Record Crowdsourced Cash Raised For $100 3D Printer

A Saskatchewan man has attracted a staggering $700,000 in funding from a crowdsourced campaign to further develop his home made 3D printer, which he believes will be creatable for just $100 each. This is clearly a lot cheaper than most commercial 3D printers, many of which can cost in excess of $1000, more than twice that for anything half decent.

28 year old inventor Rylan Grayston of Yorkton says it was simple curiosity that pushed him to create a 3D copier that could be not only made, but sold at a low cost.

“I didn’t have enough money for a 3D printer that I wanted, so I just started thinking about how can I do this myself?” Grayston told CBC News. “All I want to do is invent” he added.

His ideals are that he wants lots of money for his efforts, seeing a lot of potential in a commercial project such as 3D printing that would then allow him the finances he requires to pursue his other creations and further his research as opposed to buying a yacht or fancy cars with the money.

His budget 3D printer doesn’t sound a simple as its price tag would suggest either, but there is an element of creative thinking behind its build process. It uses software that converts an object into data using a sound card on his laptop, this audio file is then sent to electromagnetic mirrors and laser beats that vibrate and move in accord with the data, this builds 3D objects from a specialized acrylic resin. Personally I only understand half of that, but it certainly sounds cool.

“It blows my mind,” said David Gerhard, a computer science professor at the University of Regina in a recent interview with CBC News. “The way that they’re doing things is so sort of different from the way normal 3D printers work, that it’s quite amazing to see the shift in thinking.”

Proof that he doesn’t want to steal mega riches from his ideas, Grayston will be posting his ideas online, the plans for the device and he won’t even be applying for patent protection. He has however raised over $700,000 from Kickstarter.

Simply put, you’ll be able to build this thing yourself if you wanted to for parts that cost no more than $100.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/80HsW4HmUes[/youtube]

Thank you CBC for providing us with this information.

Image courtesy of CBC.