iBox Nano $189 SLA Printer

[Brian_Krassenstein]

Ok, before you blow this one off as another company over their heads, check out the article we just did here: http://3dprint.com/19667/ibox-nano-cheap-3d-printer/

The iBox Nano is the world's smaller, quietest, most affordable SLA 3D printer by a long shot. Below are some of the key specs of this incredible machine:

• Build Area: 40 x 20 x 90mm
• Resolution X-Y: 328 Microns
• Power Consumption During Print: 2.7 Watts
• Maximum Z Precision: 0.39 Microns
• Print Volume: 29 db

Are you backing the iBox Nano? Let's hear your thoughts! Below is an image of this tiny SLA 3D printer:

[jimmydave]

I asked them, and yes, the .39 micron z resolution is real.
if only it had a larger build plate *sigh*.

I mean, 1.5 by .8 inches?
come on.

[richardphat]

The turn off is the XY resolution.
Do they mean the minimum size feature instead?

[Masaoken]

The bigger turn off is that the printer costs $100 less than the Kickstarter backers invested. Many of those people are still waiting to receive their backer rewards while printers are being sold on ebay for $150!

[A_KS_Backer]

The bigger turn off is that the printer costs $100 less than the Kickstarter backers invested. Many of those people are still waiting to receive their backer rewards while printers are being sold on ebay for $150!

Actually, some Kickstarter backers paid as much as $549 ($250 more than iBox's current retail price) for an early preview (a beta version) of the iBox Nano. Others, paid as low as $189 for one. The issue is that while all of these backers paid for their printers back on November 14, 2014, some of them are yet to receive their rewards from iBox. Alternatively, anyone can make a purchase on iBox's website, or through iBox's eBay store, and they are assured "next day shipping" by iBox Printers Inc.

As it turns out, not only did those "Early Beta Bakers" end up receiving "betas", but iBox has thus far failed to upgrade, correct or improve any of the issues that were discovered early on. So it can be said that all iBox Nanos that were sold to backers in October & November of 2014, are one the same design as those being sold to customers in September 2015. Nano Recipients have and continue to report the same issues with cracking acrylic sheets that make up the body of the printer, but more importantly, cracking build plate holders in addition to bad WiFi dongles, bad power adapter, bas USB power cables... and on and on and on...

What is even worse is that iBox had initially started a support forum, and slowly but surely, they were being more and more selective about which issues to address and which to ignore. If you were to visit this forum now, you'll see that as of the time I am posting this, there have been several issues posted by iBox Nano users that you will note are still awaiting a response from "support".

Not bad enough?
Well, then this might be: iBox is no longer responding to support questions sent to it via its support@iboxprinters.com address! So it appears that anyone whose received their purchased Nano, is waiting for one, or is considering buying one should know that they are, literally, "on their own"!!!

To watch this disaster as it continues to happen, please go to the Kickstarter comments section as well as the iBox Printers "Support Forum".

[JRDM]

Cheapest? Have you heard of Peachy Printer? It's still in beta, but it's cheaper.

Granted, I don't think either of these are better than curiosities. If you want something for fun, these are fine. They're on the small side for build, and the parts will be a bit weak. They might help you make a nifty looking chess set.

[Feign]

Cheapest? Have you heard of Peachy Printer? It's still in beta, but it's cheaper.

I'm a huge fan of the Peachy, but realistically, the $99 Peachy package is just the laser, galvo, control and height sensor, you have to build the enclosure and provide the drip reservoir and build tank. They just recently opened their pre-orders to the public, with a "fully built printer" option that is $400 (if it's also pre-calibrated then that would very possibly pay for itself in headache-reliever savings).

The price actually seems reasonable for this one, the entire body uses exactly one manufacturing process and the electronics inside appear to all be off-the-shelf, so it's extremely believable that they'll make a decent margin from a $299 price tag.
That said, I'm going to say don't expect this nano printer until April 2015 at the earliest, I've not seen a manufacturing partner yet, and from the look of it they are expecting to hand-make them in-house, which I think they'll find is much more work than they expected. The only reason I don't push this out to September is that the fabricated pieces are all laser cut, likely in-house already, meaning no large factory line is needed... Though that also means this will be trickling out their doors in hand-made quantities, not pouring out to consumers in waves the way a mass-produced product would be.

The more I think about it though, the more I like this little guy. It seems like it's perfect for doing one thing: making 28mm wargaming miniatures... And anyone who has played Warhammer 40K can confirm, $280 for miniatures is fire-sale cheap.

[brbubba]

Does someone have a link or an explanation as to how this printer works from a technical perspective? It seems they are using a mini LCD of some sort....

[Dargonfly]

The turn off is the XY resolution.
Do they mean the minimum size feature instead?

Does someone have a link or an explanation as to how this printer works from a technical perspective? It seems they are using a mini LCD of some sort....

Yeah, looks like they use a LCD instead of laser/projector. That is also why the resolution is so low (around 300 micron in x/y direction) - which is a real pitty! If the x/y resolution were something along the lines of 50 then this would be a beautiful product in my opinion.

[curious aardvark]

found this recently - might be ideal for the physics guy who wanted to print very small details on surfaces.

But probably too small a volume for anyone else who doesn't play warhammer :-)