It's a pen that can draw in the air! 3Doodler is the 3D printing pen you can hold in your hand. Lift your imagination off the page!
The 3Doodler is a 3D printing pen developed by Peter Dilworth and Maxwell Bogue of WobbleWorks LLC. 3Doodler began funding in February 2013 on the crowd funding platform Kickstarter.
It utilizes plastic thread made of either acrylonitrile butadiene styrene ("ABS") or polylactic acid ("PLA") that is melted and then cooled through a patented process while moving through the pen, which can then be used to made 3D objects by hand. The 3Doodler has been described as a glue gun for 3D printing because of how the plastic is extruded from the tip, with one foot of the plastic thread equaling "about 11 feet of moldable material".
What can I make with 3Doodler?
There are many ways 3Doodler can be used. 3Doodles can be created as flat forms and peeled off a piece of paper, as freestyle 3D objects, or in separate parts, ready to be joined together using the 3Doodler. The creative opportunities are endless, including:
- Basic 3D shapes and 3D models
- Jewellery, pendants and hanging ornaments
- Decorative art and fridge magnets
- Personalization of everyday objects (iPhone cases, laptops, pens, etc.)
- A mini Eiffel Tower or a soccer pitch for your Lego men
- And much much more…
3Doodler Components & Accessories:
The pen: The 3Doodler pen is 180mm by 24mm. The pen weighs less than 200 grams or 7 ounces (the weight of a typical apple), although the exact weight will depend on the final shell specifications once in production. And we are using a universal power supply, so provided you have the correct adapter for your country, 3Doodler will work just fine on 110v or 240v.
3Doodler is not a toy for children (it's recommended for ages 12+). While the plastic extruded from 3Doodler is safe to touch once it has left the pen, the pen itself has a metal tip that can get as hot as 270C. There is no reason for any user to touch the tip while in use, but safety comes first, and we are creating a video series that will explain how to use the 3Doodler, covering off the different techniques and safety precautions necessary.
The Ink (i.e. ABS/PLA plastic): The 3Doodler uses 3mm ABS or PLA plastic as its "ink" - just like a 3D printer. Each 3Doodler backed on Kickstarter comes with at least one bag of plastic; each bag will contain ten 1ft strands of plastic; and each 1 ft strand produces approximately 11 ft of 3Doodling fun... yes, you read that right, a foot of plastic goes a very long way in the 3Doodler.
ABS is one of the most common plastics around. It's used in most of the plastic stuff around you. PLA is what we call a "bioplastic". It's made from corn, is biodegradable and has a lower melting temperature than ABS. We are offering both choices as each has its own advantages and disadvantages.
We plan to offer plastic sold in strands (making it easy to switch colours and create different styles), but 3Doodler-compatible plastic is also available in 1kg spools from between $30 to $55 from a variety of sources.
Fun Fact: The average 1kg spool of 3mm ABS contains approximately 360-370 feet of plastic. That's approximately 3,960-4,070 feet of 3Doodling, or 3 Empire State Buildings with enough to spare for several more weeks of doodling.
The Future of 3Doodling: We have a ton of ideas for add-ons and accessories that will make 3Doodler even cooler, more useful, fun, and generally awesomer (is that a word?). We hope that the 3Doodler will be a big success so that we can share all our ideas and offer you even more 3Doodling fun...
How It Works
As 3Doodler draws, it extrudes heated plastic, which quickly cools and solidifies into a strong stable structure. This allows you to build an infinite variety of shapes and items with ease! Most people will instantly be able to trace objects on paper, and after only a few hours of practice you will be able to make far more intricate objects.
