It seems that being acquired by 3D Systems is not a bad thing, at least for the manufacturers of the BotMill Glider personal 3D printer. The BotMill Glider has just been updated to include a few new features that we found interesting:- 0.35mm extruder nozzle
- Accepts 1.75mm plastic filament (including both PLA and ABS material)
- Includes 30 day free evaluation copy of Alibre Design 2012 Personal Edition CAD software
The nozzle and filament changes should permit significant improvements in resolution, reliability and operation, as has been observed on other platforms using this hardware combination. We’re now wondering if the days are numbered for 3mm plastic filament suppliers?
The other interesting addition is the Alibre Design software, which, come to think of it should not be a surprise as it was also one of 3D Systems’ recent acquisitions, along with BotMill. This edition does not include all features of the Pro and Expert editions but does include Parametric modeling. Alibre Design 2012 PE can be purchased at the end of the trial for a very reasonable US$199.
The BotMill Glider just got a little bit better, and is a good choice for those not wishing to assemble their personal 3D printer from a kit, as it is priced at only US$1,395.
Via BotMill
The updated version sounds fantastic. They also added the Alibre Design software? This is really great!
The updated version sounds fantastic. They also added the Alibre Design software? This is really great!