$149 Early Bird Printers Sold Out

[Eddie]

Well that was fast. They sold out of all of the 500 Early Bird Backer printers within 2 hours of launch. There are still currenlty 929 of the $199 level printers remaining though.

[Feign]

I'm a bit surprised that they put up 500 Early Birds for sale, usually you see them limited at 100 or 200 units so that a campaign can brag about selling out of them in half an hour. But yes, it's amazing how fast something sells when it's $100 off the retail price. I'm really happy to have gotten one before they sold out.

Actually, having done a lot of research into motors and such while considering making a RepRap, I can't see how these early bird specials could possibly be at cost to produce. I'm guessing that the $199 backer price is just about exactly the cost of materials, and only then if the materials were already bought in bulk. Then again, Dragon is a pretty well established manufacturer so bulk orders are pretty much a given.

[NewMatter]

Actually, having done a lot of research into motors and such while considering making a RepRap, I can't see how these early bird specials could possibly be at cost to produce. I'm guessing that the $199 backer price is just about exactly the cost of materials, and only then if the materials were already bought in bulk. Then again, Dragon is a pretty well established manufacturer so bulk orders are pretty much a given.

There's not much in the MOD-t design that is really comparable to any existing 3D printer, starting with the pinion-rod X-Y mechanism that has remarkably few components. Because the moving mass is so low, it uses much smaller motors than the standard NEMA 17 steppers (while still achieving decent speeds and accelerations). If fact, it uses DC servo motors with encoders that are not only lower cost, but the encoder feedback eliminates the need for limit switches. (The encoders also eliminate the problem of missed steps and shifting print layers.) And in turn, the DC servo motor drivers are less expensive than stepper drivers. And with lower power overall, the power supply is smaller and cheaper as well. Throw in some excellent mechanical design and mass manufacturing and you can shrink the price pretty remarkably. The $199 backer price doesn't generate a lot of profit, but it's definitely better than break-even.

[Feign]

I'm used to looking at the prices between servos and steppers and seeing the servo cost more, but then I'm used to looking at comparable torque, which this doesn't need. And while the pinion and rod are very few parts, they're not parts you would find in a hardware store, and so only cheap if you manage to buy in bulk.

I was a bit surprised at the build area, as I don't think it was mentioned before, and I had never seen the printer with a person for scale before the indiegogo video... This is actually a pretty large box, comically large, in the scene with the little kid lifting the cover. I guess with so much of it being effectively empty space, it's pretty easy to scale up (to a point).

[NewMatter]

I was a bit surprised at the build area, as I don't think it was mentioned before, and I had never seen the printer with a person for scale before the indiegogo video... This is actually a pretty large box, comically large, in the scene with the little kid lifting the cover. I guess with so much of it being effectively empty space, it's pretty easy to scale up (to a point).

Yeah, maybe we should have found a bigger kid. In absolute terms, though, the printer is not that big - a 15" x 11" footprint. (Only slightly bigger than a Makerbot Mini but with 50% more build area.) That was one of our big decision points: is the increased size worth the cost and simplicity advantage of our moving platform design. We think that for a small printer it is. As you move to a larger build area, though, all sorts of factors change and our moving platform design is less advantageous.

[3dfilemarket]

This looks a great platform...... the price is fantastic as well!

[Feign]

Aaand it looks like they've sold out of the $199 printers as well... And at the time of my posting, they're almost exactly two printer away from reaching their goal... EDIT: Goal reached! Congrats, New Matter team!

So just over 24 hours to reach their $375k goal. I'm eager to see just how far this thing goes in the next month.

[NewMatter]

Thanks for your support! These last two days have been incredible, largely thanks to the support of the 3D printing community. Help us keep the momentum going for the remainder of the campaign!

[Eddie]

Congrats Steve! I knew it would be quick, but didn't think it would be this quick

[NewMatter]

Thanks, Eddie, appreciate all the support with our launch!