3D printing took the world by storm. This technology, however, did seem too expensive and complex to many. WobbleWorks took this technology and created a 3D printing pen called 3Doodler as an economical and user-friendly alternative. Plus it is a lot of fun to use.
This pen integrates the basic function of a 3D printer (a heat source and an extruder), thereby creating a device that can be held in your hand.
The pen has to be loaded with plastic (ABS or PLA) and the pen prints out objects made of plastic by letting you draw them either on a surface or in air.
Ad hoc repair tool 3Doodler can come very handy if you want to customise any plastic objects you have, or for making Ad hoc repairs to anything made of plastic. You can also use stencils to draw something more precise.
The pen has a 3mm nozzle and has temperature settings that can be adjusted to the kind of plastic you are using. You can use two kinds of plastic — ABS (strong, flexible, and can be recycled), or PLA (corn- made, biodegradable, brittle but stickier).
Since ABS is not the clingy kinds, you will have difficulty drawing with it on any surface. One thing that you must remember — working with 3Doodle takes practice, and quite a lot of it.
Your first attempts will be far from what can be called art. You will have to know how fast you can draw in order to allow for some variations with your hand before the plastic cools off.
The pen has a Slow and a Fast button that regulates the speed of the plastic flowing. You need to learn to work with them.
Changing the colours also requires some practice. You have to press both the Slow and Fast buttons to get the plastic strand out of the pen. Once you remove it, you must chop off the molten part and then put in a new colour. Sometimes, the pen might not have enough strands left to push it out of the back, so you will have to just squirt it out and that goes waste.
The plastic strand must be molten for the pen to squeeze out, and to avoid the plastic from cooling off the moment it touches the nozzle, the nozzle also remains heated.
It can reach up to a temperature of 27 degrees Celsius. The pen needs a power outlet to help create enough heat to melt the plastic strand.
It does not require computer or a SD card with designs stored.
If you love doodling and can imagine yourself spending hours drawing and creating with this pen, then you must go ahead and pre-order one right now!
