Anyone who has operated a 3D printer before, especially those new to using these specialized tools, has likely had problems with the print bed. The bed might not always be the correct temperature leading to problems with adhesion of the print, it could be uncalibrated or dirty or cause any number of other issues that ultimately lead to a failed print. Most of us work these problems out through trial and error and eventually get settled in, but this novel 3D printer instead removes the bed itself and prints on whatever surface happens to be nearby.
The printer is the product of [Daniel Campos Zamora] at the University of Washington and is called MobiPrint. It uses a fairly standard, commercially available 3D printer head but attaches it to the base of a modified robotic vacuum cleaner. The vacuum cleaner is modified with open-source software that allows it to map its environment without the need for the manufacturer’s cloud services, which in turn lets the 3D printer print on whichever surface the robot finds in its travels. The goal isn’t necessarily to eliminate printer bed problems; a robot with this capability could have many more applications in the realm of accessibility or even, in the future, printing while on the move.
There were a few surprising discoveries along the way which were mentioned in an IEEE Spectrum article, as [Campos Zamora] found while testing various household surfaces that carpet is surprisingly good at adhering to these prints and almost can’t be unstuck from the prints made on it. There are a few other 3D printers out there that we’ve seen that are incredibly mobile, but none that allow interacting with their environment in quite this way.
A while ago I saw a variant of this (can’t find it atm) that used polar kinematics and was able to wall itself in. This isn’t the printer, but it’s similar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3UO8UuvhM4
Are you talking about the printer that can climb the tower that it is printing like a crane?
I only posted it to reddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/1cru6jr/i_am_building_a_climbing_3d_printer/) about 6 months ago, I have yet to document it properly on YouTube though.
I believe you might be talking about my printer, the one that looks like a crane and can climb up the object it is printing. I haven’t posted it to YouTube yet as making a video is hard work and life got in the way, but you can find one of my old posts in the 3D printing subreddit titled “I am building a climbing 3D printer” (would add a link but not sure if it is against the rules)
not against the rules, it just means your post takes about 6 hours to show up so you think maybe it didn’t post correctly and end up trying to repost it. We’ve all done this multiple times: it’s not you that’s the problem.
Another one to consider is Nicholas Seward’s Wheelios design: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VUBGYtn36w
So a Prusa Mini and a Roomba had a baby??
Looks more like an accident. Or the beginnings of a horror series for AI a la The Centipede.
“carpet is surprisingly good at adhering to these prints and almost can’t be unstuck from the prints made on it.”
No kidding!
Thinking about the old coin superglued to sidewalk outside barbershop prank, this could be used print LEGO pieces stuck to the carpet. Muhahaha!
OK. Easy there, satan.
Great for doing 3d graffiti at your local bar. Needs to be modified to print on a wall
This is why you enable support enforcers, right?
Ah, the cat refusing the food is just so good!
“Jarvis, in 4h, feed my cat.” “Sure, I’ll just place a jar or on the floor for her. It’s probably a good idea to wear shoes in the house for a while”
Talk about burying the lede. I think the room-scale printing is of more note than just “getting rid of the print bed”.
I might not have clicked on the article at all, except I thought it might be a >4-axis printer that builds out from a point (which would also be interesting to me).
You just featured a new 4dof? 3d printer. Repair bots for starship hulls are about to be real
Give a stronger base with magnetic wheels.
Give a welding-torch instead of print-head.
Turn it lose repairing ship-hulls while underwater.
My guess is that is a multi-million dollar business if you can make it work, but I imagine it’s tremendously difficult to make work.
Quick search turns up:
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-99-3844-5_32
https://www.resurgamproject.eu/
Looks like it is not yet a thing.
And inspecting and welding on mono piles and jackets for offshore wind farms.
Tools for space colinization!
Works great with radiant floor heating, forced hot air not so much.
Hmm, did they tried to actually print on a bed? What about carpet in bedroom?
But then the headline wouldn’t make sense.
Isn’t this basically the same as what ambot di a few years back but with a navigation stack?
https://ambots3d.com/pages/technology
Yea, PLEASE map the interior my house and post it to the cloud……
Dunno about where you are, but in my neighborhood, almost every house has high definition photos of the insides of every room on Zillow from last time it sold. Mine doesn’t because we bought it before house sales online were really a thing, but the floor plan is available through the local planning department. That doesn’t give people pictures of what type of television I (don’t) own, but it sure provides plenty of knowledge about doors and room sizes/locations.
So this is what a Roomba will do if no dog poop is available.
Evolution?
the cat for sure will have its fun “observing” the print process without messing with that thing. just like cats are…. xD