Having had no experience with 3d printers i'm looking for some input as to whether a tiko is any good and what considerations i should be looking at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tiko3d/tiko-the-unibody-3d-printer So far the only thing i think is bad about it is the small print area; anything else?
That projects seems quite ambitious - I doubt they will be able to deliver before the end of the year.
I think the unibody design is a very near idea with a lot of potential, but it remains to see how it will turn out.
Looks a lot like a modern interpretation of what the Makibox was trying to be, but they look far closer to real product than that was when it went kickstarter. They don't seem to be promising anything notably unusual, technically. Certainly there is the glitzy keywords and marketing as expected of a kick-starter but; They appear to be using some innovations which are derived from successful applications of similar things in other industries. Even if they ultimately go bust there will probably be a couple of things to give the rather technologically stagnant FDM printer market a bit of a freshen up. But the success or failure will really depend on the prudence of the individuals on their team, for example for managing sourcing connections. Like most things we're really on their word that they've judged where they are in the product life-cycle correctly. That judgment really includes a lot, far more than they let on to us. Summary: Interesting beyond the gloss and movies, ambitious and finally use discretion as you would any kickstarter project. ED- by the way, I think the comment '...I think they only thing bad about it is the small print area...' really suggests you're looking at it from the wrong perspective. To kick-start is not the same as evaluating a product to buy. You're buying into a product that somebody else thinks you will eventually be able to buy. The concerns that are really relevant are not only how the final product can perform, but as above, whether you can trust that those promising the product will deliver what they represent in the blurb in the time they think they can.
The "Unibody" concept impressed me. What left me cold was their Unibody is plastic. In their video they show that they've correctly identified the major flaw in existing FDM designs. They then proceed to offer a solution using a material not known for its dimensional stability over time or temperature. Perhaps they've found some easy to mould plastic that doesn't have those flaws but they make no mention of that.
I think you're right, reading deep into their spiel they do intended to use extruded aluminium. That's a decent sized extrusion though and the guide rails are part of the extrusion and are they painted or what, not sure... No doubt a fair slab of their funding would go into the extrusion dies and as they say they haven't made a prototype as yet using the same materials and processes as they intend to use for the production run. I guess for $179 + shipping the risk isn't great but you'll be waiting a long time even if the project goes to plan.
I'm not sure if it really matters that much. The goal of the product - as I read it - is an un-parralelled out of box experience. They aren't promising world beating quality amongst hobby grade FDM - really just equivalent to what is the 'norm' today, but at a radically better price point and package. They can make the unibody out of aluminum (there are a variety of methods that they could use and still be successful that aren't limited to aluminum) but what struck me was the seemingly polycarbonate piece that sits between the bed and uni-body. This isn't a non-functional piece as in Apple's power mac G4 of yesteryear but something that could affect print quality if it misaligns over the course of the print. But of course this observation loops back to the point: does it cause enough effect to really matter?
If you're new to 3D printers as a whole, this one will have all the problems that bother other cheap 3D printers. Off the top of my head: Limited support for overhangs and/or separate objects in one print. The fancy (ie $10K+) Stratasys ones can print a separate (soluble) support material for unlimited overhangs, or to have multiple objects interlaced. Cheap FDM ones can't do that. They can print a support out of the model material, which then has to be broken off once the print is completed. Low speed, although hopefully that won't be an issue given the small workspace. They claim that the enclosure prevents warping; that'll depend whether the enclosure is fairly well sealed and temperature-controlled (eg. the Stratasys ones heat the enclosure to 70°C). Again, the small size will help to avoid warping. The usual software limitations. It's always improving, but (especially with their own custom board) it might take a while for the software to work well. It's also got the funny triangular workspace, which might make some objects tricky to print. I funded the Makibox that mtma mentioned, and that was a good learning experience (largely because it wasn't a good end-result). Promised the world, delivered not very much (delivered nothing at all for a substantial portion of backers). Tiko looks like it's much further along than the Makibox was (actually, it looks like their prototype is further along than the final production Makibox) so hopefully there won't be any problems - but I'm not holding my breath. You might want to take a look at the Peachy Printer as an alternative. It now seems to be approaching production (they're saying July-October), and it's even cheaper ($100 US).
Can it? I've seen a lot about it having dual extruders, and a note on their website about how sometime in 2013 they'll have soluble support material available, but so far I haven't actually found any indication that they're actually selling a support material that works.
I actually pledged. My first and only kickstarter pledge to date! I've been keen on a 3D printer for ages and figured that for the price if it's works, great. If not, I've spent more on a night out. *shrug* Now I just need to learn how to design stuff..
Tiko's design reminds me of https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pirate3d/the-buccaneer-the-3d-printer-that-everyone-can-use But now with delta arms.
Looks like the Buccaneer is dead: http://techcrunch.com/2015/10/14/a-...ackers-without-their-3d-printer/#.rw16tn:CnTx I hope the Tiko sort out their issues - looks like it will be delayed: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tiko3d/tiko-the-unibody-3d-printer/posts/1373861 Recently one of my backed projects decided to give a full refund: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nonda/get-your-macbook-ports-back/posts/1341145 That one looked like a really easy project, as they are already a manufacturer, and have done similar things before, but a problem with a chipset meant they would have to wait till at least February, which they (rightly so) determined to be too long to wait...
