It’s time for an update on the LOOP, supposedly “the world’s first desktop 3D filament maker”.
This device first surfaced last fall, when a web page appeared touting what appeared to be an amazing device that could produce 3D printer filament from scraps. There were few details at the time, although there were plenty of renderings and hype.
I did a bit of a deep dive on the project, which you can read here.
My thought at the time was that this was either a misguided project by folks that have no knowledge of 3D printing or filament production, or a scam of some type.
Unfortunately, many mainstream media outlets picked up the story, having little knowledge of the technical aspects. This has led some to actually purchase this device from O0 Design, the company behind the LOOP.
In fact, if you browse the product page, you’ll see purchase popups appear at the bottom of the page like this one. I have no idea if these are real or not, but if they are, it seems that some people are buying this device.
When it was launched, there was no pricing or availability mentioned, but now it seems there is.
The device is set to launch in “Q2 2025”, which by my estimation expired a couple of weeks ago.
The purchase page shows the price of the LOOP to be US$2499, but there is a 40% discount available if you pay US$100 immediately. This method of pricing is a red flag for me, particularly with zero evidence of the product working at all.
As for the US$2499 price, that might seem high as compared to today’s desktop 3D printers, which range from US$300-1200. In other words, twice the price of a typical FFF 3D printer, at least.
In reality, their US$2499 price is too low. Proper filament production is far more expensive, and the only viable desktop 3D printer filament unit I’m aware of is 3DEVO’s, which is around US$20,000. Filament production is not cheap.
I also notice that the LOOP does not appear on O0’s product page, where multiple other products are presented. Why would they not show it alongside their successful products? My opinion could change if O0 provided any evidence that this is a real product. Incredibly, they still, after nine months, have not shown video of a filament being produced, prints made from the filament, or many other obvious evidentiary items.
The LOOP continues to be a very sketchy presentation, and I strongly recommend everyone in the 3D print space avoid this very questionable project.
