Desktop Factory Competition May 20

Win $40k for designing an open source filament extruder

The cost of filament is a thorn in the side of many DIY 3D printing setups. But thanks to Inventables, the Kauffman Foundation and Maker Faire, prices of around $50/kg are soon to be a thing of the past.

The challenge has been set: Design an open source machine capable of making plastic resin pellets fit for use in a low cost 3D printer.

The first person or team who uploads a successful solution will be declared the winner, taking out more than just glory and DIY adoration. Prizes include a very handy $40,000 thanks to the Kauffman Foundation, as well as a Desktop Fabrication Lab consisting of a 3D printer, Laser Cutter and Shapeoko CNC mill.
Nice.

If you think you’ve got what it takes, here are the criteria:

The first team/person to build an open source filament extruder for less than $250 in components can take ABS or PLA resin pellets, mix them with colorant, and extrude a 1.75mm +/- .01mm filament that can be used in a 3D printer is declared the winner.

Further details are available at Desktop Factory 2012.

via 3Ders

Posted in 3D Printing, Contests + Competitions, Guy Blashki, Hardware, Maker Movement, Open Source, Technology by Guy Blashki | Comments are off for this post

Make your own stuff using: 3D Printing

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2 Responses to “Desktop Factory Competition”

  1. daniel Says:
    May 21st, 2012 at 2:10 pm

    Perhaps something along these lines?
    http://reprap.org/wiki/Web4Deb_extruder

  2. RB Says:
    May 29th, 2012 at 7:51 am

    If somebody figures out a way to mix pellets and colourant (and possibly recycle failed prints) I think they would make a lot more money than $40k in the long run by developing the idea themselves as a start-up. The article does not mention who would own patents or whether it would be released open-source (which I highly doubt seeing as this is a consumable i.e. very profitable).