Electronics

Dremel announces personal 3D printer

Dremel announces personal 3D printer
The 3D Idea Builder will be available in November
The 3D Idea Builder will be available in November
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The extruder on the Dremel 3D Idea Builder
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The extruder on the Dremel 3D Idea Builder
The printer is PLA filament only
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The printer is PLA filament only
The Idea Builder touch screen
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The Idea Builder touch screen
The 3D Idea Builder will be available in November
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The 3D Idea Builder will be available in November
View gallery - 4 images

Dremel, the company best known for its rotary power tool that's used for everything from routing and sanding to carving and engraving, has announced that it's taking a leap into the 21st century with its first consumer 3D printer – the Dremel 3D Idea Builder.

Company president John Kavanagh made the announcement on stage during a keynote at MakerCon in New York City. "Seeing a 3D printer work for the first time is something we wanted to show people," he said. "98 percent of people don't know what a 3D printer is or does."

Kavanagh said the Idea Builder was designed with both experienced makers and novice users in mind, and he also announced a partnership with Autodesk to help provide free print-ready 3D models and online design tools.

"This is just the beginning for us," said Kavanagh in a simultaneous company press release. "We'll be offering an increased number of customizers on our site that will further empower people to develop and personalize projects of their own. Long-term, the partnership with Autodesk will allow us to bring together hardware and software to better address the needs of our community."

Dremel's "Experts" program offers product support and mentorship for users, plus print-ready models, templates and other tools from the Autodesk partnership will be available on Dremel3D.com.

The extruder on the Dremel 3D Idea Builder
The extruder on the Dremel 3D Idea Builder

The printer itself is enclosed, has a color touchscreen and onboard printing software that allows it to run stand-alone or connected to a computer. It is capable of printing at a resolution of 100 microns and uses PLA filament in 10 available colors. The build area is 230 x 150 x 140 mm (9 x 5.9 x 5.5 in).

Dremel says that pre-orders for the 3D Idea Builder can be placed beginning September 18 through Amazon and Home Depot's websites. It will become available at Home Depot stores in the US starting in November for US$999, and will also be available at Canadian Tire stores.

There's more information in the video below.

Source: Dremel

Dremel's New 3D Printer

View gallery - 4 images
16 comments
16 comments
BeWalt
I couldn't have dremeled that up. Neat!
S Michael
There is nothing, not one thing that a 3d printer can make for me that is usable. Until it can make auto parts, household items, parts for my lawnmower or my refrig. or SOMETHING useful.. Its just junk.
Purple-Stater
3-D printers have got to be close to the top of the want list of so many hobbyists, especially table-top wargamers and model railroaders. The Dremel brand is a natural fit and a commonplace brand to these people. Unfortunately, these prices have to come down by more than half before it becomes feasible for more than a tiny niche of this niche market.
Phillip Ramirez
too expensive. outside of putting it together and getting the parts for a whole lot cheaper then the reprap community which should mean the price point should be about 699.
Dziks
@S Michael Clearly you have no idea about 3D printing or simply want to provoke with your post ;)
JPAR
how much are the print cartridges for these things?
JoeCool - JVSCC.COM
The ideal 3D printer would be the one that can scan a 2D/3D image and then turn that into a 3D object made out of plastic, as far as the medium is concerned instead of all these 3D printer using what looks like fish tank tubing of different colors, why not use all the millions of discarded plastic bottles or for that matter why not make a 3D printer that can repurpose used plastic in general now that would be the ultimate 3D printer, Maybe I was dreaming,
Reviewer - Joe
Captain Danger
That is a fantastic price, with not to bad resolution. Available at Canadian Tire and Home Depot. Incredible. Take a look back at were this market was a few years ago. I wasted $1600 dollars at the start of this year on a 3D Printer I purchased of indiegogo (Rapide One) and it still has not been delivered. I wish I would have waited.
BigGoofyGuy
http://www.stratasys.com/industries/automotive There does seem to be 3D printers that can make auto parts, at least according to the above site.
http://www.gizmag.com/local-motors-strati-imts/33846/ If they can print a whole car, why not car parts?
I think this is neat. There are some 3D printers that are quite affordable. I think 3D printing is the new way to make things.
VirtualGathis
@S Michael - Either you lack imagination or you are not well informed about 3d printers.
Check out this article: http://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2013/july/make-yourself-save-lot-3d-printers.html
It has a good write up on things they made with a fairly primative printer that came out well and cost a fraction of the store products. It saved them considerable money not to mention all those things that are not easy to buy like the lost peices to a board game, custom jewlery molds, etc.
There are now fancier 3d printers that could easily make things I'd like to have around the house.
If you are into miniatures or models this one has potential: http://b9creator.com/.
If you like things with a bit more color: http://botobjects.com/
This one can make huge objects: http://www.gizmag.com/gigabot-3d-printer/26594/
Electron Beam Melting 3d pritners are still industrial machines, so come with an eye popping price tag, but could easily print parts for your car, handy if your vehicles parts are out of manufacture.
Or you could just print the car: http://www.gizmag.com/local-motors-strati-imts/33846/
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