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When Sam Cervantes set up Solidoodle in 2011 his aim was to produce and affordable and easy-to-use 3D printer for all. While his competitors (and former employers were charging) in excess of $2,000 for their nicely packaged FDM printer Sam and team aimed at keeping the cost down by stripping back the packaging of the printer and supplying a printer that essentially did the same thing for a quarter of the price.
The Solidoodle 2 was a sturdy open frame, that could be stood on and it appealed to the makers of the world, to date there’s been over 10,000 Solidoodles of various generations shipped from the Brooklyn HQ.
Earlier this year at the TCT + Personalize sponsored 3D Printing TechZone at International CES 2014 we got a glimpse of Solidoolde moving away from that sturdy open frame and into a more consumer looking machine with the Solidoodle 4. Today marks another point on that journey as Solidoodle hits the market with a whole new specifically targeted range of 3D printers.
The jewel in the crown will be the Solidoodle Press, a machine aimed at the consumer market with sleek looks and an enticing $599 price tag. The price point sets the Solidoodle Press apart from the similar 3D Systems Cube 3rd gen, MakerBot Mini and although other 3D printers may have appeared on Kickstarter offering similar prices none have the experience of nearly four years manufacturing and improving machines to hand.
The Solidoodle Press comes with a decent 8 x 8 x 8 print size, with a maximum resolution of 100 microns, it prints in both PLA and ABS, it comes with Solidoodle’s refined extruder head that heats up to 230 degrees, a heated bed, an enclosed spool with Solidoodle’s new proprietary enclosed spool holder to prevent filament jams (before anybody kicks up a fuss about proprietary cartridges the Solidoodle Press also supports universal filaments) and the printer has an enclosed build platform for safety around pets and children. These are all pretty standard in today’s market but there’s one feature that Solidoodle are proud to shout from the rooftops about… Soli-Touch.
Soli-Touch is a calibration technology that Solidoodle think will be a revolution in consumer 3D printing. A touch probe system that automatically calibrates you platform before your print; no more adjusting screws on the build platform, no more bed levelling with pieces of paper, Soli-Touch does all of that for you.
Solidoodle aren’t a company to cast aside a loyal customer base, for those that prefer the 2nd and 3rd Gen machines with their open-designed frame Solidoodle have also launched two new machines in their Workbench range; Workbench Apprentice and Workbench.
Both machines come with a dual-extruder as standard and the Soli-Touch calibration technology. They are aimed at the DIY/Hobbyist who enjoys tinkering with a machine, enjoys adding after-market modifications to suit their specific needs. The Apprentice version has a 6 x 6 x 8 inch build volume and comes in at $799, for another $500 the Workbench comes with a massive 12 x 12 x 12 inch build volume and a heated bed.
By appealing to both the maker market and the consumer Solidoodle appear to have both bases covered, Solidoodle Press certainly lives up to the affordability and ease-of-use mission Sam Cervantes first set out to achieve.
