Studprint is a 3D printer made using 92 per cent LEGO components, with open-source CAD files for its custom mechanical and electronic parts.
Building a 3D printer does not always require a conventional metal frame and linear motion system. Studprint, an experimental open-source project by Adam Turaj, uses LEGO building blocks for almost its entire construction, including the frame, print bed and mechanisms that move the print head.
Around 92 per cent of the printer is made from LEGO components. Even its motion system uses LEGO lead screws to drive the printer’s axes. The remaining parts include custom components required to mount the electronics, stepper motors and other printing hardware.
The machine employs an ordinary filament extrusion technique instead of utilising LEGO pieces in depositing the materials. This particular machine shows how ordinary building blocks can be used in mechanical motion. It is also true that this particular machine owner has proven that the machine can create a 3D print such as Benchy.
Studprint has provided CAD files for the parts other than LEGO in an open source point of view. This way, people who want to look into the design can copy or modify the custom-made parts. This becomes handy when people wish to experiment with different designs of 3D printers.
However, there are some limitations in this printer as well. The unheated printing bed of the printer, consisting of ABS LEGO bricks, limits the types of materials which can be printed. The printer cannot be compared to the traditional 3D printers in terms of speed and capacity of printing; however, it is useful for showing an interesting way of machine construction.
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