Posted on 05/22/2015 8:37:01 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
With all technology, prices tend to come down as time goes on. This was seen within the personal computer market and the 2-dimensional printer market, and now we are starting to really see this happen within the 3D printing space as well. Whether you are a consumer and you love the fact that prices continue to drop, or if you are a manufacturer and you hate it, we can probably expect this trend to continue at least a little bit longer. Just 2 years ago, if you wanted a desktop 3D printer, you were looking at spending four figures. There was virtually nothing available under the $1000 mark. In the past year alone though, we’ve seen a plethora of new 3D printers come to market in the low three-figure price range. We’ve even seen several priced under the $200 mark.
Now, one company called Lewihe, located in Alicante, Spain, has unveiled a 3D printer priced lower than any 3D printer we have come across yet. For those of you unfamiliar with Lewihe, they made headlines back in October of last year, when they announced their Sneaker 3D printer, which was made to print flexible FilaFlex filament faster than any other 3D printer on the market.
This week, however, Lewihe unveiled their latest machine, the Lewihe Play. The Play is a 3D printer that comes in kit form, intended for those individuals who want to customize and build their own machine. It is priced at an almost unbelievable €69.00 (approximately $77), and is available for pre-order now, through the Lewihe website. The printer will begin shipping sometime in August. Due to such high demand though, the website has temporarily been put been “under construction.” Don’t worry though, it is expected to be up again very soon.
As for the printer itself, it ships without several key components in order to allow buyers to equip it with their own preferred parts. The Lewihe Play Kit ships with the iron plate structure, extruder support, print surface, metal shafts, and files with all the 3D printable parts. Users can then mount their own components, which can be purchased at various 3D printer and electronics stores. It can mounted with either one or two extruders of various types, a heated print bed, if desired, and virtually an infinite amount of possible combinations of other components. It also comes with a complete video showing customers exactly how to put the kit together.
For those who want to get an affordable 3D printer, but don’t want to put it together themselves, there is an option for you too. The kit can be shipped to any authorized dealer, who will then charge a fee to build the printer exactly how you want it. The great thing about the Lewihe Play is that customers are not tied to using parts made by specific manufacturers, and they can design their machine exactly how they want or need it to be.
As for the parts not included, which customers will need to get for themselves, they are as follows: ◾3 Nema 14 motors & 1 Nema 17 motor ◾Standard metric screws ◾6 units of 624zz bearings ◾10 units of LM6UU bearings ◾Pulleys and gt2 belts ◾Electronics, such as Ramps ◾Hot end ◾External power supply – 12V 4A
As for the specifications of the printer kit, they are as follows: ◾Print Technology: Fused deposition modeling ◾External dimensions: 210 x 210 x 250 mm ◾Build Volume: 105 x 105 x 130 mm ◾Filament: 1.75 mm ◾Print Material Options: Print rigid and elastic filaments ◾Compatibility: Compatible with almost all extruders and hot ends ◾Software: Cura, Repetier, Pronterface, Octoprint and more ◾3D Model File Types Excepted: STL, GCode, OBJ ◾Printer Weight (fully assembled): 2.5 kg
It should be interesting to see how well these extremely affordable Lewihe Play 3D printers sell. While they will take some work to put together, the easy to understand video should make building them a breeze. What do you think about this $77 3D printer? Will you be buying one yourself? Discuss in the Lewihe Play 3D Printer forum thread on 3DPB.com. Check out the video below.
(VIDEO-AT-LINK)
The build volume is really small - it's 4" x 4" x 5". You cannot build much in it. This could be a good printer for the Japanese apartment market :-) However if your desk space is not limited by 0.5' x 0.5' you will do much better if you get a larger printer.
The problem here is that $700 and $70 are pretty much the same to an enthusiast. It's a one time purchase that should last a long time and be used to print many different objects. You cannot afford a $50,000 SLS printer, but most people can afford $700 or $900, as it is the price of an average computer that people buy all the time. There is a good, universal advice: buy the best product that you can afford. Most people are not rich enough to buy cheap things. It does not matter that the printer is dirt cheap if it cannot print a toy for your child. It's only good to print miniatures for the fireplace.
Good post!
Are you gonna get one?
CA....
I already have one, but it's far larger. Can print usable parts, not just tiny yellow froggies. Made in the USA. 1,300 cubic inches of build space, and it is all available after calibration for flatness of the glass. I have the e3d extruder upgrade, and delta arms upgrade.
BFL
I smell the ole cheap printer, expensive cartridge routine.
funny! the printer has duplicated itself-in a smaller version quite a paradox
Ridiculous. Tinkerers will love it everyone else wont
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