The Polyes Q1 3D Printing Pen

Yet another 3D printing pen has launched: the Polyes Q1. 

This handheld extruder uses a photo curable process, which we think may be the future for 3D printing pens. Most 3D printing pens we’ve seen are glorified plastic extruders with hot ends. This technology requires oven-level heat (which you hold in your hand) and a lot of power to make it happen. 

The photo curable approach is very different. A liquid resin is instantly solidified by exposure to a UV light. The 3D printing pen needs only squirt out metered amounts of resin and a tiny UV light hits it as it emerges from the nozzle. No heat, low power. That’s the advantage. 

While other pens may risk finger burns, what problems might Polyes Q1 users face? One is exposure to the UV light – but FutureMake, the creators of the Polyes Q1, have included a “safety level sensor” to prevent this scenario. 

This is the process used by the particularly attractive but strangely named Polyes Q1. Even better, there is a wide variety of photo curable resins that offer different properties. Theoretically you could use many of them in this pen. 

There’s one major problem with this pen: it isn’t available yet. They say they’ll be launching a Kickstarter campaign soon, so you should watch for that. 

Via FutureMake