High-Resolution 3D Printing Meets Affordability with the D2K Insight 3D Printer, Now on Kickstarter

If you’re interested in making your own high-quality 3D printed objects, but don’t want to break the bank when buying a 3D printer, look no further than the D2K Insight 3D printer by MAYC Design & Development, a team of passionate product developers and designers headquartered in Hong Kong. The company recently launched a Kickstarter campaign for the D2K Insight, and with 25 days left in the campaign, the consumer-grade DLP-SLA printer is already nearing its initial fundraising goal of HK$220,000 (around US$28,000).

“Our goal in making the D2K Insight is to provide regular people like artist[s], artisans and small business owners access to a reliable, ultra high resolution 3D printer at a price that won’t break the bank,” the team explains on the campaign page. “The D2K Insight 3D printer is the sleek, reliable and affordable consumer solution to producing professional quality 3D objects.”

A 3D printed model can get jagged layers if there are any deviations or vibrations on the Z-axis. But the 6.8 kg D2K Insight features a stabilizer, which is firmly attached on top of the Z-axis to prevent vibration and keep print jobs stable, while the gear gaps remover bolt ensures a high level of accuracy by getting rid of any gear gaps. These two important components work together to form a full Stabilizer Module, which makes sure that all of your 3D printed objects will be uniform.

One of the determining factors in achieving highly successful print rates with DLP-SLA 3D printing technology is the all-important build platform leveling. The D2K Insight offers a super fast auto-leveling build platform, because the printer’s re-designed print head is able to make quick, easy adjustments, thanks to a universal ball joint. In addition, while many other 3D printers use several PCBs, which come with dozens of connections and cables that could fail or be subject to synchronization errors, MAYC designed its own motherboard, which delivers a more steady and reliable 3D printing experience because it only has one piece of integrated PCB inside.

When you’re using the D2K Insight, there’s no need to try and find space for it next to a computer in your home, because it doesn’t need to connect to a computer during print jobs. The printer is completely controllable as a standalone device – just use the 5″ LCD touchscreen on the front cover. Every single detail of the printing process, including the image of every sliced layer and exposure time, is displayed in and operable by the LCD touch panel, and the printer is extremely user-friendly, because it can also be operated remotely by a web browser or smartphone app. The control panel of the printer also features multiple languages.

The D2K Insight printer, made from aluminum and precision cut by CNC to cut down on vibrations, comes with firmware and slicing software, which is updated and optimized often. It also has a custom built UV light module, which offers a 405nm wavelength to cure resin. With a 50 micron layer thickness and a 4000ms exposure time, it can print up to 25 mm per hour, and has a build volume of 132.5 x 74.5 x 130 mm.

Other specs include:

• USB/Ethernet cable connection
• Ultrafine 2K resolution of 2560 x 1440, with 490 PPI
• Supports Mac and Windows 7, 8, and 10
• Packaged comes with power adapter, power cable, and 500 ml of resin

Best of all, the printer is affordable – while most professional 3D printers cost tens of thousands of dollars, in US dollar terms the D2K Insight is only $599 on Kickstarter, and one liter of resin will only set you back $58. The printer will retail for $1,500, which is still notably lower than many competing SLA 3D printers’ price points.

The company’s D2K team is well-versed in Kickstarter, having already had two successful campaigns for the D2K Illuminate and the D2K Plus. 100% of the backers for these campaigns received campaign fulfillment deliveries as scheduled, so the team obviously gets “what it takes to meet deadlines.”

The first units of the D2K Insight will be ready to ship out in February of 2018. While the Super Early Bird rewards are gone, there are still Early Bird rewards available – a HK$4,680 (about US$599) pledge includes the printer itself, a bottle of white UV resin, an additional resin vat, a power cable and adapter, and two pieces of FEC (Teflon film). You can check out the campaign video below and head to Kickstarter for full details.

Will you be checking this new 3D printer out? Tell us your thoughts in the D2K Insight forum thread at 3DPrintBoard.com.