Coming Soon to Indiegogo: The Funplay DIY, a Unique and Affordable Build-Your-Own SLA 3D Printer

As long as there have been consumer 3D printers, there have been DIY 3D printers. We’ve written about many one-of-a-kind 3D printers built by ingenious individuals, as well as multiple companies who offer their printers in kit form for customers to assemble themselves. While there’s a wide variety of build-your-own 3D printers out there, one type of printer that we haven’t seen too much of in the DIY area is the SLA printer – although the ones we have seen have been pretty remarkable. The latest DIY SLA printer, coming soon to Indiegogo, looks to be no exception.

The Funplay DIY 3D printer, developed by Taiwanese manufacturer 3D Dream Workshop, is an intriguing concept by any standard, not just the DIY standard. This build-your-own printer allows users more freedom and control than most SLA 3D printers, DIY or otherwise. While the majority of SLA printers limit their users to proprietary resins, the Funplay is compatible with most SLA resins on the market. 3D Dream Workshop also offers a clear resin along with a large pallette of blendable pigments that can be mixed into the resin to create unique colors.

The flexibility of the Funplay is thanks to the Adjustable Laser Energy (ALE) and Adjustable Exposure Time (AET) technologies developed by 3D Dream Workshop. Unlike most SLA printers, which have fixed laser strength and exposure times, the Funplay allows its users to adjust the strength of the laser between 0 and 100 mW, as well as the light exposure time within a range of 5 to 45 µs.

“When we released laser power and exposure time, the key factors for high quality SLA 3d printing, for users to change, we are returning the right of choosing optical resin back to our consumers,” said Enzo Lee, General Manager of 3D Dream Workshop. “So they can choose a resin with the right price and the right printing quality.”

While SLA 3D printers are beloved for their ability to generate smooth, high resolution, finely detailed prints, they’ve long been out of the price range for most average consumers. Affordable desktop SLA printers have only begun to appear relatively recently. The first iteration of the Funplay DIY printer, the Funplay DIY Crystal, is set to be extremely affordable, with a projected retail price of $1,200 and a super early bird Indiegogo price of only $799. (3D Dream Workshop’s website also lists a Funplay DIY Orange, which is apparently a future release, though no details are provided.)

No exact date has been given for the launch of the Indiegogo campaign, but 3D Dream Workshop states that it will be going live either at the end of April or the beginning of May. Campaign supporters will receive a printer in kit form plus one resin tank and a bottle of clear resin. For a slightly higher price, supporters can also receive the “High Tech Palette” set of pigments for resin color mixing. Video instructions for printer assembly will also be available.

A few other details:

• Printer dimensions: 31 x 31 x 45 cm
• Build volume: 125 x 125 x 150 mm
• Layer thickness: 25, 50, 100 microns
• Operating temperature: Suggested 25° C

You can see a quick video of the Funplay in action below. What do you think of this new machine? Are you planning on backing the campaign? Discuss in the FunPlay SLA 3D Printer forum over at 3DPB.com.

https://youtu.be/HCp2jrsZQmk