The original Cheetah 3.1
Everyone knows the stereotype of the workaholic, the guy who never takes a break, and who often sleeps in his office. This is generally viewed as unhealthy behavior, and a sign of someone who is under a lot of stress. Sometimes, however, you just love your work, and have so many ideas that there’s no time to stop. You know the old saying: “If you do what you love, you never work a day in your life.”
Hans Fouche is an example of someone who loves his work, and is good at it. We’ve written about the work of this prolific creator several times before, including his 3D printed shoes that take less than six minutes to print, his fully functional 3D printed lawn mower, and, astonishingly, a 3D printed vacuum cleaner that doubles as a flower pot. And, of course, there is his giant self-built, lightning-fast Cheetah printer, with which he prints his creations.
Fouche is someone who thinks big. His first version of the Cheetah printer was the size of his garage and was capable of printing entire frames for new printers, and now he has produced an even more massive version of the printer, the Cheetah 2. It’s so big, in fact, that a grown man can sleep in it, and Fouche has done so, stretching a hammock between two of the posts making up the frame. Imagine setting up a long-running print job, then climbing into your hammock, cracking open a beer, and relaxing as you watch your print take shape beneath you. Just be careful not to spill your beverage into the printing mechanism below. From the looks of the printer frame, you could probably even fit one or two more hammocks in there – 3D printer sleepover, anyone?
Fouche, an engineer based in South Africa, began selling his original Cheetah printer earlier this year through his newly established company, Fouche 3D Printing.
So far the newest and biggest iteration isn’t up for sale yet, but it should be soon. You can still purchase the original Cheetah 3.1 printer, and the company has recently also developed an extruder, dubbed the WalTruder 8, which is designed specifically to print with pellets and can be fitted onto printers with standard filament extruders.
And if giant sleep-in printers, lawnmowers, vacuum cleaner flower pots, and six-minute shoes aren’t enough to keep him busy, he also runs a 3D printed chocolate business. Fouche is, in a word, tireless. I’ve always envied the type of person who can work and create seemingly nonstop, which he certainly seems to be. I doubt he’ll ever fall asleep on the job, but if he does, at least he’ll have a comfortable place to do it.
Do you have any desire to sleep inside of a 3D printer? Let us know in the Cheetah 3D Printer forum thread on 3DPB.com.
