Zeni Kinetic To Launch 3 New ‘Origin’ 3D Printers on Kickstarter Today

After a torrid start to the summer where it seemed like we were seeing three to four new 3D printers launching on Indiegogo or Kickstarter each week, things have slowed down. For the most part, manufacturers have likely realized that the market is over saturated with the basic run of the mill 3D printers, and unless they have something that stands out from the crowd, their project likely will not be fully funded.

This leads us to a small Salt Lake City, Utah engineering and 3D printer filament firm, Zeni Kinetic. Today at 2:00pm ET they will be launching what they hope will be a successful Kickstarter campaign for three new 3D printers which are the product of two years of research and development.

The printers, all based on open source framework, have been designed with an unlimited future in mind, meaning that as technology advances, these machines can constantly be added to and adapted, as the user sees fit, as the company explains:

“Our printer as been created with an unlimited future in mind: for the foodie—candy, pizza, and waffle printing is on the horizon; metal and ceramic options will be available for the builders and sculptors of society. The ability to print directly from pellets or ground plastic is currently being explored by one group and the number will surely grow. We want even the bio-printing sphere of the medical field to have options with the Origin. These advancements may be a few years down the road but we do not believe that 3-D printing is just a passing fad, and the Origin is a fantastic base to begin from.”

The three printers’ names are the Origin Prime, Plus, and Ultimate. Below you will find basic specifications of the base model, the ‘Origin Prime’:

• Build Envelope: 300mm x 300mm x 250mm (12 x 12 x 10 inches)
• Extruder: Single, .25mm, .35mm or .5mm nozzle size options
• Filament Compatibility: PLA and anything with a melting point of under 230C
• Printer Speed: 150mm/s
• Layer Height: 75 micron – Max layer height = .8 x your nozzle size. ie .5mm

The ‘Origin Plus’ model will build upon what’s listed above, but will also include dual extruders, a heated bed, two spool bays, and an extruder capable of reaching 250C, enabling the printing of ABS, PVA, HIPS and other filament types, in addition to PLA.

The ‘Origin Ultimate’ model will build upon what’s offered with the ‘Plus’. It will include auto bed leveling and calibration, faster print speeds, up to 200 mm/s, an SD card slot, network connection port, LCD controller, and an upgraded controller in the NXP LPC 1768/9 32-bit Cortex-M3 MCU.

For the quality of machine offered, the prices are rather reasonable. Backers of their Kickstarter campaign will be able to pre-purchase the Zeni Kinetic Origin Prime for $700, the Origin Plus for $900, and the Origin Ultimate for $1150. The Prime and Plus will also be available for $50 cheaper to the first 50 backers of each. In addition, if you really can’t wait to get your hands on one of these machines, the Origin Plus will be available in a ‘Holiday Special’ reward, making 100 of these available in time for the holiday season at a price of $950. The company expects all other machines ordered on Kickstarter to be shipped by February of next year, and full production and shipping to begin in April.  Are you considering backing any of these new 3D printers? Discuss these machines in the Zeni Kinetic Origin forum thread on 3DPB.com. Check out the Zeni Kinetic Origin 3D printer in action below.