Despite all the press that 3D printing has garnered in the past few years, this emerging technology has largely remained the domain of hobbyists, DIYers, and professionals such as architects, product designers, and artists. The Cube 3D Printer ($1,299) is a product that attempts to bring 3D printing to the consumer market by focusing on quick setup, a user-friendly experience, and appealing results. In this, it partly succeeds.
We did get the Cube up and printing out objects of decent quality in not much more than half an hour, but printing with the Cube still requires considerably more attention, care, and work (and, at times, troubleshooting) than typical consumer products. Still, it's a laudable effort, though at its price, it's not for the light of wallet.
Let's start by being clear on what the Cube does, and doesn't do. You've perhaps seen articles describing all sorts of exotic real and potential applications for 3D printing, everything from guns to houses to living cells to titanium implants to space bases to confections to dental crowns.
The Cube 3D Printer is limited to printing relatively small plastic objects, but within that domain it can print a huge variety of things. Some objects have interior detail that couldn't be added using traditional injection molding; for example, our first test object, a chess rook, has within it a spiral staircase and a double strand representing DNA.
It's fascinating to watch 3D objects being printed out layer by layer with the Cube. It is a head turner; in testing it, I've probably had more people drop by to watch it than all the hundreds of other products I've tested combined. While 3D printing is hot, in, and sexy, but it remains to be seen if it's a fad largely confined to hobbyists, the revolutionary game-changer that some pundits claim it is, or a product destined to be a regular addition to average households (which is what products like the Cube are aiming for). But let's set aside the hype and speculation and examine this product on its merits.
Anatomy of a Cube
First, the Cube isn't really a cube?though the build area, the maximum size of your 3D-printed objects, is cubical, 140mm (~5.5 inches) on a side. This printer is rather an open frame, 10 by 10 b y 13 inches (HWD) and weighing 9.5 pounds, consisting of a base with a monochrome touch screen, an arch-like tower, and an arm. Our test unit is silver, though the Cube is also available in white, blue, magenta, or green.
Atop the tower is the extruder assembly, which holds the extruder and into which a plastic filament is fed. The extruder is essentially the print head; it lays down a strand of melted plastic to form the object you're building). Further down on the tower is an arm that holds the build platform, a square piece of plastic on which the object is constructed, layer by layer. The extruder assembly moves side to side, while the arm moves vertically as well as in and out, comprising the 3-dimensional motion needed to render the object.
The Cube Family
The Cube we tested is the second generation of this particular model, introduced at this year's Consumer Electronics Show. It is faster than the original Cube, it uses a glass printbed rather than the original heated printbed, and can print with either ABS or PLA plastic. Also in the Cube's product line is the CubeX, with a larger (10- by 10- by 11-inch) build volume than the basic Cube. A single-extruder model sells for $2,499, a dual-extruder version goes for $2,999, and $3,999 will get you the triple-extruder version.
3D Systems is a pioneer in the 3D printing field. In the mid-1980s its founder, Charles W. Hull built what is widely considered the first 3D printer, which used a technique called stereolithography (from which the .stl 3D CAD file format gets its name). The company has traditionally made expensive commercial 3D printers for architects, engineers, and shop floors, but in recent years has ventured into the hobbyist and consumer arenas as well.
Continue Reading: Setup, Extruder, Connectivity
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