This makes it possible for the iNano to effectively run on a notebook PC’s energy or even on batteries, the very first 3D printer to ever do so. Once again it distances all competition with the Form 1 reported at 60 Watts, and the Ultimaker and Replicator well beyond 100 Watts. The average power required during printing is 3 Watts. This is compared by the iBox team to the Form 1’s 1500 mA, the Ultimaker’s 4000 mA and the Replicator 2’s 6250 mA. The iBox Nano runs on 5 volts and has an average current consumption of 550 mA during printing. This means that the cost of the system is considerably lower (no need to purchase a separate or internal digital projector) and also that its energy requirements are significantly limited. This means that, although the iBox Nano is small and it has a small printing volume of 40x20x90 mm, you could theoretically purchase 10 of them for the price of the next comparable resin-based system.Ĭarter and his team have developed a new type of optical 3D printing technology based on LCD and UV-LED’s instead of laser or digital projection. First and foremost for its price: the system will be available for an incredibly low $189 to Super Early Bird funders with the final retail price coming in at $299. And it is a good thing because the iBox Nano is being presented as a device capable of further disruption in an industry that is already disrupting traditional manufacturing. They really left very little to chance, which further testifies as to the company’s credibility. The October Kickstarter launch has been planned so as to have the Super Early Bird units shipping in time for Christmas and Early Beta Adopters units out in February, with mass production to begin in March. Trent Carter, iBox Printers founder, and his 20-people strong team, initiated the product’s design in February 2013 and got the first fully working Alpha unit in June 2014, with Beta units performing beyond expectations shortly thereafter.
So much so that almost 1500 people have joined the campaign helping Melbourne, Florida-based iBox Printers raise well above the $300,000 goal, making it the fifth most successful 3D printing related campaign on the world’s most popular crowd-funding website with still – as I write – almost a week to go. The iBox Nano is a tiny high-resolution resin-based 3D printer that promises great innovations in terms of pricing, portability, accessibility and technology and these do not seem to be empty promises either. In fact, 3D printing campaigns on Kickstarter have been a success when promising much less. When a Kickstarter campaign promises a 3D printer that is small, portable, high resolution and even battery operated for less than one tenth the cost of the next available system based on a comparable technology it is going to be a success.
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