ProtoCycler Filament Extruding Machine

[Brian_Krassenstein]

ProtoCycler has launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise $70,000. With those funds, they plan to finish design of the product, prepare it for manufacturing, and begin fulfilling orders from pledges. The ProtoCycler offers a way for 3D printing enthusiasts to make spools of filament with raw pellets for around $5, or for free when recycling waste. Further details on this project and their Indiegogo campaign can be found here: http://3dprint.com/31564/protocycler-indiegogo/

Below is a picture of the new Protocycler machine. Let us know if you have backed this project.

[Feign]

Wow, I really really wish I had $600 to spend...
This is like 90% exactly how an Indiegogo campaign should be run, realistic timeline, realistic claims, realistic pricing, testing and certification started before crowdfunding, manufacturing partners contacted before crowdfunding (though it's a little iffy that they haven't finalized with one yet, but at least they give their reasoning for it.)

I may not be buying it right from the campaign, but I went ahead and did the "$50 now for a $100 discount later" pledge. I kinda wish there were more campaigns that had that idea. $50 is a small enough amount (for most people who will be likely to afford a $700 appliance) that it won't be missed if the whole thing goes kaput, but still enough to indicate genuine demand for the product rather than just an impulse answer without thought to the final price (like you would get on a simple survey).

Basically, their main purpose for crowdsourcing instead of just tossing up a website for pre-orders is advertising and getting an accurate read on the demand (so they can have better leverage when they finally choose a manufacturer.)

[JRDM]

I'm glad they put this amount of thought into the design. We don't need another filament extruder without thought for the shredder or winder, because then it's not useful as a recycler. Without the winder makes most of them useless even for just using virgin pellets, because mangled filament is the default output unless it's wound as it's extruded. And it's sad that filament extruders promote the recycling option while failing to address the shredding issue.

I do request they make the shredder cut finer pieces.

I usually don't crowd fund expensive items like this, but I might do the $50 thing.

[Brian_Krassenstein]

Things are going well very for ProtoCycler these days—both on the balance sheet for their Indiegogo campaign, as well as on the 3D printer. Having well surpassed their Indiegogo campaign, which was set at a goal of $70K, they’ve also grabbed some more headlines before the campaign ends in a couple of days. The team has successfully been using recycled coffee cup lids for filament, the ultimate in re-use, and has the video to prove it—from grinding to extruding to printing. More details on this: http://3dprint.com/41288/protocycler...offee-cup-lids