Christmas is coming a little early this year, folks. The moment we’ve all been waiting for is almost here. In just one week from today, on November 28, Tiko3D will start mass-manufacturing and shipping their 3D printer, launching pre-orders at 12 PM EST through their website! It’s been a long time coming, and as you can imagine, they’re pretty excited about the launch.
The 3D printing company started their fundraising campaign on Kickstarter in the spring of 2015, quickly raising over $3 million. The printer was designed to make 3D printing accessible to everyone, with a price tag of less than two hundred dollars. The early bird price was a mere $99, and then raised to $179 – an extremely good deal for a 3D printer of this quality. For just 12 hours, from noon to midnight on November 28th, the printer will be offered at the Kickstarter price of $179. Then the price will go up for pre-orders, but not by much.
“At $199, we’ve kept our promise of keeping Tiko affordable and accessible to all innovators!” says Matt Gajkowski, CEO of Tiko3D.
The printer’s unibody design has allowed for substantially reduced costs, while not having to compromise on the quality of the product. The delta shape allows for high-precision and excellent mechanical repeatability. The design overcomes the common alignment issues that plague most 3D printers. It’s less than 4 lbs., measures at 15.4 x 8.7 x 9.3 inches, and offers a 2.27 liter print volume. As evidenced by the impressive stress tests the printer was put through, it’s also extremely durable.
Tiko3D is also excited to introduce its own browser based software that works over Wi-Fi or the cloud, along with their forum, customer service portal, and other breakthrough user experience innovations. A demo of their innovative slicing software is available here. The Web Interface of Tiko, or WIT, is streamed directly from Tiko3D to a computer, requiring zero installation. The software was developed from the ground up, with the user in mind, and only requires four settings to achieve quality prints.
Tiko3D’s new Customer Service Portal allows customers to enter their printer’s serial number and efficiently order replacement parts for free, no questions asked. Resources are also available for troubleshooting prints, improving print quality, and a comprehensive FAQ section.
The Customer Service Portal is “Your go-to resource for troubleshooting anything Tiko related,” Software Lead for Tiko3D, Omer Dobrescu, says.
As of last week, the company has shipped over 1,000 units to their backers. With production continuing at a high rate of approximately 1,000 units per week, all original Kickstarter orders should be fulfilled in just a matter of months.
If you remember, there have been some delays in getting the printer all ready to go, including the company purchasing their own factory in China, moving in, and all of the mountains of paperwork that go into such things. But considering the company was just founded in 2014, launched their Kickstarter campaign only a year after, and are now launching pre-orders for this extremely affordable printer, I’d say the wait is well worth it. 3D printing has profoundly changed the lives of the three Tiko3D founders, and their continuing mission is to bring 3D printing to everyday innovators around the world.
You can visit the Kickstarter page to follow the latest updates from Tiko3D leading up to big day of pre-orders on November 28th. Discuss in the Tiko3D forum at 3DPB.com.
