BotObjects Announces First Full-Color Desktop 3D Printer

Zothecula writes "In the ProDesk3D, 3D printing outfit botObjects has come up with not only the first full color desktop 3D printer, but thanks to its anodized aluminum body, unquestionably one of the prettiest. The company's goal was to think about how 3D printers might look in 5 years, aiming to put clear water between the ProDesk3D and its "kit-like contemporaries." To print in color, it uses a cartridge system capable of mixing five base colors of PLA."

Comments

No Print Images?

[jesseck]

I checked out the article and website, but there are not pictures of parts printed with the system. Was there no proof-of-concept, just a few photoshopped or empty shells made for these product images? On the other hand, it does look nice, although with 3D Printing looks don't matter that much.

Re:No Print Images?

[Barryke]

Yup. I guess its a slashvertisement.

Re:No Print Images?

[ZephyrXero]

Yeah, I thought that was weird too. Every other 3D printer company I've seen was more than happy to show some examples of what they can make. I'm gonna consider this vaporware for now...

Cartridge system? Fuck that.

[GameboyRMH]

It's a waste of money and environmentally unfriendly. Some of the commercial printers even have chips to keep you from refilling. There are cheap machines to make filament from raw material now, going to cartridges from filament reels is the wrong direction.

Also, inb4 the 3D printing haters/snobs!

Re:Cartridge system? Fuck that.

[JaredOfEuropa]

Yes. Anything for which no off-the-shelf equivalent exists: replacement parts, prototypes, components for my own projects, objets d'art, etc. Printing at home is still something for the 3d printing enthusiast, but there are fablabs that will print high quality parts in plastic or metal and mail them, at attractive prices.

Re:Cartridge system? Fuck that.

[GameboyRMH]

Almost anything you can 3D print that isn't available off-the-shelf, and is required in low volume, will be cheaper than an off-the-shelf part. Do you know how much it costs to retool an injection molding machine, never mind purchase one in the first place?

People have been making 3D printed replacements for a lot of little plastic brackets on cars that would otherwise have to be pulled off a junkyard part (if they can be found at all). I plan to print an ITB adapter for an engine in Ultem.

Can't buy one

[IWantMoreSpamPlease]

At least not yet, best you can do is click on a link to "register your interest"
What's next? a kickstarter campaign?
Vapourware/slashvertisement of the worst kind.

so its slashvertisement

[nimbius]

but seriously, you dont pander your product by pissing on something here at slashdot we know and love.

aiming to put clear water between the ProDesk3D and its "kit-like contemporaries."

i get it, "we're open (for business) and your little open source ideas are cute but dwarfed immeasurably by THE PRODUCT." Heres a hint. SCO tried this, Microsoft tried this, SUN tried this, and they all found out the competitive, more readily established 'kit-like contemporaries' called Linux eventually became an industry leading Juggernaut while their ProSuperUltraEnterprise offering became the lock-in standard for reverse engineering, assimilation and deprecation.

Vapourware

[Anonymous Coward]

So we have computer generated images of the printer.
No images of prints.
No images of the device proper
No cost
No details on the 'cartridge system'
No price
No details on the internal mechanics (Either say 'based on the reprap pro' or say 'entirely new guide/position system')
Claiming capabilities and qualities far beyond what the most advanced/expensive devices on the market can claim

I can't smell anything, so I'm suspecting vapourware.

"Proprietary"

[chill]

A clue for the people posting these Slashvertisements. The use of the word "proprietary" may get the venture capitalists knickers all moist, but it sets off all sorts of alarms when trying to sell a product to an end-user. (Not including clueless CIOs reading Gartner reports.)

"Proprietary" translated to end-user speak means "once you buy this we have you by the balls. You're locked in to buying our over-priced, exclusive consumables until you swallow your pride, admit your mistake and dump our product. With luck, that time will never come to pass as we'll be dug in deeper than a starving deer tick. Bend over and grab your ankles."

For examples, please see Oracle and Microsoft.

good idea. not

[capsteve]

full color printing, or multicolor printing? i suspect that this printer is multicolor. and i call bullshit
color printing(ink on paper) has been around for centuries, but was a selective process, applying color to discreet areas(initial caps, image insert pages). and it was a costly and time consuming process. true full color printing which was reporoducable at scale was when chromolithography and color separation process was refined. it was the advances of the halftone screening process that really propelled color printing to enter the mainstream.

3d printing is more complex the its flatland brother, since halftone color process might not be a viable solution to rendering color hues(maybe with multiple hotends). 3d printing is also complicated by the fact that your printing substrate is the "ink" you are using. i've been mulling over 3d printing in color, and my opinion is 6-7 colored filaments, not 5. CMYK+white for color spectrum mixing, grey(cause it's cheaper and faster than mixing expensive pigments) to also be used for infill, and a brittle rafting material.

I've had more than enough of this

[JustNiz]

To all slashdot submitters: If you are going to post articles about amazing new tech please stop trying to gain interest by making it sound like you can buy it right now when its actually still in the wet dream phase.

>> The company's goal was to think about how 3D printers might look in 5 years, ...because that is how long it will probably be from now before this becomes available as a product you can actually buy.