I am confused by this. I just ordered the Shapeoko 2 mechanical only kit for 300 dollars. I figure I will have about 200 more in the electronics for a fully functional light weight mill. Why would I want one made out of cardboard?
Overall, this doesn’t seem cheap enough to make a niche for itself. Less limited CNC machines are not that much more expensive.
It’s not exactly setting its Kickstarter on fire either. If it were about $50 less I think they might have something, but $250 is too close to the real thing.
I don’t think drinks and cardboard together is a great idea.
Being able to demo a printer kit straight from the box, before investing in a more permanent build, is a fine idea.
In practical terms, first thing anyone who’s willing to spend that much money in the first place should do is rebuild it with better materials.
Whether it’s worth the low price to get that hardware-and-electronics kit and ignore the cardboard except as templates, I’ll leave to others.
It could be laser cut from ply or mdf and there would be no need to spend a lot of money on molds. It would be a more robust machine for the same (or less) money.
I think it is a great idea let down by it’s mechanical design. No reason why it couldn’t be used with modified hobby servos and encoders.
It seems to me that what you really want is a cnc machine that can be assembled using the box that it was shipped in and that comes with the software to cut more durable pieces out of something more permanant. Perhaps ply or mdf as eastblock suggests.
Are (ink-jet/laser) printer companies working on 3D printers? Seems they have the know-how and manufacturing expertise to produce them with little effort. The mechanics of an ink-jet printer are damn precise.
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