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Ibox nano 3d printer
What happened to iBox? - 3D Printing Industry
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Do you remember all the way back in 2014? Pharrell Williams was Happy, #nofilter was a thing and iBox promised us a tiny resin printer for just $299.
They sort of delivered, but it never really worked out.
The iBox Nano was a neat idea. It would fit in the corner of desktop, or travel with you. It could potentially run on batteries and it could knock out small scale models, chess pieces and other minutiae.
More than 1700 people were swayed by the promise of a desktop 3D printer at that price, despite its obvious size limitations. It smashed through the $300,000 funding drive and all looked to be well with the world. It actually raised $456,953 and iBox was on the way.
The printers came, of a fashion…
Sure enough they delivered the printers, but the first ones just didn’t work well. It takes time and money to develop groundbreaking hardware, though, and we were all prepared to give them a chance to get it right.
The Melbourne, Florida-based company went for another $2 million in funding last Summer with a Fundable campaign. By that time, it claimed to have sold 2000 of the diminutive units that could fit in the palm of your hand. It was even claiming to be the seventh biggest manufacturer of 3D printers in the world.
It almost looked good
It had 30 innovations that were ripe for patents and, we have to be honest, the little box looked cool. This looked like a winning recipe and when iBox eschewed the typical Kickstarter and opted to provide equity in exchange for investment, we had high hopes.
Founder and CEO Trent Carter valued the company at $12 million, which didn’t seem outlandish.
It just didn’t work out. The company simply didn’t raise the required funds and things have just gone downhill from there.
The founder has the personal potential
Carter was obviously in love with the 3D printing industry and refused to give up on his dream.
He had worked in hardware and software for two decades, too, so this was never going to be the end. Every great entrepreneur has endured the odd failure. In fact, any management book will tell you it’s part of the process.
He seemed to move on to the next chapter a little quickly, though, before the Nano was even cold.
The Macro broke cover almost too fast
iBox reappeared within months with another cool box. This time it was orange and the product was a much larger 3D printer that could make products with carbon-fiber resin.
The iBox Macro was dubbed as the lowest cost 3D printer on the market that could handle this kind of resin and the Early Bird deal was a printer for $999.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODEyAxPVGdM
It looked good, but the Kickstarter crashed and burned. It raised $31,036 out of $200,000 and it went quiet.
iBox was in trouble
So where did that leave iBox? It left them in a bad way.
You can still buy batteries off the site, but you can no longer order a printer.
Carter is still listed as the head of iBox on LinkedIn and he may simply be gathering himself for another assault on the funding. He could also be doing the rounds of the angel investors to raise private funds to go again.
We hope he is. Carter has 10 patents to his name and these printers showed early signs of greatness.
He needs more money than he asked for
One thing we do know, though, is that it takes serious money to develop a product and we’ve heard in the past how you simply cannot develop hardware of this nature for ‘just’ a few hundred thousand dollars.
If Carter is convinced that he has a great product in the making, then he should really go for gold and get the $1 million+ he will need to turn the Macro into a production reality. He could even go back and finish the Nano, because there is still a market if he can make it work.
We’re watching, we’re still interested and we’d really like to hear more.
Tags desktop printing iBox Startup
Nick Hall
Nick is a freelance journalist who has covered the cut and thrust of Formula One and the technical side of the supercar industry for the likes of The Sunday Times, Automobile and Penthouse on these shores, Tatler and The National in Dubai. After finally driving an F1 car there was nowhere left to go, so now he is here!
iBox Nano, The World's Cheapest, Smallest SLA 3D Printer Launches on Kickstarter for $189 - 3DPrint.com
Several months ago we had an all out price war between several companies which launched on Kickstarter trying to become the world’s cheapest 3D printer on the market. While many of these companies, like New Matter are working diligently to meet their budgets and follow through with promises made to their backers, many also failed before they ever got started. Since that time, the race to the bottom (in terms of price) slowed down, and quality, as well as innovative features became the selling points of new printers entering the market.
All of the machines we are talking about used the cheaper, less accurate fused filament fabrication technology. That’s because the superior technology of stereolithography (SLA), which uses UV light to cure a photosensitive resin, can be an entire order of magnitude more expensive. That’s until today…
This afternoon a company based out of Melbourne, Florida, called iBox Printers may have just ignited an all out war within the desktop 3D printing space. They’ve just launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for their iBox Nano 3D printer. Touted as the world’s smallest and most affordable resin-based 3D printer to ever hit the market, the printer is being made available to early bird backers for just $189.00, in their drive to raise $300,000 for full scale production.
The machine which has a laundry list of minimalistic features including size, weight, energy consumption, and most importantly price, measures just 4 x 3 x 8″, and is only 3 pounds.
As the world’s first LCD based UV resin printer, the iBox Nano is able to fabricate objects quietly, with the option to plug it in, or use it’s 10 hour capacity battery for portable 3D printing.
Any device with a web browser will be able to send data to the Nano and have it fabricated. This means that if you are in the other room with your iPhone, iPad, Android device or laptop you can initiate a print, without any requirement to download complicated software. Below you will find some of the key specifications of this new machine:
- Printer Technology: Stereolithography (LCD)
- Build Envelope: 40 x 20 x 90mm
- Resolution X-Y: 328 Microns
- Print Material: iBox Resin or Makerjuice
- Power Consumption During Print: 2.7 Watts
- Maximum Z Precision: 0.39 Microns
- Print Volume: 29 db
This printer is not for someone looking to 3D print large objects, as you can tell from the build envelope listed above. The main goal of iBox Printers in the development of this machine was to create a portable, affordable, quiet, and small machine, capable of being used anywhere in the home, or even on the go. The iBox Nano will retail for $299 once launched.
The first 100 backers of their Kickstarter campaign will lock in a price of just $189, while the next 500 and 1,000 backers can pre-order this machine for $229 and $269 respectively. The company expects to ship their first units as early as January f next year, with the first mass production run beginning in March.
Let us know if you intend to, or already have backed this project. Discuss in the iBox Nano forum thread on 3DPB.com. Check out the Kickstarter pitch video provide below.
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Tagged with: cheap 3d printer • crowdfunding • ibox nano • ibox printers • kickstarter • sla 3d printer • smallest 3d printer
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iBox Nano - the smallest and cheapest stereolithographic 3D printer in the world
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action for leadership in 3D printing.
Today she launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for her iBox Nano 3D printer. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it is the smallest and cheapest stereolithographic 3D printer ever to hit the market. iBox Printers plans to raise $300,000 to move into full-scale production, and it may very well achieve its goal, with first backers getting an iBox Nano for just $189.dollars. Who would turn down such a lucrative offer? This baby measures 10 cm x 7.6 cm x 20 cm and weighs only 1.36 kg. During printing, the iBox Nano is almost inaudible, it is so quiet. It can be connected to the mains or use a battery that lasts for 10 hours. Nano accepts data from any device that has internet access. This means you can start printing from your iPhone, iPad or laptop without having to download and install any complicated software. The main features of the new 3D printer are listed below:
- Print technology: stereolithography
- Displacement: 40 mm x 20 mm x 90 mm
- X and Y resolution: 328 microns
- Media: iBox Resin or Makerjuice
- Power consumption during printing: 2.
7 W - Maximum Z resolution: 0.39 micron
- Noise level: 29 dB
No, this printer will not allow you to print large objects. When it was created, the iBox Printers team was guided by the goal of creating a portable, inexpensive, quiet and small device that can be used at home and on the go. The retail price of the iBox Nano will be 299 dollars. The first 100 Kickstarter backers will get it for just $189, while the next 500 and 1,000 will get it for $229 and $269, respectively. Shipping of the first printers is scheduled for January next year, while mass production will begin in March.
Article prepared for 3DToday.ru
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The smallest and cheapest 3D printer in the world
1 Created on 07.11.2014 10:46
Getting a 3D printing ticket can be quite an expensive and intimidating process as most "affordable" printers are in the $1000+ price range.
The IBOX Nano aims to provide an alternative that, at $299, is not only cheaper, but also easier to use, especially for beginner 3D printing enthusiasts, and will come in very handy as long as your ambitions are on small product level.
The IBOX Nano is a resin 3D printer that boasts many "world's most..." epithets, including the world's cheapest, lightest, smallest and quietest 3D printer, and it is also the only 3D printer in the world that has the ability to run on batteries.
While most consumer-grade 3D printers use plastic filament, the IBOX Nano makes its creations from a resin bath that cures layer by layer with UV LEDs. This not only reduces the energy requirements of the printer, but also eliminates the smell of melted plastic that pervades the entire house.
Printing can be done using any browser running on almost any existing software platform, including mobile, and the source code of the software is open. The resulting products do not exceed a couple of inches in length, but they are printed with a resolution of 328 microns in the XY axes and 0.39Z-axis.
“We didn't set out to improve 3D printing, we're going to break down barriers; so that 3D printers can be in the hands of everyone.
That's why we've developed the world's smallest, most affordable, and easiest-to-use 3D printer that uses polymer resin. Most 3D printers are expensive, big, noisy and complex. We created the IBOX Nano with the home user in mind. Now we are ready to share this technology with you,” say the creators of the device.
In addition to personal computers, the printer supports printing from smartphones and tablets, which is very different from most 3D printers that are tied to a computer and supported by a couple of software platforms. IBOX Nano can print from any browser; from your Windows PC or Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Android device. You can print without installing any software. If the device has a browser, you will be able to print on the IBOX Nano.
IBOX Nano among other things has a WiFi module, so you can print without connecting to the printer physically. The printer also has built-in Ethernet and, if necessary, can be connected using it.
Most resin-based printers use DLP technology to generate and control the UV light that cures the resin.
The use of DLP brings with it several problems, such as low lamp life and cooling fan noise. Lamps should be replaced regularly, typically every 2000-8000 hours of operation. Even before that, they will begin to bring problems from noticeable losses in power, which leads to a decrease in print quality. These lamps can cost hundreds of dollars, but they will all have to be replaced. The IBOX Nano uses UV LEDs that last 50,000 hours, equivalent to 17 years, running 8 hours a day. At the same time, a minimum of heat is released and there is absolutely no noise due to the absence of the need for forced cooling.
In addition to energy efficiency, the printer offers economical media consumption. Since most 3D printers, regardless of their size, are used to print small objects, the material consumption in them is not optimal - the resin in large baths quickly deteriorates under the influence of ultraviolet radiation coming from artificial light sources.
IBOX Nano has a small container with material that simply does not have time to deteriorate and all goes to products.
