Thursday, May 10, 2012
What are the pros and cons of your machine?
Hi Guys,
Since I created the blog I knew that a lot people would be working in similar project and many of them would create a printer or kit. I think this is great because our project has inspired some other people.
I also knew that the mechanical design in this machine will be something that a lot of people will copy, modify, improve…. That’s the reason we:
- Focus a lot on software as we believe it can be used with any kit.
- Will provide the mechanical design details once we reach the goal. We don’t expect that this will be private after the campaign as things will be mainly available on internet.
So, what are the pos and cons of our project?
Pos:
- Software – we have the best software at affordable price, there is nothing similar in the market that can create the support and print. There are few open source slice STL, this is easy, the complex thing that no open source has is the ability to create the support automatically for the object. And none of open source software has a 3D graphical interface.
- Controller board – our controller board control 100% of the printer, including VGA input for the projector and motors. Most of people working on similar kits are using the VGA output from the notebook to display the image. This means that you cannot do anything on your computer while you are printing because your monitor will be “busy” for the printer.
- So, you just need one USB cable out of computer to control the machine
- We have very few moving parts, which allow us to have very thin wall thickness, around 300 microns. This is very important if you want to print small objects and hollow ones.
- We are using reliable linear actuator which provides better precision on Z axis.
Cons:
- We are not a open source kit (electronics and software)
Regards,
Jr
Since I created the blog I knew that a lot people would be working in similar project and many of them would create a printer or kit. I think this is great because our project has inspired some other people.
I also knew that the mechanical design in this machine will be something that a lot of people will copy, modify, improve…. That’s the reason we:
- Focus a lot on software as we believe it can be used with any kit.
- Will provide the mechanical design details once we reach the goal. We don’t expect that this will be private after the campaign as things will be mainly available on internet.
So, what are the pos and cons of our project?
Pos:
- Software – we have the best software at affordable price, there is nothing similar in the market that can create the support and print. There are few open source slice STL, this is easy, the complex thing that no open source has is the ability to create the support automatically for the object. And none of open source software has a 3D graphical interface.
- Controller board – our controller board control 100% of the printer, including VGA input for the projector and motors. Most of people working on similar kits are using the VGA output from the notebook to display the image. This means that you cannot do anything on your computer while you are printing because your monitor will be “busy” for the printer.
- So, you just need one USB cable out of computer to control the machine
- We have very few moving parts, which allow us to have very thin wall thickness, around 300 microns. This is very important if you want to print small objects and hollow ones.
- We are using reliable linear actuator which provides better precision on Z axis.
Cons:
- We are not a open source kit (electronics and software)
Regards,
Jr
Monday, April 9, 2012
Some clarifications...
Hi Guys,
First of all thank you very much for all support, we are having a amazing campaign at Indiegogo. (http://www.indiegogo.com/veloso3dprinter)
I would like to clarify few things about the project:
What is the Kit?
I saw many negative comments in different blogs about the kit price, I believe that most of the comments are coming from people who believe we will be building the kit in my kitchen using components from the hardware store across the street. Additionally people are questioning the ability to provide support for the software as they believe are just people developing it for fun during free time.
My apologies for not explaining this before and creating this confusion. I understand the negative comments as I would also not pay 4K USD for something that will be produced in someones kitchen (place where 99% people are mentioning - LOL).
We have been developing a very professional kit, which will be manufactured in China with high precision components and plastic injected parts. The result is a good looking kit as well precision and great quality. The pictures you see so far is from our first working prototype, the kit looks much better. We will release the new kit pictures soon, you will be surprised. Why we havent share this so far? Because the new version uses a slightly different process than the one we have posted in the internet and we don't to make the details public on internet before the end of the campaign.
So, please don't think you are buying a "kitchen" manufactured machine. We moved to very professional mode for this kit long time ago, and we have all sort of engineers working in the project.
Additionally the software is not a weekend project, we have a small team working for over 1 year and 8 months full time on it. Just compare our software with the existing open sources... yes, difficult to compare... :-)
We are setting up the suport for both kit and software following best industry standards and I am sure everyone that acquires the kit will be more than happy with that.
I will provide some new pics soon, new objects and videos.
BTW, electronics are not standard 9.99 boards in the market but a special designed board.
Does it means if I buy the blue print I will need to build special precision parts?
This would be the preferable option, but you can still develop a machine using the hardware shop material or things from ebay. But we can't guarantee the quality.
We will create a forum where people who wants to build their own machine would be able to share their experience.
BTW1: Some people are getting upset and writing terrible things just because they are not getting answers for their questions. I am really sorry about it, and I apologize. We are receiving over 100 emails daily and many comments in the blog. Unfortunately we have huge backlog of questions which we expect to clean soon, right now our focus is on the design/development, so there will be always a bit of delay in the answers. Please don't take conclusions by yourself and kindly contact us by email (veloso3d@gmail.com) if you have any question or concern.
BTW2: I don't understand why so many people is asking for open source project... ???.. sorry the project is not open source as you expect.
Cheers
Monday, April 2, 2012
Indiegogo campaign is live!!!!
Hi Guys,
We are glad to inform that our Indiegogo campaign for the project is live, please find the link below:
http://www.indiegogo.com/veloso3dprinter
Thank you very much for your support.
Cheers
We are glad to inform that our Indiegogo campaign for the project is live, please find the link below:
http://www.indiegogo.com/veloso3dprinter
Thank you very much for your support.
Cheers
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Unbelievable!!! Thanks for all emails!!!
Hi Guys,
We are extremely excited with the feedback and emails we have received!!!
In less than 24 hours we received over 150 emails requesting to enter in the pre-order list, some people for basic kit and most for the full kit!! We are very happy with the success!!!
Because of that we decided to start the Indiegogo campaign tomorrow (April 2nd) as pre-order of the kits.
We received many questions and they will be all in our FAQ.
We are planning to have the following perks for our campaign:
Important: All prices below are just for Indiegogo.
E-mail PDF (59 USD):
One PDF document that will be delivered by email with the printer high level design (no measures included in the drawings), pictures, design suggestions, tips, some secrets.
This document brings all information for a hobbyist to design and develop his own printer.
The person should have some strong mechanical and electronic skills to be able to build the machine.
CD with complete design (159 USD - including shipping):
A CD with detailed printer design, including all measures, detailed pictures, BOM, videos how to assemble, manual, one resin formula and tips.
This CD contains all detailed information for a hobbyist to build our printer. The person should have some mechanical and electronic skills to be able to build the machine.
Software + Complete CD (399 USD - including shipping):
The CD above + full license of our software (features of the software will be in the FAQ)
Software price after Indiegogo: (549 USD)
Basic Kit I (Software + Controler board + Complete CD) (599 USD - shipping not included):
All items above + 1 controller board (able to control the entire printer).
(This basic kit does not include motors or linear guides or projector)
Price After Indiegogo: (849 USD)
Basic Kit II (Basic Kit I + few mechanical parts) (1999 USD - shipping not included):
This kit will have the Basic Kit I + the following parts:
1) All necessary motors for the printer
2) The linear actuators
3) Power supply for the controller board and motors
4) Building tray
5) Building head (area that the object is build)
With this kit you will have almost everything you need to speed up the process of building our printer.
(This basic kit does not include projector, machine main structure, as well some mechanical parts)
Price After Indiegogo: (2699 USD)
Full Kit (everything you need + 1KG of resin!!) - (3999 USD - shipping not included):
This kit will include everything, from projector to bolts and nuts. You will need just few hours to assemble and run you new 3D Printer. This kit also comes with 1KG of resin, which is enough to print a lot!!!
Price After Indiegogo: (to be defined)
Unfortunately we will be able to deliver only 250 full kits this year for this Indiegogo campaign, because of production limitation and we will probably just take new orders next year once we deliver all Indiegogo perks.
Additionally the campaign will last just for 2 months and the order will follow the purchase order at Indiegogo.
I am sure you will have great time with this machine as much we have been working on it.
BTW, this is not 1st April joke... :-)
Cheers,
We are extremely excited with the feedback and emails we have received!!!
In less than 24 hours we received over 150 emails requesting to enter in the pre-order list, some people for basic kit and most for the full kit!! We are very happy with the success!!!
Because of that we decided to start the Indiegogo campaign tomorrow (April 2nd) as pre-order of the kits.
We received many questions and they will be all in our FAQ.
We are planning to have the following perks for our campaign:
Important: All prices below are just for Indiegogo.
E-mail PDF (59 USD):
One PDF document that will be delivered by email with the printer high level design (no measures included in the drawings), pictures, design suggestions, tips, some secrets.
This document brings all information for a hobbyist to design and develop his own printer.
The person should have some strong mechanical and electronic skills to be able to build the machine.
CD with complete design (159 USD - including shipping):
A CD with detailed printer design, including all measures, detailed pictures, BOM, videos how to assemble, manual, one resin formula and tips.
This CD contains all detailed information for a hobbyist to build our printer. The person should have some mechanical and electronic skills to be able to build the machine.
Software + Complete CD (399 USD - including shipping):
The CD above + full license of our software (features of the software will be in the FAQ)
Software price after Indiegogo: (549 USD)
Basic Kit I (Software + Controler board + Complete CD) (599 USD - shipping not included):
All items above + 1 controller board (able to control the entire printer).
(This basic kit does not include motors or linear guides or projector)
Price After Indiegogo: (849 USD)
Basic Kit II (Basic Kit I + few mechanical parts) (1999 USD - shipping not included):
This kit will have the Basic Kit I + the following parts:
1) All necessary motors for the printer
2) The linear actuators
3) Power supply for the controller board and motors
4) Building tray
5) Building head (area that the object is build)
With this kit you will have almost everything you need to speed up the process of building our printer.
(This basic kit does not include projector, machine main structure, as well some mechanical parts)
Price After Indiegogo: (2699 USD)
Full Kit (everything you need + 1KG of resin!!) - (3999 USD - shipping not included):
This kit will include everything, from projector to bolts and nuts. You will need just few hours to assemble and run you new 3D Printer. This kit also comes with 1KG of resin, which is enough to print a lot!!!
Price After Indiegogo: (to be defined)
Unfortunately we will be able to deliver only 250 full kits this year for this Indiegogo campaign, because of production limitation and we will probably just take new orders next year once we deliver all Indiegogo perks.
Additionally the campaign will last just for 2 months and the order will follow the purchase order at Indiegogo.
I am sure you will have great time with this machine as much we have been working on it.
BTW, this is not 1st April joke... :-)
Cheers,
Friday, March 30, 2012
Kit Update
Hi Guys,
We spent the past few weeks working on the price for the Complete Kit, as well resin, software and everything related to the Printer.
We found out that producing all the parts and shipping worldwide is quite expensive, which is not what most of the people expect for a DIY project. The complete Kit would probably cost over 4K USD, without shipment and in case we manage to have a big volume.
This is very cheap compared to existing High Resolution 3D Printers, but it is expensive for a DIY project. And we felt after reading lot of emails commenting on the pricing, that the community is not expecting such a high price.
Because of this, we think would make more sense to move for only a basic kit, where we would provide all documentation needed to build the Printer, as well the Resin formula and just sell the software and the controller board. The documentation would have the detail technical specification, BOM and Suppliers.
This basic kit (Document + Software + Controller Board) would be sold around $600 USD, but even for that we would need a good volume to be able to produce it.
For this reason we’re creating a Pre-order list for both Kits (full and basic), so we can decide the best way to move forward.
If you are interested in the basic one or in the full one or both, please send us an email at veloso3d@gmail.com
Cheers
We spent the past few weeks working on the price for the Complete Kit, as well resin, software and everything related to the Printer.
We found out that producing all the parts and shipping worldwide is quite expensive, which is not what most of the people expect for a DIY project. The complete Kit would probably cost over 4K USD, without shipment and in case we manage to have a big volume.
This is very cheap compared to existing High Resolution 3D Printers, but it is expensive for a DIY project. And we felt after reading lot of emails commenting on the pricing, that the community is not expecting such a high price.
Because of this, we think would make more sense to move for only a basic kit, where we would provide all documentation needed to build the Printer, as well the Resin formula and just sell the software and the controller board. The documentation would have the detail technical specification, BOM and Suppliers.
This basic kit (Document + Software + Controller Board) would be sold around $600 USD, but even for that we would need a good volume to be able to produce it.
For this reason we’re creating a Pre-order list for both Kits (full and basic), so we can decide the best way to move forward.
If you are interested in the basic one or in the full one or both, please send us an email at veloso3d@gmail.com
Cheers
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Quick update
Hi Guys,
It has been a while since my last update, my apologies for that.... I have been quite busy...
Pedro is now leading the project and we have everything ready for the kit, looks impressive. I will post the details this week.
There are many comments and messages of people asking for contact details, so I decided to put our contact here in the blog. If you wish to talk to us please send an email to veloso3d@gmail.com
Cheers,
Jr
It has been a while since my last update, my apologies for that.... I have been quite busy...
Pedro is now leading the project and we have everything ready for the kit, looks impressive. I will post the details this week.
There are many comments and messages of people asking for contact details, so I decided to put our contact here in the blog. If you wish to talk to us please send an email to veloso3d@gmail.com
Cheers,
Jr
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