# 3D Printing > 3D Printers (Hardware) >  Dremel 3D Idea Builder Printer Launches

## Brian_Krassenstein

Big news guys!  The power tool giant Dremel has just stepped foot into the 3D printing space, announcing their new 3D printer, the Dremel 3D Idea Builder.  The printer which is part of an entire ecosystem around 3d printing will go on pre-sale tomorrow in the US and Canada at a price of $999.  It can be reserved on Amazon.com and HomeDepot.com.  More details about this news can be found here:
http://3dprint.com/15578/dremel-3d-idea-builder-printer

Below are some of the general specifications of Dremel's new 3D printer:

Build Envelope: 9” x 5.9” x 5.5”Printer Weight: 19 pounds 8 ozPrinter Size: 15.7 inches(400 mm) x 19.1 inches(485 mm) x 13.2 inches(335 mm)Extruder temperature: Up to 230°C /397°FLayer Thickness: 0.004 inches 100 microns

Check out the image of the Dremel 3D Idea Builder below.  Will you be considering purchasing one?  What are your thoughts on this new machine?

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## Papa Steve

The UL certification is a biggie 
Buy it at Home Depot ... also a biggie 
Support from Autodesk ... 
this one will go far

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## Eddie

This is actually the Flashforge Dreamer.  It's just been rebranded.  
Eddie

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## Feign

Well, a re-branded Flashforge isn't so bad.  Currently, the few Home Depots that carry 3D printers only have Makerbot, so getting more selection will be pretty welcome.
Competition breeds innovation (and lower prices) so I'm all for it.

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## roguesqd

On the home depot website...it says it only supports PLA.  I assume you can also use ABS?

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## Feign

ABS and many other materials require a heated print bed.  This doesn't have that.

From what I understand, only PLA, Nylon and one or two kinds of PET are realistically printable without a print bed.  Nylon has quite a stink while printing, and PET varieties are generally more expensive than most people want to mess with.  Therefore to keep costs down, a lot of printer makers are leaving out the heated bed and putting "PLA Only" on the printer.

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## PrinterBob

"The slicing engine is fast and offers high, medium, and low-resolution  settings that translate to 0.1mm, 0.2mm and 0.3mm layer heights and  pre-assigned infill levels."

No Abs and no infill settings and other advanced settings, not for me.. 

PrinterBob

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## JohnA136

We saw a bunch of these printing at the New York World Maker Faire this weekend.  They all seemed to be working quite well.  Just a FYI, the build platform is covered in BuildTak, a plastic that is toted as replacing the need for a heated bed?  Admittedly, we only were printing in PLA all weekend.  The guys from BuildTak came over and put it on two of our printers ( our Printrbot and our Ultimaker 2) and we printed with it all weekend.  Out in the open, windy and dusty and on Sunday the humidity was like 90% in the morning.  We had zero print failures all weekend (except for that one time when I stepped on one of the power strips and turned off the CUBE 3, oops!)

I have to say, these "canned" printers (Dremel, CUBE 3 and CUBE Pro, et al) are not for everyone due to the lack of flexibility in altering settings and using various filaments! But for something like a Library, Elementary School or someone in a small business that does not have the time or desire to be a tweaker, they may just fit the bill!

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## Atomist

I have printed on Buildtak extensively and I have to say it does work extremely well. The problem I see is that it's largely only good if you're printing with rafts. You align your print head a little closer than normal so the first layer gets pushed into the pours on the Buildtak. At least that was my experience. You could print without a heated bed this way, I printed with ABS without a heated bed and had practically no warping. But again, this was printing with a raft.

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## desertstriker8

Anyone pick one of these up and test it out?

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## JohnA136

I saw a handful of these printing in the Dremel Booth at Maker Fair.  They were turning out pretty decent prints.

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## ssayer

I'll have one here tomorrow  :Stick Out Tongue:

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## desertstriker8

Thanks for the info JohnA136!

ssayer can you update this page with more info once yours arrives?

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## ssayer

You bet!

It arrived about 2 hours ago. Took 10-15 minutes to unbox and set it up. Unlike the Davinci, it's leveling is a lot easier as it's leveling points are right over the leveling screws (so it was pretty fast leveling it). Their print "tape" is pretty thick, first two prints stuck really well. The only negative is that I couldn't get a couple of the small bubbles out between the tape and the print bed (and I was using a rolling pin to push all the air bubbles out with).

 Two quick items to note. 
1. It tends to drool a little as it's warming up. Even watching it as best I can and trying to clean it up at the last second, I wasn't able to get it spotless just before the print. But...
2. It prints a skirt at the beginning, and it sure needs to as it extrudes nothing for about the first... 3 inches of the skirt.
Neither of these two items are a killer by any means, just noting what I see.

The first thing I printed was one of it's test pieces, a tree frog. Pretty decent quality...

20141113_143908.jpg

Second try was a simple stencil that I made up for my grandson. I printed it on medium quality (you only get 3 options). Once again, decent, with a tad bit of lifting at the front left corner (hey, it's only .062" thick and 4"x3" over all)...

20141113_143546.jpg

So, first impressions (and I'll update as I go along)... If PLA only is good enough for you, it's not too shabby.

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## desertstriker8

quality looks pretty good. Im debating on canceling my Solidoodle Press order and coughing up the extra money for the Dremel idea builder!

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## ssayer

Well, I'll be printing pretty steady for the next few days. I'll definitely chime in with anything else in case it affects your decision.  :Stick Out Tongue: 

Oh, one other plus vs. the Davinci (only one I can compare it to on personal experience) is that it doesn't need the computer attached to start a print.

Flip side, the computer has to compile your file into the proprietary Dremel format before you toss it on to an SD card (supplied).

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## desertstriker8

Awesome keep posting pictures of the things you create  :Smile:  please and thank you

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## ssayer

I've got two stock things I want to get printed first, just to see how they're handled by this printer, and then I'll get back to the stuff I've been drawing up on Blender. What's printing right now is the Labyrinth Gift Box from Thingverse (both parts at once). It's about half way done and looking good. I figured it was a good test because of the height of each part verses their x and y sizes. Either the Davinci set the bar very very low, or this thing is just that good.  :Stick Out Tongue: 

Then I want to do the hollow sphere made from polyhedrons, so I can pause it 2/3s of the way through and drop in a keepsake to see how that comes out.  :Smile: 

I'll post pics of both of them up tomorrow.

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## ssayer

Ok, just pulled the Labyrinth Gift Box out.

First pic. Still in the printer. You can see the little whiskers as the head went from one object to the other. Also a little bit of nubs on the right piece from where it starts the right side's print.
20141114_074700.jpg

Second pic. After about a 3 minute cleanup with my sponge sandpaper. Looks pretty decent!
20141114_082511.jpg

With each item that I print, my opinion of the Davinci drops a little more.

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## desertstriker8

Wow quality looks really good! How long did it take to print the Labyrinth Gift Box? Also what quality settings did you use? Keep the pictures coming  :Smile:

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## ssayer

I used the best quality setting (after all, it is a gift box  :Stick Out Tongue: ). It took 7h42m.

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## desertstriker8

Nice! How are the bases of the items you build on their tape set up? No curling?

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## ssayer

I made two objects, one a 3"x4"x.062" stencil with my grandson's name, the other a 4"x5"x.093" envelope with grandma and grandpa as the return address and my grandson's complete name and address on it (all with raised lettering bringing the total height to .125". Both had a smallish amount of curl on the front/left corner. Not much by any means, but I know it's there. Nobody I show it to will notice it as they won't be looking at it with the same critical eye that I'm looking at it.

There is nothing to be seen in the way of curl on the gift box. There is no curl to be seen at the bottom of the supports for the 3" sphere I'm currently printing.

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## ssayer

Ok, here is the sphere. Halfway through, I dropped a quarter, nickel, dime, and penny into it. If only this thing did ABS as well... I may just have to up my $$$ and go for it's big brother (the NOT re-branded printer).  :Stick Out Tongue: 

20141114_143839.jpg20141114_144104.jpg20141114_144127.jpg

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## desertstriker8

Wow that's great. I was worried there may be some bad curling on flat objects but i guess not. The sphere is pretty awesome good idea dropping the money inside!

the one thing that seems nice with Dremel is the US 24/7 Support

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## ssayer

One NICER thing with the Dremel is that if you buy it from Home Depot, you get their 90 day return policy. So... if something dies or goes badly amiss within 90 days, no worries. Return it and start again...

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## desertstriker8

I did not know about that. Is the policy standard or do you need to have some type of enhanced or rewards membership with them?

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## ssayer

Nothing special. If you look at their online site, it specifically states the return time. It shows it on the receipt as well, so if the refund time changes for an item some time (days or weeks) after you've bought it, you still get the time that was given at the date of sale.

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## desertstriker8

Awesome thank you for the info. You print any more items?

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## ssayer

I wasn't home much yesterday, so only got this one to add. I saw this solder reel holder on thingverse. This is the first one that I printed at "Standard" rather than "High". so there is a little banding on it. Also, I haven't cleaned it up yet, so it is what it is...

20141115_093339.jpg

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## desertstriker8

Still looks nice man

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## ssayer

Still learning this model. Just discovered the advanced options (via the file→preference). A lot opens up when you select build. I'm liking their proprietary software a whole lot more now with these additional options!

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## desertstriker8

I like how you can slice on the PC. Insert the SD card and let the printer go without having it connected up to a pc

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## ssayer

Funny you mention that. I haven't connected it to the PC yet as I haven't seen/felt the need...

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## desertstriker8

I hated when I had my printrbot simple metal that I had to leave my PC running while the print was running. This seems like a good feature. Have you had any issues importing things to print with the SD csrd? Any errors or items that won't print?

Also got a few other questions. Is the lighting inside changeable? Can you turn off or on and change color? Also how quite or loud is it with the door closed when its running

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## ssayer

No issues, just a matter of copying the file over to the SD card that the Dremel program built. I've printed 4 things (3 different things) since I last posted pics. All good. 

The LEDs inside are bolted in, so you could change them if you want. For me, the white LEDs are all I need. They don't change color. I'm printing atm, so I'm not going to mess with it, but... I don't think you can turn the LEDs off.

The fans are louder than the stepper motors. It's not loud by any means, but it's not like you aren't going to hear it. I don't have a Decibel meter... I'd say about as loud as someone speaking with slightly quieter than what I'd call an "inside" voice. Not much help, I know, but... not sure how else to describe the sound level...

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## desertstriker8

All of your info is helpful! I appreciate it very much. Post pictures of your most recent prints. The more I see and the more we talk it makes me not want to deal with solidoodle and cancel my press order and pay the extra cash for this!

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## ajperez

What is the warranty on this unit? It's great that it has 24/7 support but I think it's only 90 days for Flashforge printers whereas it is 1 year for the DaVinci. I know this is rebranded as Dremel but I mention it just as a refernce. Now, so this unit it has exactly the same specs as the Flashforge Dreamer? Thanks for sharing!

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## ssayer

Heh, I tried two DaVincis before I gave up on them. Reading their warranty and the reviews, I'd say that DaVinci warrants the case for a year, and that's about it...  :Stick Out Tongue: 

This is pretty different than the Dreamer, there is a reason the dreamer costs another 350 bucks. That said, I wouldn't buy the Dreamer if I had an extra 350, I'd go for the Pro. If I had the money (I started out with a budget of 500 *DaVinci* and upped it to 1000 even though that was more than I really had to spend), I'd have a Pro here right now...

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## ssayer

> All of your info is helpful! I appreciate it very much. Post pictures of your most recent prints. The more I see and the more we talk it makes me not want to deal with solidoodle and cancel my press order and pay the extra cash for this!


Well, if it's going to be me talking you in to getting it. Let me un-talk it up just a little. I can't un-talk it a lot, but... to me this is a biggie... it ONLY prints PLA. I don't know what your intended uses are but please make sure that only using PLA works with them.

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## desertstriker8

I have read that! Shouldn't be an issue I'm just using to make models, possible small parts and costume pieces. I think it will do perfect. I may find a home depot today that has instock and check out the display. I got such a deal in the solidoodle press its hard for me to cancel but with all the issues I read it makes me want to. I paid 400 and it supposedly auto levels the bed with a built in prob, prints both pla and abs, is self incased and also has a heated bed. Guess they are going to retail them for 699.

 I really like how clean the dremel prints you have shown me look, also how nice the case is and the fact I don't need me PC always running to run a long print. I hate making decisions ahaha

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## ssayer

Note to self: The translucent white does _not_ have the same properties as the solid white. While the translucent white does fine for items that don't have a lot of area on the plate, it sort of sucks at items that do. I tried this wrench (got it from Thingverse) multiple times with the translucent white. I just could not, for the life of me, get all the surfaces to stick for the whole print time. Cleaned the bed, checked for level, changed the extruder temp. Nothing worked and this is the _best_ I got. There were multiple tries of far, far worse.

20141116_173040.jpg

I started thinking maybe something else was up, but just to be sure, I tried the solid white. First try was golden.

20141116_172853.jpg

Here it is with the supports removed waiting for me to finish cleaning it up.

20141116_181636.jpg

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## ajperez

> Heh, I tried two DaVincis before I gave up on them. Reading their warranty and the reviews, I'd say that DaVinci warrants the case for a year, and that's about it... 
> 
> This is pretty different than the Dreamer, there is a reason the dreamer costs another 350 bucks. That said, I wouldn't buy the Dreamer if I had an extra 350, I'd go for the Pro. If I had the money (I started out with a budget of 500 *DaVinci* and upped it to 1000 even though that was more than I really had to spend), I'd have a Pro here right now...


Great insight ssayer, thanks for sharing! I am surprised the DaVinci is not just a better option (also their Amazon reviews are ok but not stellar) since it is made by one of the main manufacturers of electronics in the world (Kinpo Group). Well I guess they could be the best in contract manufacture for other people's brands but that does not necessarily mean they can easily enter the consumer brand space. I really like the concept of their offering, I hope they do well for the sake of having good options/competition in the 3DP arena. 
As for the Dremel vs. Dreamer, do you know the key differences between these two that warrants the $350 pricetag gap? Thanks.

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## desertstriker8

That's crazy that the print wouldn't work with the clear white compared to the regular white. These both dremel brand filaments? Maybe the one roll you got of the clear white is defective I have read about that happening to others with different filaments in the past. The quality with the plain white tho is amazing I'm digging it.

Bummed I didn't get a chance to get to a home depot today that had one in stock. I'm hoping possibly during the week I can get there and try and make up my mind between the solidoodle press and the dremel idea  :Smile:

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## ssayer

> As for the Dremel vs. Dreamer, do you know the key differences between these two that warrants the $350 pricetag gap? Thanks.


Two extruders vs. one extruder
Open source software vs. Proprietary software
Heated bed vs. non-heated bed
ABS ,PLA, Others vs. PLA

That said, if you're considering the Dreamer... (IMHO) don't... the Creator Pro is the same price and is the better bang for the buck...

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## ssayer

> That's crazy that the print wouldn't work with the clear white compared to the regular white. These both dremel brand filaments? Maybe the one roll you got of the clear white is defective I have read about that happening to others with different filaments in the past. The quality with the plain white tho is amazing I'm digging it.
> 
> Bummed I didn't get a chance to get to a home depot today that had one in stock. I'm hoping possibly during the week I can get there and try and make up my mind between the solidoodle press and the dremel idea


Yep, I'm only using Dremel brand until I'm 110% sure this is the one to keep...

It sounds like you got a heck of a deal with the solidoodle. TBH, I'm not up to snuff on it's specs (or reviews if there are any yet). It'd be hard to drop the deal without knowing for sure it's the thing to do...

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## desertstriker8

That's how I feel, but after reading around on their forum there are lots of complaints on quality. Even tho they have completely gone with a different t design on the press. I'm thinking ill possibly wait for the press to come and if the quality of the product and print quality is good then I'll obviously keep. But if not then I'll go to a dremel idea builder or flashforge. Keep posting updates tho I love seeing your creations and info you have!

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## ssayer

Well, if what I've been reporting really affects your decision making, be aware that I've returned mine to Home Depot. 

I was completely honest with them in that I told them that while it printed with their included role of PLA really well, I bought a second role of one of Dremel's other colors (the translucent white) and had nothing but problems with it on anything over about 1-1/2" long. At the cost of their proprietary filament, which is double normal, how many other issues might I have with their PLA, and using anyone else's PLA voids Dremel's warranty. Add that to the fact that I've already come to the realization that I won't be happy printing only in PLA, and this is why it's going back. There were zero problem with returning it (other than having to wait for a manager to come sign off on it because it was over a grand *with tax*).

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## desertstriker8

Good to know. I'm holding in on the Solidoodle Press seeing it has a heated bed and can print ABS and PLA. Want me to keep you updated once i get it? Just incase you don't know what i'm talking about here is a link, i got it during the lower price back in August.

http://www.solidoodle.com/Press

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## ssayer

Looks neat. Be interesting to hear some real world comments when it comes out.  :Smile:

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## desertstriker8

Yeah if it ends up not being any good, or if i have a lot of issues with it i will return it and probably end up waiting for printrbot to release a newer model of the simple metal with the new Ubis hotend and extruder.

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## Sniffus

Small build area, expansive.  but I would assume no headaches.  They probably sell their own filament $$$.
I wonder if they have a Windows 8.1 driver.  hummm.  Nah, I'll build my recycled 60$ printer. (probably going to cost 200$)

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## JohnA136

> Yeah if it ends up not being any good, or if i have a lot of issues with it i will return it and probably end up waiting for printrbot to release a newer model of the simple metal with the new Ubis hotend and extruder.


New Printrbot Metal Plus went on sale Black Friday.

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## kathmorgan12

I saw a handful of these printing in the Dremel Booth at Maker Fair. They were turning out pretty decent prints.

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