Doodle Yourself a 3D Creation

Pretty cool, what is the tensile strength? I wonder could this be used to make simple replacement parts in the field?

I'm not sure, but according to the kickstah-tah, the device can handle any typical ABS / PLC meant for a 3D printer at 3mm diameter and below. I'm sure if you bothered the right manufacturers of the reels of plastic, you could get some specs. They also mention that 1ft of 3mm dia. ABS equates to 11ft of "doodle length", so that's kind of neat

When available I shall buy one. About same principle is used to build parts for fighters. Not plastics but alloys of al are used to make the structure by additive process and then machine it to final dimensions Economy is huge!

I find their claim: "Oh, and it's also the most affordable way to 3D print… by a looong way! With 3Doodler we're making fun 3D creation accessible to everyone." pretty misleading.

This is no more a 3D "printer" than a crayon is a 2D printer. 3D printing can create accurate physical representations of 3D drawing files, with essentially no labor involved. This is an alternative to toothpicks, balsa sticks, modelling clay, wire, etc., but it is anything but a 3D printer.

Perhaps what they have in mind for the future is the ability to create a 3d computer model from your doodle. (The location of the pen tip in space would be recorded, etc.) With some sophisticated processing, all the bumps and inaccuracies could be eliminated, perhaps. (Although in practice it can be time consuming to go from a 3D scan to something you would want to use to run a CNC machine.)

I also doubt its ability to function as a plastic welder under most conditions, if, as they say, you can touch the plastic as it comes out of the nozzle. As in metal welding, the substrate needs to melt to form a good joint.

But no doubt it's a fun toy.

I'd have to agree with you, and I can a chuckle at your crayon analogy.

I think their target demographic is the people that see all the possibilities of 3D printing, and want to create something using similar materials. Obviously, it's not going to be able to be within 10 microns of accuracy as per a typical(?) 3D printer in the market, or prototype some new part / product. It definitely looks like an interesting tool for artists to explore new mediums (or maybe just to toy around with).

Somebody stole the blue from my 2D printer!......Where's my blue??? Blue? anybody?

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My guess would that in the hands of most people, you'll just end up with a blob of ABS. The human hand can't move accurately enough for something like this to be of any practical use like 3D printers. Might be fun for artist.

"The human hand can't move accurately enough..."

I dunno about that. You've tattoo artists doing some pretty awesome work, freehand. And check out this guy's freehand 'drawing.' It's a masterpiece. [click on images for more detail]

Notice the faint guidelines in the pic above, and the final result ...

"I dunno about that..."

I do know about that! You're referring to accuracy in an artistic sense. It's completely different when you're talking about mechanical accuracy. If the curved lines in the goat horns are off by by .030in...nobody cares and no one will even notice. If the profile of the gears you tried to freehand 3D sketch are off...it won't work at all! This is why the "doodle" tool is useless for anything except artistic work where "mechanical accuracy" is irrelevant.

The Eiffel tower is neat for what it is but think of someone trying to freehand 3D sketch their own custom case for an Iphone so that it fits nice and snug and looks good too. Like I said...just a big useless glob of goo! See what I'm saying?

I can see it being of some use in concept design, but I still prefer cardboard & sticky tape!

That looks like a lot of fun!