One of the new models launching at Maker Faire Bay Area this year that caught my eye was the Deezmaker Bukito — a capable, affordable, portable entry-level model that Whosawhatsis and Diego carried around the Faire, printing on batteries.
While this type of stunt isn’t new — I took a Printrbot JR on a test drive with a quadcopter battery at World Maker Faire in New York this past year, and there were a number of backpack Ultimakers printing around the Bay Area Faire this year (read their battery suggestions here!) — I appreciated the open-yet-rugged design. The parts count has been stripped all the way down such that the cartesian robot has only single, sturdy points of connection for all three axes, and even so the printer design can handle the jostle and bustle of being carried around (see the video above for the printer printing upside down) better than those with multiple risers and reinforcements.
From 3ders.org:
Deezmaker announced its Bukito lightweight, portable 3-D printer at Bay Area MakerFaire this year.
The printable space is approximately 5 by 6 by 5 inches (150 cubic inches). Other critical features inherited from its larger Bukobot cousins include sturdy aluminum rails allowing for a stable platform for accurate printing.According to Diego Porqueras, Deezmaker’s President, the Bukito is a small, rugged printer that anyone can take with them. “It will be ideal for classroom use and can be shared between a few teachers at a school. We built it with an easy-to-grip handle and worked really hard to get the weight down to about 6 pounds.”
Specifications:
- 150 cubic inches of freedom (5″x6″x5″ / 127 x 152 x 127 mm)
- Works PLA
- 100mm+/sec speeds
- Sturdy Aluminum frame (no wooden parts)
- Uses 1.75mm filament
- Adaptable to Battery Power
The unassembled printer kit will retail for $649. It is available for preorder now with an expected ship date in late August.
Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!
Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!
The Adafruit Learning System has dozens of great tools to get you well on your way to creating incredible works of engineering, interactive art, and design with your 3D printer! If you’ve made a cool project that combines 3D printing and electronics, be sure to let us know, and we’ll feature it here!