RAPID

Make Your Own 3D Printing Pen from a Hot Glue Gun, a CD Drive Motor & Lots of Duct Tape

Eplus 3D

Share this Article

A couple of years ago, WobbleWorks LLC raised $2.3 million in crowdfunding and sold more than 130,000 of their 3Doodler 3D printing pens. It’s basically a “pen” that allows users to lift the tip off the page and create three-dimensional objects using plastic filament like a 3D printer.

FFKCK0XI5MD1FGM.MEDIUMSince then, a few competitors have entered the game and now, the market for the pens has expanded to include the CreoPop 3D Printing Pen. It’s a “cool” version of the idea which takes a different approach than typical pens. Rather than melting plastic filament with a hot end extruder like an FDM 3D printer, the CreoPop uses a version of stereolithography (SLA) and a photosensitive resin. The resin is cured by a UV laser and no heated parts are necessary.

FFOAX1PI5MD1FHA.MEDIUMIf you aren’t up to spending about a hundred bucks for one of these mass manufactured devices, perhaps you want to make your own.  If that’s the case, you can find an Instructable to let you build your own version of the 3D printing pen at home from some pretty humble and easily found materials.

Instructables user Zepherocity took a few relatively common materials to make the pen, and it’s a nice little idea indeed. The homemade 3D printing pen makes use of a high heat hot-glue gun; a battery; a relatively new version of a CD drive motor; some u-shaped, relatively thin, bendable plastic; a little metal wire; and an on-off switch.

FAKF3PDI5MD1FHP.MEDIUM

“I’m 14, and ever since I saw the 3D printer pen I thought, ‘I need to find a way to make this work but (so) everyone can do it.’ Just snip anything that could block the inner components from not fitting right,” Zepherocity says.

The maker says it’s key that you only use ABS thermoplastic 3D printing filament with the device. It’s a very interesting idea, though the Instructable could use more detail about how the motor feeds the filament and perhaps additional detail about the actual parts used.

That, and use lots of duct tape, because, well, “duct tape is awesome.”

Do you think this homemade 3D printing pen will work? Is it worth the time it takes to create?  Let us know if you have tried taking on this project in the DIY 3D printing Pen forum thread on 3DPB.com.

Share this Article


Recent News

3D Printing News Briefs, April 1, 2023: Wohlers Report, Metal Materials, & More

Former Xerox CTO to Drive Growth for Impossible Objects’ Composite 3D Printing



Categories

3D Design

3D Printed Art

3D Printed Food

3D Printed Guns


You May Also Like

The Advanced Manufacturing Talent Pipeline Forming on Chicago’s West Side

Advanced manufacturing can be used as an entry point into many different industries, but finding those opportunities can be challenging. One company in Chicago is creating a pathway within the...

3D Printing News Briefs, March 25, 2023: Software Launch, Dental Ceramics, & More

We’re starting off with software in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, as Desktop Metal launched its Live Suite for generative AI solutions for additive manufacturing 2.0. Then it’s on to...

3D Printing News Briefs, March 22, 2023: Carbon Sequestration, 3D Printed Bird Drones, & More

In 3D Printing News Briefs today, Meltio is expanding its worldwide partner network, and 3D Systems introduced its VSP Connect portal. Oregon State University and Sandia National Laboratories received a...

3DPOD Episode 144: High Volume Carbon Fiber 3D Printing with 9T Labs CEO Martin Eichenhofer

Martin Eichenhofer took his research from ETH Zurich and turned it into an exciting startup, 9T Labs, which hopes to make its two step carbon fiber 3D printing technique suitable...