Pulled the trigger,,,

[Mac The Knife]

On a M3D printer. 350 bucks, with a 4" cubed build area. and only takes up under an 8" cube of space.

[Mac The Knife]

So while I wait for delivery (Sometime in April) I've been trying to find out as mucha s I can about this printer. They claim to have a motion sensor chip in the print head. Read elsewhere that they are using brushed motors, not stepper motors, in a closed loop array. Apparently the motion sensor chip is to contol rate of acceleration, so they can use lighter materials.

[JFettig]

Looks like they use 4 lead screws in the corner and 2 ball splines to do a corexy or hbot type arrangement. Not a bad idea but could probably be executed a little better(more $).

[Mac The Knife]

I was finding myself printing things that would fit on that platform, and the price to me was reasonable. They claim they will allow the use of open source slicers for experienced users. Printing with nylon out of the box will be a plus also. The only things I can see that may be necessary for me is a heated bed, and smaller nozzles.

[Polygonhell]

Actually the motion system looks interesting, looks like all of the XY motors are in the moving print head, I can see 3 of the 4 corners in one of the videos and no signs of steppers.
Looks to be some variant of H/CoreXY, given the pricing, and size I wonder if they are using DC motors and some sort of encoder, you could probably use the sort of optical encoder on the belt motion.

[Mac The Knife]

From the videos, and pictures I've found, they are using a rack and pinion setup to drive the printhead along X, with the motor in the printhead. Y is belt driven, using a pair of hex shafts, with the motors in the base. I'll have to see if I can find that particular video.

[Mac The Knife]

Here is an early model, where you can see the square drives for one of the axis, I believe they are now hex.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXkZMi9P4zU[/youtube]

[Mac The Knife]

Nah, they're still square.

[Mac The Knife]

Still waiting for delivery. although they did state I would receive it in April. On May 1st, I'll ask for a refund.

[Mac The Knife]

Canceled my order, and received my refund four days later.

[Kevinvandeusen]

If you still want one, I have a lime green one I will sell for $275 shipped. Too many projects at this time to fool with the little guy..

[Mac The Knife]

Thanks for the offer, but I've started my build out of a Max Metal frame.