Earlier this week, an open-source, ultra-portable 3D printer was announced lemon dragon debut [h/t Hackaday]has launched a new entry-level DIY inverted 3D printer that costs about $413 to assemble, mostly from existing components, but also requires custom PCB printing. Once assembled, it’s a fairly compact printer, but the printboard size is still comparable to Prusa MK4Sa 3D printer we have introduced in the past.
While entry-level 3D printers are certainly cheaper than Lemontrons, they are much bulkier than Lemontrons – and while Lemontrons require a 3D printer to be built anyway, it’s more likely to be better suited for travel rather than as a Anyway, one’s first or primary 3D printer. Still, compared to other DIY options that cost as much as $699, that’s still pretty good, especially considering the ease of shipping.
The construction process for Lemontron is quite complex, but luckily the debut video gives a pretty good overview of the process. There’s another one going on written guide to help, but both are probably best if you choose to go through the project yourself.
Some readers may notice that the 3D printer appears to be upside down, which is actually not an error. Following the trend of other Positon-style 3D printers, the Lemontron is designed to perform inverted 3D printing. As Lemontron explained in a blog post about inverted printing, “The basic principles of 3D printing remain the same. The printer still follows the slice model data layer by layer. The gravitational effect on the molten material is minimal, Because it solidifies almost immediately after squeezing it, either up or down, you can even try it on any printer and flip your printer over while printing and you’ll see it doesn’t care!”
While we take no responsibility for anyone encouraging anyone to try it with their own 3D printer, the principle seems sound and has proven to work well with the Lemontron.
Beyond that, all we can really say is that it’s impressive to see a working DIY 3D printer for the (relatively) low price of a DIY 3D printer, and in a form factor that’s actually May be ideal for certain locations. While its usefulness as an entry-level or primary 3D printer is obviously questionable, as some parts of it require 3D printing to even begin, this project is aimed at DIY-minded people who will most likely already have a 3D printer Machine, maybe The best 3D printeranyway.