The company's goal was to think about how 3D printers might look in 5 years, ...because that is how long it will probably be from now before this becomes available as a product you can actually buy.