Opinions? Looks too good to be true.
ClayXYZ: Desktop 3D Clay Printer, Create Your Own Artwork!, via @Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/clayxyz/clayxyz-desktop-3d-clay-printer-create-your-own-ar
“Kickstarter” … “Looks too good to be true”
Without having taken a long look at this particular example: Trust your instincts.
3d print on kickstarter doesen’t have a really good Story. Peachy faoled, Tyko didn’t fail yet but was under expectations. Cobblebot delivered stuff much worst than described. There are 2points mainly not convincing to me: first they set a too low threshold for the project ( something like 10k dollars, while I expect that for a minimum industrial setup should be at least 4-5 folds more). Second, there is not a full time video of pa print. Moreover paste extrusion is something a lot of guys are working on in reprap community and still it’s far to achieve a prototype without problems.
It probably has a better chance if it uses a powder with auger feed and then a much smaller mixer+extruder than now most people seem to do clay. If only an inch or so of clay has to be pushed, that is trivial. Most clay extruders push several inches long by 2-3 inches in diameter.
I watched the video and it is premixed clay with a moving extruder. That seems unlikely to work. The only way that I could think of for getting around it is if they were adding water and then removing it again before extruding. I do not know if it is possible to do that and do it reliably.
It seems to have some drawings towards the bottom. Okay. The setup they mention has been basically used before. I am not sure how small people make their nozzles. The delivery date is next year. The biggest problem is getting the clay squeezed out into the tiny tube for the travel of a few feet to the auger. If they can do that reliably, then maybe it is not a scam. Hopefully, the threaded rod is thick and driven by a geared motor. If the rod is thin, it may bend under the stress. If it is not a geared motor, it will not generate the force to push it. There are designs available on Thingiverse for every bit of the extrusion hardware that they have although these guys are using metal and not 3D printed or hacked up stuff. I imagine it must be coming out of China or near there. Buyer beware is literally the law of the land in China last time I knew.
I’m not sure who the market is. If you’re a professional artist working in clay, the quality of those prints is laughable. If you’re not a professional artist, who are you going to sell the output to, or where are you going to use it?
3D printing in clay is a nice idea, but only really if it produces something that matches what’s possible by regular modelling / sculpting, I think. Printing in plastic is different - plastic has a multitude of functional uses, clay is pretty much only an artistic medium (since we stopped using clay pots for eating/cooking).
Pots are no longer used for cooking, but we still use dishes that seem to be some sort of fired clay like material.
A person could probably get the product most of the way done, apply glaze, sculpt the glaze for details and then fire the glazed part. People who 3D print clay (there is another G+ community just for that) seem to actually like the chunky appearance though. Just like some plastic 3D printers seem to like the thick layer heights. I imagine you could make thinner layer heights, but the print time would take a while more. I imagine they can only extrude that clay so fast too.
@NathanielStenzel there’s obviously some market because they’ve got a fair few backers, I just wonder if it’s enough to support a product…
There would probably be more of a market if they had a larger print size. (shrugs) None of the 3D clay printing folk in the other community seem to have a printer that small.
@Jon_Gritton The problem is not the market. Also for professional artist quality is not so bad, if you think it as a base work to rework after, before cooking it. Personally I find quality really decent. Just I find that 10k dollars they ask as pledge is really too little to start any mass production and seems kind of " simbolic" pledge to be reached easily.