Why?
I have looked closely at this item and it has some limited utility for repairing broken plastic and _maybe_ some amusement in *sketching* linear 3D designs. What will anyone do with the 3D sketches? They aren’t very durable or very esthetic. For lost wax processes, there are already wax guns that can make interesting shapes, but even those are lacking precision. I can see a place for 3D printing in making models, but then, you still need molds and casting to get some sort of production.
Personally, this toy is worth _maybe_ $39.95, at most. It is not worth $100 and it is not a 3D printer, handheld or otherwise.
We are professional craftspeople who have been watching the entire 3D development with a lot of interest. It is still in its infancy. It still quite limited. It takes a lot of time to just make a one-off. The printers that can use metal powders and sintering are the most interesting to me and that type has come a long way in the past 20 years. I saw the first sintered titanium jewelry in the late 1980s, when it was still quite crude with an unpleasant surface texture. Intriguing, but it never really took off as even a limited production process.
So, I am curious: what would you dream of doing with this Doodler?
I bought into this on Kickstarter over 8 or 9 months ago as a present for my daughter. Her older brother and I built a Prusa Mendel 3D printer in our basement a year and a half ago from a MakerGear kit. We’ve had great fun designing and building things for ourselves and others ever since.
She can’t wait to get her own “3D printer” in her hands now that she knows it’s coming. She’s an artist, or at least fancies herself as such, and the ability to draw in 3D is appealing to her. My kids both now understand that they can create anything they can imagine.
The 3Doodler only appeals to me as a repair tool, but I did give her an idea that I think will resonate with her and others.
Little kids love balloon animals at parties. I told her that she could learn to do the same kind of thing with the 3Doodler at the local Children’s Hospital. Whether it’s drawing “puppies” for kids with cancer, or “caterpillars” for kids with epilepsy during an EEG, I think she’ll enjoy bringing a little sunshine into others’ lives.