Compact and affordable 3d printer Kickstarter

[drafterITA]

3d printer experts, what do you think of this upcoming Kickstarter?
https://obsidian.kodama3d.com
There are not so many details yet.. But getting it with the early bird offer, 49 bucks, might be almost cheap to try it.
Unless it's a kickfarter

[Thump52]

I signed up to get more info, looks like a good deal, thanks for posting.

[HoolyHoo]

Heated Bed, Camera, Wifi and Screen are all "Upgrades", so the $49 is going to be bare bones. Unknown what price will be with these features.

[ICMF]

That's a tiny build volume, too.

Also, individual components cost money. In order to build a printer for $50 - even if they're building them for free, with no profit and not charging for their own time - you've got to use the absolute cheapest, lowest cost, lowest quality components you can possibly find. That's going to mean sacrificing print quality. Just the price of the power supply, controller board and stepper motors alone *should* be more than $50, and they've also got to pay tooling and injection molding costs.

So in addition to the small print size, it will probably have a poor print quality, too.

There's a good chance it will get built - there have been a few successful <$100 3D printer kickstarters - but IMO you'd be better off buying something like a Wanhao Duplicator for $150 - 200 instead. Yes, it's more expensive, but it's also a far more capable machine.

[RetroRocket]

Yeah, 4.7"^2 build area is tiny, in addition to likely substandard components. I've used many different kinds and there are some outliers, but in general I wouldn't invest in something that can't at least print 12" x 12".

That being said, if sanding parts is your favorite pasttime, and you're only planning on building small housings for components, this could be worth it.

[rodocop]

I've just seen this on kickstarter (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/14 ... nd-afforda), It kinda makes me want a 3D printer now, but I have no idea if it's worth it. Are there any other recommendations for small, $300 or less printers on the market? I really don't know where to start and don't want to spend a lot since I am only wanting one 'just cause'...Can't justify a huge price tag.

[drafterITA]

I've just seen this on kickstarter (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/14 ... nd-afforda), It kinda makes me want a 3D printer now, but I have no idea if it's worth it. Are there any other recommendations for small, $300 or less printers on the market? I really don't know where to start and don't want to spend a lot since I am only wanting one 'just cause'...Can't justify a huge price tag.

I'm no expert in 3d printing.. Maybe others can answer that question. But this Kickstarter is raising a lot of funds.
Now the question is: it's just because it's on Kickstarter (a lot of stuff there is already on the market for quite some time, it just gets a good publicity on that platform) or is it because it's good?
I wanted to back the project.. But I'm afraid I'll have to move to another country in the near future and I don't if I'll have the room for it.

[RetroRocket]

I'm no expert in 3d printing.. Maybe others can answer that question. But this Kickstarter is raising a lot of funds.
Now the question is: it's just because it's on Kickstarter (a lot of stuff there is already on the market for quite some time, it just gets a good publicity on that platform) or is it because it's good?
I wanted to back the project.. But I'm afraid I'll have to move to another country in the near future and I don't if I'll have the room for it.

As a product designer and developer by trade, I thought I'd put in my .02 on crowdfunding projects like this in general. We've seen quite a number of 3D printers and other Maker movement tools in the past couple years. For casual hobbyists, these seem to be appealing due to a reasonably attractive price, many features and photo-worthy housing.
I've used close to 50 different printers at this point and have to say the best ones are the ugly, exposed frames because you can more readily access and modify components for your purposes. If you don't like to tinker, then most of these enclosed Apple stores are pretty similar (Except Dremel's; it's fine but you're paying for the label more than the product).

Kickstarter and other crowdfunding platforms allow product developers to appeal to a smaller, more motivated audience than would be possible with a larger enterprise and tap into their enthusiasm for niche, small-scale releases. Strictly speaking, they aren't able to utilize the economies of scale that larger groups can which result in lower prices for similar or superior components. Instead they rely on publishing a great story that resonates with a specific group; if only 8% of the people they reach like their product enough to fund, they're sitting pretty. Also these are often labors of love, meaning they are working on them constantly without paying themselves commensurate rates, so you can usually be sure their margins are tiny.

I don't have any direct experience with the Obsidian; it certainly looks nice and it could be good, so by all means support it. Personally I don't care about creature comforts like wi-fi, phone apps, marginally more convenient buttons, webcam, or lights, and I'd definitely want something that has a greater build volume and capacity for upgrades.

To OP, If you're looking for an entry-level, self-contained 3D printer, this looks similar and competitive with others like Anet's A3 (though the Obsidian is obviously prettier), just make sure you're getting all the features you want at the price point you're willing to pay.