Peachy Printer - a 3D Printer / Scanner for under $100?

You may have already heard of the Peachy Printer, because it is big news in the 3D Printer scene.  Built mostly with common household materials, it promises to bring 3D printing to them masses for $100 or less.  Developed by Rinnovated Design in Saskatchewan, Canada, the Peachy Printer is a cured resin photopolymerization printer (vaguely similar to laser sintering in powder (whose patents, btw, are set to expire next year) but using light to cure (change from liquid to solid) the liquid resin.  Now most liquid resin machines use a vat of the stuff, and the build platform is dropped down using motors, as each layer is cured.  However, this printer is different.

First of all, there are no x-, y-, or z- motors.  The peachy moves a laser beam (using mirrors!) along the X and Y axes to create the shape of the object, while using a drip system to control the level of the resin on the Z axis which determines the height of the object.  That's right - a thin layer of resin sits on top of a vat of salt water.  As additional water drips in, the level of the resin rises, ready for the next layer to be cured.

The software to control the printer starts with Blender, then the printer utilizes the computer's sound card is used to convert the 3D model's digital information into signals sent out the headphone jack to be pulsed analogously by the laser to the mirrors - the audio waveform generated from the 3D model data drives the mirrors - ultimately "steering" the beam on the surface of the resin.  No power cord either - it uses the power from your computer's USM drive.

This is all very interesting.  You can learn more by watching this video:

The Peachy Printer is simultaneously being funded on both Indiegogo (26 days left as of 9.29.13) and Kickstarter (21 days left). It's interesting to me that the project is currently (as of 9.29.13) only 65% funded on Indiegogo, but just under 1000% funded on Kickstarter! Huh.

If you'd like to learn more, you can visit Peachy Printer's YouTube channel.