Open Source Bolt 3D Printer by Edu3D.org

[Brian_Krassenstein]

Edu3D.org wants to get kids and communities inspired while also turning the world on its ear in terms of how we attain technological tools. They want to put the power in the hands of the people with an open-sourced design for 3D printers and printing, beginning with the Bolt 3D printer. The Bolt is an affordable, simple 3D printer that offers high-quality prints and can be customized due to the open source design. The company is currently in the middle of an Indiegogo campaign to raise funds for educating schools and communities about the product and its technology, as well as using extra capital to lower prices on components, thus offering the Bolt at an even lower price, eventually. Check out details about the Bolt: http://3dprint.com/30314/open-source-bolt-edu3dorg/ ‎


Below is a photo of a built Bolt:

[curious aardvark]

looks neat.

so $250 plus the usual tax and p&p.
Lets hope it actually works and the kits get sent :-)

[edu3d]

We have almost completed the design and it will be posted in the next few weeks to our site for anyone to download. Unfortunately our campaign was canceled because of lack of backing.
We will keep pushing forward with kits (estimating the kits will be around $300 depending on part prices) shortly after releasing the .stl's and .skp files so that anyone can download and tweak the bolt to fit their needs.

The goal of this Edu3D.org is to create a printer that is easy to build by anyone, and very inexpensive.
Since then we have designed another open source printer called the Cutie Pi(working name) to accompany the BOLT upon launch in a few weeks.



Thank you to all who thought it was a good idea we are still pushing forward

[MiniMadRyan]

You may want to consider additional support or larger z linear rods, as potentially, when the tool head is at full reach, it may be heavy enough to cause some flexing and drooping in this design, not unlike what was seen in the first and second generation printrbot Simple.

[edu3d]

You may want to consider additional support or larger z linear rods, as potentially, when the tool head is at full reach, it may be heavy enough to cause some flexing and drooping in this design, not unlike what was seen in the first and second generation printrbot Simple.

We have multiple parts for the Bolt tested to fix the sag issue. We added a Auto leveler(using a servo) and also the option to add a second motor to Z so the printer should be able to expand. All of the files are going to be posted on our website this month, if someone wants to update the design to use 12mm rods they just have to make the hole larger and add support to the base.

The Cutie is still in testing and sofar has proven to need auto leveling because of the sag from only having one motor. We plan on providing auto leveling as part of its kit so that its provided from the start. We haven't ran it very high yet but sofar things are looking promising. I can see how 12mm rods and LM12uu's would be better than using 8mm on this design. We may change it, if its too wobbly.

Thanks for the feedback, We are hoping these will make great first printers for makers.

Edu3d.