Hello everyone,
I'm Ray from Cohesion3D. I'm working on a machine that can print any model using UV-cured resin and then print a circuit inside it with conductive inks. I've worked with circuitry since I was very young but I've actually never had a circuit board manufactured because it requires either toxic chemicals or costly and time consuming fab houses. Even though services like OSHPark have made this cost quite small, there's still a waiting period and pressure to get it right the first time, which can be detrimental to a healthy design cycle. I like how 3D printing lets me produce a design very soon after having an idea, without having to iterate tens if not hundreds of times before being able to justify the expense of having it manufactured. Being able to hold a working part right away gets the creative juices flowing and improves productivity, and I want to extend this ease of use to electronics prototyping as well.

Cohesion is a whole new way to prototype and manufacture hardware products as there is no circuit board at all. You just designate a cavity inside any CAD model and add your circuit board design there. At it's core, the Cohesion3D Microfactory is a multi paste extruder, so just slice the model as you normally would for a dual extruder print and go. It's still up to the user to place the electronic components by hand, as adding pick and place functionality would increase the complexity many times and add hundreds upon hundreds of dollars to the cost of each unit.

This is going to be an extremely easy to assembly kit. I've built other printers from kits before and have experienced the frustration of trying to line things up, having to measure, and perhaps worst of all, having to guess. I've addresed the weaknesses of 10 other printers I've seen in detail, as well as combined their strengths as I designed Cohesion. Assembling the frame is as simple as snap together and tighten some screws, and the toolheads are modular and interchangeable, which means you'll be able to add functionality such as a filament extruder, several different kinds and sizes of syringe and pump systems, and a lot more by simply snapping a module onto the carriage.


I really am trying to make this the best printer you can buy at the really low price point of $1199 considering all the functionality and customization it will offer. I'm planning to launch a crowdfunding campaign early 2015. I would be extremely grateful for any suggestions, complaints about your existing printers that I can avoid with mine, and questions that I can answer.
Please check out http://cohesion3d.com and tell me what you all think!