Former MakerBot exec launches Solidoodle sub-$500 3D printer

mhectorgato · April 25, 2012, 5:49pm

Let’s be honest – we all want a a 3D printer to call our own, right? Price has always been a significant barrier to the dream of printing pretty much everything your imagination can conjure (barring some hardware limitations, of course). For its part, MakerBot has made some significant strides toward tearing some of those barriers, and now Solidoodle, led by that company’s former COO Samuel Cervantes, is looking to take the trend even further. The company’s current self-tilted model starts at just under $500. The printer, which is now up for pre-order, can print plastic pieces up to 6" x 6" x 6", and “all you need to supply is a computer and power.” Also, interestingly, "a 200-pound man can literally stand on top of the machine while it’s printing. " So, that’s a bonus. Check out a video of the printer in action after the break.

devhammer · April 25, 2012, 9:07pm

Saw this on twitter. Gotta say, if they can pull this off, I’m going to be in line for one. I can’t justify over a grand, but under five hundred bucks? Dang, count me in, baby!

Here’s the pitch video:

Blue_Hair_Bob · April 26, 2012, 12:49pm

I have been working on 3d printer designs for the past year (the reason I haven’t been very Fez-Active). My current design has an 8"x8" build area, weighs about 5 pounds, folds down into an 12"x9"x5" travel case, and costs less than $300 to build (retail would be a bit higher, probably $495). It is a true RepRap, it can print the parts for copies itself. Almost all of the cost is in the electronics and extruder. Maybe I can run it on a Cerb40 and the new stepper controller Gus hints at and drive the cost down a bit more. I can’t wait to show it to you guys - but that will have to wait a little more.

WouterH · April 26, 2012, 1:03pm

So everybody, hold your horses, don’t buy a Solidoodle! Can’t wait to see your 3D printer Bob. I always wonder how they get such a tight positioning with mechanical parts.

FireyFate · April 26, 2012, 1:21pm

Sounds interesting, keep us posted Bob!

ransomhall · April 26, 2012, 2:48pm

More interest for Bob’s idea!

I’m also wondering why this guy is a “former” COO. MakerBot is by all indications a wildly successful startup. They’re going gangbusters… lots of demand, substantial VC funding, tons of slick marketing. If you’re the COO, why leave? Anybody know the answer? Conspiracy theories accepted

mhectorgato · April 26, 2012, 2:58pm

Looking forward to more info Bob!!

Architect · April 26, 2012, 3:11pm

Maybe founders/shareholders didn’t like their COO

ddurant · May 3, 2012, 10:35am

Or maybe he didn’t like them! I don’t think Sam was at MBI for very long - maybe 8 months or so. No idea why he left.

I saw the smaller (4x4x4) Soliddoodle at MakerFaire:NYC last summer and got to chat with him a bit. Really nice guy and a very cool (and tiny!) machine (though I still love my Ultimaker).

[quote]If you’re the COO, why leave? Anybody know the answer? Conspiracy theories accepted
[/quote]
Don’t know the answer but my wild guess would be that he didn’t agree with the way MBI does things. They usually don’t score very well on the price:performance curve and lag pretty far behind on tech. Good marketing, though. That combination can drive engineer types a bit nuts… Again, totally guessing here.

HughB · June 8, 2012, 11:36am

Hey Bob, now the new paralell CNC module is out are you planning on using it for your printer??

Blue_Hair_Bob · June 8, 2012, 5:14pm

I am certainly going to look into it.