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Printrbot Jr. 3D Printer (Assembled)

bluescreen

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http://a248.e.akamai.net/origin-cdn.volusion.com/aes3n.okhn2/v/vspfiles/photos/DSPB1-2.jpg?1360349077

 

The Printrbot jr. is a great choice for people who are new to 3D printing. It's small, portable, and IT FOLDS! image

 

The jr. is slightly simpler than other printers because it ONLY uses PLA (no ABS) and does not come with a heated platform. PLA is non-toxic and biodegradable with a lower melting temperature – a safer choice for kids. It also uses one less motor than our other printers, greatly simplifying the process of moving the Z axis.

 

Features include:

 

  • 4″ x 4″ x 4″ build volume
  • PLA only (no ABS) – approximately 1/2 lb included with purchase
  • Astonishingly light at 6.3 lbs (when weighed apart from a power supply)
  • Compact – the bed folds up for easy carrying and packing
  • Fan mount kit with Fan included
  • Laptop power supply included
  • Future Upgrades:
  • A battery pack and LCD (sold separately) will allow truly wireless printing.

 

We are giving away a Printrbot jr to one lucky winner for FREE-- that's a value of USD $499.00.  In return, we simply ask that you write a detailed review of your experience with the Printrbot. Think about what would be helpful to you if you were reading another member's review, and let your friends on element14 know what you think about the Printrbot.

 

And did we mention you can print your own Yoda?

 

 

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RoadTest Reviews
Comments
Anonymous

  • I need to stop looking at this page, just making me more and more excited.

  • in reply to Nate1616

    Here's a youtube series of Brook Drumm assemblying the Printrbot Jr. I'm sure you can find the answers to any of your questions through his build videos.

     


    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdJxBpmRR5k

  • Awesome little machine! I'm looking forward to seeing more of it!

  • in reply to Nate1616

    I'd not realised before that these boards have extra outputs such as I2C and Analog I/O broken out to headers. It makes me wonder if anyone has tried to use a printer control board to run something like a robot or UAV.

  • Does anyone know if this is using the Sanguinolou board or the Teensylu?  Or if its a printrboard which one is it based off of.

     

    Nate

  • Matt, that's exactly what I have. I built one for my soldering station. Since my printer sits next to my soldering station I just relocate the vent hood over to my printer and viola.

  • in reply to Workshopshed

    I've buit a couple of fume extractors myself for my soldering station. One goes through 2 hepa filters and then out of the building. They work very well and it cost less than $30 to make, the bulk of the cost went into getting good "quality" filters.

  • Here's a report on the toxicity of PLA, it's a bit of a challenging read but in summary it's save to handle and for accidental eating. Inhaling dust should be avoided and it should be disposed of separately to other plastics. it can be composted but only under specialist conditions and it's not good in concentraion for the local earth worm population

     

    http://www.nicnas.gov.au/publications/car/new/na/nafullr/na0900fr/na939fr.pdf

     

    There's plenty of comments on the printer forums about PLA not emitting fumes, however this may not be the case for coloured PLA which has other additives.

     

    A couple more references.

     

    http://www.kpolymers.com/polylactic-acid-pla-polymer.asp

    http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/plastic.html?c=y&page=3

     

    You can get benchtop extractors quite cheaply such as this one Benchtop Fume AbsorberBenchtop Fume Absorber

  • in reply to e14 Contributor

    I couldn't agree more to the safety of your / our children. Anytime you melt a material, gases, fumes etc.. are released into the air. A 3D printer should be treated the same as if you were to use spray paint. Use in a well venelated area and make sure safety precautions are observed.

  • Guys, although I too would love to share this with my son, you do need to realize one of the implications of using a 3D printer with ABS. Although I am not an expert on the subject, melting ABS plastic produces fumes that may affect a child's asthma or other disorders you may or may not know of. I currently use a 3D printer that I have built and have a 5 year old I intend to help introduce this technology because I think it is the future. But to do this, I created a basic ventilation hood that helps trap and exhaust the fumes outdoors. My son has asthma and I've noticed that his coughing has diminished to nothing when I I use my printer. I am not sure how toxic PLA is but may offer a better solution if you are worried about air quality near children. I don't use PLA currently due to my industry but intend to start experimenting with it in the near future for some developmental projects I have in the works. Thank you for your time.

  • in reply to Workshopshed

    Simply amazing to see. This is exactly what one could hope for with their child. Seeing my son learn and grasp new concepts makes me smile ear to ear. Having such a powerful "tool" like this PrintrBot Jr would just open the door for him and allow him to expand his creativity.

     

    Thanks for the post!

  • in reply to mbmedley

    Here's what happens if you give a small boy a 3D printer.

     

  • These are amazing. He'd flip out if we made something like this. The first one is just amazing, you can tell all of it was made via the printer. Just outstanding. Just adds more to the hope of us getting lucky and getting this printer.

     

    Thanks for the links!!

  • in reply to mbmedley

    Here's a couple of cool robots, I believe they are both 3D printed the first one definately is.

     

     

  • I plan on using the printer bot to teach my son how things are made, how things work, and what creativity and imagination can accomplish. He has always wanted to build a "robot" and this would be a great opportunity for him and I to learn together. Designing, building and printing parts for his robot would be the best thing for him and I to do this summer. He loves to draw and create things on paper, this would allow him to create things he can actually use and play with. This would be the best father and son time a "geek" like me could ask for. I also plan on using my son in our video reviews of this printer if we're awarded it. He could show off what he's come up with and how he got to the point of printing them on the Printrbot jr.

     

    Good luck to everybody, I hope whoever gets it is very happy and uses it for educational purposes. Remember, your child is never too young to learn.

     

    Thank you!

    ~Matt M.

  • in reply to mbmedley

    Hey Matt:

     

    You can just add your plan by adding your comment below .  Not need to go back/edit to your original application to do that.

     

    Joe

  • Good links, it's interesting that the pigment (colour) of the filament makes a difference to the temperature required for melting and that the temperature is key to getting the first layer to stick to the printer bed.

     

    One key point on the PLA page is that you should keep it in a dry enviroment, if it's kept in too humid conditions it can a absorb water which comes out as steam when it's printing which is not good. Store it in ziplock bags says the people on this forum

     

    http://forums.reprap.org/read.php?70,124109

  • Here are some pages where we can found some example temperatures for :

    However these temp. are for other 3D printers but I suppose this is nearly the same

    .

    And here is an entire page talking about heated bed (not from PrintrBot): http://reprap.org/wiki/Heated_Bed

  • in reply to xgelectro

    Xavier, an interesting comparison. I see on the Printrbot site that you can upgrade to ABS by the addition of a heated bed, you need that so that the ABS sticks. You can get the upgrade as a kit or buy the parts separately, an upgraded powersupply is needed too. ABS also needs a hotter print head but apparently the Jr can already handle that.

     

    http://printrbot.com/shop/printrbot-jr-heated-bed-upgrade/