Thingystock, the Delta 3D Printer That’s Expandable, Launches on Kickstarter

Formnext Germany

Share this Article

1t3By far the most popular Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) 3D printers on the market are those which utilize a Cartesian-based platform. This is likely a result of two main factors. First off, the printers are easily expandable in all directions if the manufacturer desires to do so. Secondly, the Cartesian model is easy to understand compared to other methods of FFF printing.

Delta-based FFF 3D printers, the second most common form of these machines, are a bit more difficult for the everyday tinkerer to understand and manipulate in general. Additionally it is very hard to create a Delta machine which can print a larger depth or width without having to expand upon its height.

This didn’t stop one man named Matt Wahlers from moving forward on his plans to create an expandable, open source Delta 3D Printer, called the Thingystock. If the name sounds familiar that’s because Wahlers launched a printer called the Thingybot 3D back on Kickstarter last August but failed to reach his goal. The Thingystock is based on the Thingybot 3D, and takes inspiration from the RepRap movement, particularly the Rostock machine, meaning the 3D printer is 3D printable itself, or at least the majority of its parts are.

“The Thingystock 3D Printer was first designed as a personal printer: one with as many 3D Printed parts as possible and that is fully expandable in the future,” explained Wahlers. “To do this, I decided to base it off of the amazing Rostock idea by Johann. The printer went together flawlessly and worked perfectly, so I decided to do a small scale launch of it, the perfect medium for which was Kickstarter!”1t2

Wahlers is looking to raise a small sum (in relation to other Kickstarter goals we have seen) of $5,000 by February 20 to get this project off the ground. If he doesn’t reach his goal, he has promised to make the design files available for free to the open source community anyway.

The printer being offered as part of Kickstarter’s rewards can be purchased in kit form, unassembled or partially assembled, for prices of $450 and $550 respectively. The base model will have a 150 x 150 x 200 mm circular build envelope, but best of all it’s fully expandable to your heart’s desire. The rods which the extruder moves on can be replaced with taller ones, the arms replaced with longer ones, and all other necessary parts may be 3D printed to fit your needs.

1t1

The machine features an E3D V6 hot end and runs on a RAMPS 1.4 system via an LCD interface. All this allows for the Thingystock to print at 150 micron precision, which also is fully upgradeable via the replacement of the belt pulleys.

Whether it’s a success on Kickstarter or not, the design of the Thingystock seems like a winner, one which could be used to inspire other innovations within the Delta-style RepRap space. Let us know if you have backed this project, and your thoughts on its design in the Thingystock Forum thread on 3DPB.com. Check out the video clip of the printer in action below:



Share this Article


Recent News

HP and Firestorm Labs Form Partnership to Use Multi Jet Fusion 3D Printers in Deployable Factories

Measuring Excellence: On the Ground at Hexagon Live in Fabulous Las Vegas



Categories

3D Design

3D Printed Art

3D Printed Food

3D Printed Guns


You May Also Like

3D Printing News Briefs, July 2, 2025: Copper Alloys, Defense Manufacturing, & More

We’re starting off with metals in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, as Farsoon has unveiled a large-scale AM solution for copper alloys, and Meltio used its wire-laser metal solution to...

3DPOD 260: John Hart on VulcanForms, MIT, Desktop Metal and More

John Hart is a Professor at MIT; he´s also the director of the Laboratory for Manufacturing and Productivity as well as the director of the Center for Advanced Production Technologies....

3D Printing News Briefs, June 28, 2025: Defense Accelerator, Surgical Models, & More

In this weekend’s 3D Printing News Briefs, 3YOURMIND was selected to join an EU Defense Accelerator, and PTC has announced model-based definition (MBD) capabilities within Onshape. Finally, a study out...

Featured

EOS in India: AM’s Rising Star

EOS is doubling down on India. With a growing base of aerospace startups, new government policies, and a massive engineering workforce, India is quickly becoming one of the most important...