EWaste 60$ 3DPrinter by mikelllc Make Your Own 3D Printer for Under $60 Using

EWaste 60$ 3DPrinter by mikelllc

Make Your Own 3D Printer for Under $60 Using Recycled Electronic Components with Instructables Design
http://www.instructables.com/id/eWaste-60-3DPrinter/?ALLSTEPS

And you only need a $600 laser cutter to cut the acrylic it all mounts on!

@ThantiK Good luck cutting 5mm acrylic with your $600 LASER. Better just to stump up the $30-$40 and have a professional cut it for you (with their big boys $3000 LASER).

@Glen_Helgeland , sorry, $400 laser cutter. http://www.ebay.com/itm/High-Precise-40W-CO2-Laser-Engraving-Cutting-Machine-Engraver-Cutter-USB-Port-/321430750448?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ad6c404f0

Oh, and I have a friend who has one…uses MoshiDraw and everything. 3mm is like butter in the thing. My hackerspace has one that has converted electronics…again, 40w laser, cuts through 3mm acrylic like buttah.

Problem with economics? $30-$40 is a magnitude smaller than $400.

@Glen_Helgeland , ever consider that not everyone (especially anyone who would be recycling ewaste) would have access to someone in their area with a laser cutter in the first place? Oh that’s right…you’re too busy trying to one up me.

The jist though, is that even though this project seems like a really cheap one on the face of things, it’s not really a $60 e-waste printer if you’ve gotta go have $40 of acrylic cut…now is it?

That laser would be useful for a lot of other projects though. And yes, 40W can cut 5mm acrylic. I have a 30W laser and I can cut 8mm acrylic.

I really am not in the mood for an argument, the article clearly states that he is spending less than $100. If you can manage to ship a cheap LASER from China, I am sure you have the means and ability to have a LASER bureau anywhere in the world cut and send you the parts. Yes the LASER you mention does seem good, image size is a tad on the small size, but kudos to by Mikelllc for his work on this 3D printer. I was really impressed reading the full article.

He’s probably not counting the cost of the machinery and tools he already owns or has access to. That’s so variable as not everyone has any given tool.

@Jeff_DeMaagd Totally agree.
As an aside, I believe the spirit of the project is adaptability. The chassis could be made out of scrap wood and simple hand tools. He has some serious gaps in his build instructions, it would be up to the ingenuity of the individual constructor to work with what he has. All scavenged parts require some flexibility in the way they are mounted or used. They were never designed for the nefarious purposes future users can think up.

Yeah, transferring the lines to wood and cutting with a coping saw can do the job, among several alternative ways. 5mm plywood is a lot cheaper to get than acrylic too.