It’s time for an update on the RepRapMicron project.
If you’re not familiar with this work, it’s about the development of a new open-source 3D printer design for microscopic 3D printing.
You have probably heard about the RepRap project, which years ago produced the first open-source designs for desktop FFF 3D printers. Those open-source designs were used, leveraged, and expanded to effectively create today’s massive desktop 3D printing industry. Almost all of today’s machines are, one way or another, a result of the original RepRap project.
Now the project is working on a design for a radically new device that can 3D print very tiny objects using resin.
The current concept is called “MAUS”, which stands for “Micron Accurate Universal System”. The idea is to develop a motion system platform that can provide extremely precise movements and positioning. This can then be used to, for example, deposit UV-curable resin selectively. That would be the basis for a micron-scale 3D printer.
The project is still in the development phase, but it’s all completely transparent so you can watch the progress, or even attempt to build the current design yourself.
In one of the most recent updates, RepRap Project contributor Vik Olliver wrote about the pricing for MAUS parts:
“I’ve been adding up the Bill of Materials on Amazon, as ordered from New Zealand (to be honest, a really crappy place to order things from) and it came to about NZ$300, or €160 without the USB microscopes. You could do those for around $120 if you go for bare minimum resolution, and I’m assuming you’ve got a few wires and minor items around like glue, etc.”
This is why this project could be incredibly important: it might lower the price of microscopic 3D printing low enough to trigger another wave of equipment. Perhaps eventually this could be a new industry, just as occurred with the FFF devices.
