Crowdfunded 3D printer innovations

3D printing is becoming mainstream due to its low cost of entry. These crowdfunded campaigns ensure that everyone can have a 3D printer in their workplace or home to print pretty much anything they want to.

Bocusini is a 3D printing system that prints food items. You can use sweet food such as chocolate, cookie dough, icing or marzipan, or savoury food such as creamed potatoes, pumpkin, cream cheese or pate. There are templates to make patterns simple.

FilaFab enables you to produce filament from pellets or recycled plastic and automatically spool it ready for printing. It extrudes ABS, PLA, EVA, HDPE, and NYLON. The associated winder allows automatic spooling of the filament.

The NEA is a mid range, modular cylindrical desktop 3D printer which extrudes PLA or ABS material using “fused filament fabrication” at a laminar resolution of between 25 to 300 microns.

ProtoCycler enables you to recycle waste plastic, or plastic pellets into 3D printer filament at ten feet per minute. A drum automatically spools the finished filament. It prints PLA or ABS.

The Rapide Lite 200mm desktop 3D printer works to a resolution of 50 microns per layer. It prints ABS or PLA and is compatible with MAC, PC and Linux desktops.

TeeBot is an open source 3D printer that folds up and fits in a suitcase. It works with carbon fibre, wood reinforced, glow in the dark and metal based filament to produce prints whilst still in the suitcase. It extrudes ABS or PLA and it also works with flexible materials such as NinjaFlex.