Robox® : Desktop 3D Printer and Micro-Manufacturing Platform
Just saw this on Kickstarter this morning. Anyone else this this is a great deal for 700 Euro?
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...anufacturing-p
Welcome to the future of micro-manufacturing!
At CEL we wanted to bring you the very best 3D printer – accessible and reliable to everyone at home and in any workspace. As product designers we are passionate about design and innovation and we wanted to share that enthusiasm with the world by bringing a comprehensive micro-manufacturing solution to a desk near you!https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/...jpg?1381486020Robox® - A world of possibilities...
What are we doing?
From the outset of this project, the intention has always been to demystify 3D printing and make it usable by everyone. We wanted to produce the most reliable, stylish and easiest-to-use 3D printing solution available. What we’ve done is more than that; with the HeadLock™ system, Robox® can operate with different heads, which means different tools that can perform a whole range of new functions from stylus cutting to paste deposition, and coming soon, 3D scanning. The possibilities are endless.We have future-proofed the platform so that it is ready to take immediate advantage of new additive and subtractive manufacturing processes as we develop them, making the Robox® platform not only the most accessible 3D printer but a complete micro-manufacturing system. We’ve designed the whole product from the ground up; the frame, electronics, software and firmware are all tuned to ensure that all the innovation we've added works seamlessly to give you the best possible user experience.What makes Robox® better?
When we began to design Robox®, we set a target R.R.P. of <£1000 with an emphasis on very high specifications and product quality from the outset. By utilising mass manufacturing techniques and in-depth part sourcing we’ve driven the price of professional 3D printing right down. We think you’ll agree – that’s a whole lot of functionality for an amazing price!Want something that you can just plug and print? - Well that’s just what we’ve done – install the AutoMaker™ software, connect the power and USB, load a reel and click print – it’s as easy as that. All printers have been assembled and thoroughly tested before leaving the production line, so it's ready to use straight away.Do you dream of being able to produce models better than those of a professional prototyping service and without the cost? - With the highest resolution X, Y and Z axis available on the market and a layer thickness down to just 20 microns, you can produce parts which are ready to use straight off the printer – no finishing required. Because the printer uses industry standard plastics you can begin to create real parts immediately.https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/...jpg?1383667372Why use an expensive prototyping service when you can print a ready to use ABS part in your own office?
Fed up with high priced consumables? - Robox® print materials will be available pre-loaded onto our custom reel, ready for fitting straight into your printer. Robox® will be able to print with most high quality filaments that are available, discovering which one gives you the best results takes days of testing. We’ve done all this for you - with a wide selection of ‘professional grade’ materials - just choose from our range of plastics, colours and finishes and get printing! CEL have a history of keeping the cost of consumables at the price they should be, our many power tool users will attest to this.Are you worried about the set-up and ‘tweaking’ required to get printing? - Robox® has been designed to do all its set-up and material loading automatically. To load a reel, simply click it into the side and feed the filament into the entrance path and the printer will do the rest. Not only that – Robox® will recognise instantly what material you have installed, and set all of its printing parameters appropriately – no entering values and experimenting. To remove a reel, simply press the eject button, the printer will unload the filament allowing you to remove the reel. There is also no bed-levelling to worry about either; the head is calibrated at the start of every job for hassle-free printing.Why We Need You!
Here at CEL, we’ve been developing Robox® for the last 18 months and we’re finally ready to show it to the world. So far, funding for the project has come from our highly regarded power tool business, enabling us to design and make fully functioning prototypes - so you can be rest assured our product does what we say it will.https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/...jpg?1383668868
We need your help to get Robox® into the hands of the people who matter; you, to help us gather user experiences and feed this back into the development cycle. Our dream is to eventually see a Robox® in every school/college, designer/architects' office, into the home of every inventor, tinkerer, hacker and parent . We need you to help us finish our development - particularly the software and firmware, making everyone's 3D printing experience polished and effortless. We have lots of work still to do – we need a community of pioneers to help us capture user experiences and show us new ways of using our innovative hardware, enabling us to complete a fully polished UX for the AutoMaker™ software. To gather your experiences and response to the project we will have a discussion forum and dedicated team members to guide and collate the research and feedback.Your support will ensure that we reach our goals and your use of Robox® will give us the feedback to ensure our developments are relevant and useful.We plan to get a wide spread of safety accreditation, including CE and FCC, enabling us to sell in all international markets to all consumer groups.Of course, we’ll be hard at work too; delivering updates on the project and new functionality on a regular basis to add more performance and capabilities.Why Our Project Matters There are many people that believe 3D printing is not ready for the mass-consumer market and that it is just too difficult to use. We’ve set out to solve this problem by designing out all of the current problems with domestic 3D printers from the ground up. Due to the high price of similar machines, we believe the technology has not yet reached the hands of those that matter – the small start-ups, artists, architects, hackers/makers and especially children. We’ve attempted to make Robox® accessible for all children over 5, by streamlining the process of printing and making the product safe to use. https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/...jpg?1383669455Safe and simple enough for young education environments
This technology has the potential to disrupt traditional manufacturing processes and even the way in which products are bought and sold. It will enable people to bring manufacturing back to their local economies and reduce reliance on imports – shipping only raw materials, not finished products. Governments around the world have prioritised coding and 3D printing in proposed reforms to education curricula. Technology-related skills and in particular engineering will be among the priorities for primary and secondary school children, with the latter getting new design and technology lessons which include learning to use 3D printers. Design and technology syllabi have been overhauled to teach children from the age of five how to design, plan, build (and evaluate) a product from having an idea all the way through to creating a finished item.
