In around 2012/2013 there was a massive hype around ‘The 3D Printing Revolution’ in the media, with Bre Pettis and a MakerBot adorning the front of most tech magazines for a few weeks. It was at this time that I became very interested in 3D printing and set about building one.
Nowadays you can buy a 3D printer online for less than £200, however, back in 2013 there weren’t any low-cost 3D printers, with just the essential parts costing hundreds. Being only 13, I had about £100 of birthday money to spend, and therefore had to be more inventive about where to gather the parts. I bought a set of 5 broken printers on eBay for £12.50, which I dismantled and gathered stepper motors, linear rails, belts and a host of other things to be used in the machine. I constructed a frame from wood and threaded rod and after a few months had completed the mechanical side of things. My father then bought me the electronics kit, extruder and hot end off eBay (the majority of the costs) after I proved to him that it worked, and after a week of resolving many software and electronics issues I got it printing.
I did have other videos of it printing, however, this was the only one I uploaded as it was the first print.