Ready-to-use desktop 3D printer to go on sale here for €1,450
The easy-to-use latest in printing technology allows the user to design a three dimensional product and send it to the printer via their computer or by plugging in a USB stick.
The Cube then prints the design using layers of plastic for a fully formed 3D object. The material is printed hot but quickly cools to form a hard resin.
The Cube, manufactured by 3D Systems, went on sale in Britain earlier this week and will hit the Irish market on Oct 9, selling at around €1,450.
One of the simplest-to-use models on the market, the Cube is being marketed as the only 3D printer certified for safe at-home use by adults and children.
Its simplicity allows anyone using the Cube to start 3D printing as soon as they take it out of the box. It comes with 25 free 3D print files designed by professional artists. However, it is also compatible with easy-to-use software (available for Mac or Windows) that prepares additional files for printing from a personal device. There are no cables, the Cube’s Wi-fi facility allowing users to send prints straight from the computer.
Available in five colours — white, silver, pink, green, and blue — the printer uses material cartridges of recyclable and compostable plastics in 16 different colours including vibrant and neutral colours, metallic silver and “glow in the dark”. These are priced at £52.80 each (€63.17).
Despite making a lot of headlines, the Cube is not the first 3D printer on the market. The concept has been used in the construction and aerospace for some time. However, the launch of desktop 3D printing devices shows that the technology is rapidly becoming more mainstream.
And the Cube is not the first desktop 3D printer on the market. The Velleman K8200 3D printer which went on sale at electronic chain Maplin in July for €840. However, the Velleman printer has to be assembled whereas the Cube is ready to operate when it comes out of the box.
Nasa is preparing to send a toaster-sized 3D printer into space next year in order to reduce the load normally dispatched to the International Space Station (ISS).
When a Nasa capsule is sent to the ISS in 2014, astronauts will use it to create spare parts and tools which would otherwise have to be sent up in bulk.
