You’ve gotta love the RepRap movement and all that it stands for. Besides the fact that the idea of 3D printing a 3D printer is incredibly Star Trek-ish, RepRap is a big reason why 3D printer prices have come down from thousands of dollars to just a few hundred bucks within the last few years. By making 3D printing available to almost everyone, at an affordable price, while putting forth a platform which harbors innovators, RepRap is becoming somewhat of a driver of the FFF 3D printer market. Daily, new designs are being presented to the community and new machines begin to develop, as crowdsourcing plays a major role in that development.
One of these new RepRap machines is called the Skeleton 3D. It’s probably one of the most simplistic, portable, and smallest RepRap printers we have seen yet. For its size, the Skeleton 3D certainly packs a punch. Weighing in at just 5 kg, this machine is simple, yet aesthetically pleasing. Below are some of the general specifications of the Skeleton 3D printer:
- Printer Size: 250 x 250 x 330mm
- Build Envelope: 100 x 100 x 100 mm (Option for 150mm Z-axis)
- Print Speed: 80 mm/sec as tested
- Minimum Resolution: 100 microns
- Filament Size: 1.75mm, 3mm (untested)
- Model Format: .STL, .Gcode
- Features: Inductive sensor for auto-leveling of bed, RAMPS 1.4+ Arduino Mega 2560
This machine is the brainchild of a French designer who had the desire to transport his Prusa i3 via bike, but found it much too bulky. Necessity led to innovation, and the Skeleton 3D 
emerged. Although this machine is still a work in progress, like many RepRap 3D printers are, the files for the latest version are now available for download on Thingiverse as well as GitHub.
In total there are 23 different files to download and print, and on Thingiverse alone, over 200 individuals have already downloaded the bulk of the models required for the Skeleton’s assembly. It will be very interesting to see what features are added to the following version, and just how popular this new RepRap machine becomes.
Have you downloaded, printed, and assembled this new 3D printer? Let us know your thoughts on the final product. Discuss it with us in the Skeleton 3D Printer forum thread on 3DPB.com. Check out the machine in action in the video below:
