3D-printing technology is taking the world by storm! Every week a new 3D gadget, widget, or gizmo is being unveiled that sparks the imagination, and the new 3D pen is no different. In fact, the 3D pen-----called the 3Doodler-----has us all pretty amazed!
3D-printing technology provides ease, control, and precision-----at affordable prices. WobbleWorks understands the industry very well. According to its website, the company was founded by Peter Dilworth and Maxwell Bogue in 2011, and they are "a small toy and robotics company with big ideas...[with] focus [on] low cost toys and robots that have a high impact." They've likewise described themselves as "an emergent toy company led by a team of experienced toy makers and enthusiasts who strive to bring a new wave of toys and robots to children young and old."
And what a wonder they have in their product, the 3Doodler! Their original crowd-funding goal on Kickstarter was just $30,000-----but as of the date of this article's publication, the WobbleWorks team has managed to raise over $2.3M in less than five weeks from their Kickstarter supporters!
So what's the magic of the 3Doodler? It's the world's first 3D-printing pen. It is a stand-alone device (approximately 180 x 244 mm, weighing less than 7 grams), requiring no software and no computers either. It utilizes the heated extrusion head of a typical 3D-printer while threading a single piece of plastic (the ABS material often employed by 3D-printers) as its "ink", thus allowing its user to draw in the air. Indeed, strong, rigid, standing structures can be literally drawn in thin air by the 3Doodler!
The WobbleWorks team created their 3Doodler pen at the makerspaces provided by Boston-based Artisan's Asylum LLC. Despite the WobbleWorks team's current prototype being a plug-in, the WobbleWorks team is performing R&D on a battery-powered version.
Meanwhile, according to the 3Doodler's Kickstarter page, each 3Doodler is accompanied by "at least one bag of plastic; each bag will contain ten 1ft strands of plastic; and each 1 ft strand produces approximately 11 ft of 3Doodling fun... yes, you read that right, a foot of plastic goes a very long way in the 3Doodler."
However, the WobbleWorks team is careful to note that the 3Doodler is only for the use by those who are 12 years and older-----because the metal tip of the pen can reach temperatures of 270 degrees Celsius (i.e. 518 degrees Fahrenheit). Consequently, the WobbleWorks team likewise has a video series covering the safety measures that are to be taken when using the 3Doodler.
Artists, hobbyists, crafts artisans (even those on Etsy), architects, and engineers nonetheless have shown avid interest in the 3Doodler, even if it is marketed by a toy company. After all, the 3Doodler has the capability of "lift[ing] pen[s] off the paper" so that drawings become three-dimensional objects. Who wouldn't want to make plans come into reality?
Comments