3Doodler

The 3Doodler has delivered. Right on time. It’s the world’s first 3D printing pen. That’s right, it prints plastic in 3D just by drawing with your pen. No need for a computer, no need for a 3D model, and no complicated software to learn. Just start drawing with the pen, and you get your 3D plastic object right away.

This innovative 3D printing pen is a KickStarter project launched by WobbleWorks. The 3Doodler pen prints with 3mm strands of ABS or PLA plastic.

The 3Doodler’s unique proposition is that you can start creating 3D objects right away without any computer or software. You use it like a pen, drawing plastic onto paper. The magic happens when you lift the pen off and see plastic being printed in mid-air. You can print onto other materials too.

To start printing, simply push the 3Doodler’s mode switch on the side of the pen to ABS or PLA. The melting temperatures of ABS and PLA plastics are different so you need to choose the right mode. Wait for the status indicator to change from orange (not ready) to blue (ABS mode ready) or green (PLA mode ready). Load the appropriate plastic into the top end of the pen. Then, press the down arrow button to start squirting plastic out. The up arrow button also squirts plastic out, but at a slower pace.

You need the different speeds to do different things. Fast draws thicker lines, and lets you fill areas more quickly. Slow draws thinner lines, and more importantly lets you draw in mid-air too because the plastic can cool and solidify quickly enough before it collapses.

While using the 3Doodler is easy, drawing something meaningful is not as easy as it looks. There’s a small little learning curve to figure out how to control the pen and produce the drawing that you want. It’s not difficult, but be prepared to use up a couple of sticks of plastic.

The two plastic types supposed by the 3Doodler, ABS and PLA, are commonly used by other 3D printers. There’s no one better than the other. Each has its own strengths and which you choose to use will depend on what you want to draw. The 3Doodler box includes some plastics.

More plastics can be ordered from their online store. There’s more than just ABS and PLA in their standard colours. PLA plastics are available in additional translucent colours, while ABS plastics are available in additional luminous colours.

If you like to tear things apart to see what’s inside, have a peek inside the 3Doodler here. It’s secured by 6 easily removable screws on the onside case.

The mechanics are quite straightforward. There’s a motor to push the plastic strand toward the tip. The tip is heated to melt the plastic before it is ejected. There’s a fan near the top to keep the pen cool.

The PCB at the top does have an interesting 5-pin connector labelled COM2. I wonder if we could hook up a computer to do something with it. WobbleWorks does officially support a 3-pin externally accessible interface for integrating the 3Doodler into, say, a 3D robotic printing platform. Screw holes are provided at the base of the pen to facilitate mounting onto some other gadget.

This has got to be one of KickStarter’s few projects that delivered according to schedule. It’s not done fulfilling all orders yet, but at least it is off to a good start for the first batch of backers. Due to the overwhelming success of the project, WobbleWorks, the company behind this innovative 3Doodler pen, has over 26K orders to fulfil in delivery slots lasting till February 2014.

If you are interested, you can head over to The 3Doodler to pre-order your 3D printing pen today.