around this time around last year, Monoprice quietly revealed a small, $200 3D printer. At the time, a completely working printer at this cost point wasn’t unheard of. A good 3D printer at this cost point was. It turned out this printer was really fantastic and totally altered the value proposition of desktop 3D printers.
In the year because the release of the MP choose small printer, Monoprice has been difficult at work bringing costs down, reworking designs, as well as producing an even less costly printer. Now, it’s out. It’s offered for pre-order on Indiegogo best now. Is this still a $150 printer? Not quite: the ‘early bird’ cost is $159 with totally free shipping as well as August delivery, as well as a routine cost of $169 plus $10 shipping with September or October delivery. There’s likewise a bundle for $279 that includes the printer, 2kg of filament, and a software application package.
The very first time we saw this small printer was method back in January at CES. It wanted to be an incredibly capable printer; the only concern was if Monoprice might create it as well as get it out the door. This would be a tall order; this printer includes NEMA 17 stepper motors, a heated bed, a 32-bit controller board, as well as has WiFi enabled.
Here’s what we understand about the abilities of this printer. It’s a relatively common delta printer with Bowden extruder as well as a heated bed. PLA as well as ABS is supported. The printer has car bed leveling that steps the bed by ‘tapping’ the nozzle against the bed in about a lots locations before printing. From what we saw at CES, the hot end appears similar to the very first revision of the $200 MP choose small — potentially opening up the door to E3D hot end installations.
Is this printer worth it? Every 3D printer released on a crowdfunding platform ought to include the common warnings, however Monoprice states this device is in production best now. This increases the question: why release it on Indiegogo when Monoprice already has the whole ‘taking orders for products online’ thing in the bag? I suspect this crowdfunding campaign is just building a buffer; a year ago, the MP choose small was perpetually out of stock, as well as demand far outstripped supply. The exact same thing will occur with a 3D printer that’s even deeper into impulse purchase territory.
In any type of event, the printer we’ve all been waiting on has been ‘released’, for diverse values of ‘released’. The very first units will begin making their method onto desktops this summer, as well as we’re going to pick one up as well as put it with its paces. You can inspect out Monoprice’s video of this printer below.