#9 Printrbot: Your First 3D Printer

“A desktop 3D printer you can build in a couple hours. Print plastic parts you design or download - even parts for another printer.”

Backers: 1,808

Pledged: $830,827

Goal: $25,000 goal

Funding period: Nov 17, 2011 - Dec 17, 2011 (30 days)

Project by: Brook Drumm, Lincoln, CA.

Printrbot is a 3D printer created by Brook Drumm and originally funded through Kickstarter. It is aimed at beginner home users through its small size factor, low cost and ease of assembly. Printrbot uses fused deposition modelling to produce plastic models of 3D objects. Since creation, the original Printrbot has been discontinued and replaced with newer versions which vary in price, size and functionality. As of April 2012, Printrbot was the most funded technology project on Kickstarter after receiving $830,827 USD in December 2011.

Printrbot is sold as fully assembled or as a kit requiring assembly. Models are printed by depositing molten acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) filament onto a hotbed from a print head which moves about the X and Z axes (the Y axis is controlled by the movement of the hotbed itself) using electric motors, guided by metal threaded rods. 

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