Apart from being cute they have some interesting bits there. Note that this is from my own observations from the clip so it might be wrong but I interpret this as;
Z axis;
Rotating square tubing as rails. Antibacklash nuts. Horizontal belt and pulley = single motor drive?
I can’t speak for the status of the Kickstarter or how feasable it is. The kickstarter doesn’t interest me personally but I think the solutions they picked looks pretty nice on a tight budget - and would be interesting to try.
Foldarap already uses printed rack and pinion for X, and those Z rails looks like they could work too. I wonder how they will stand the wear over time. If the pulleys sliding on the aluminum square tubing is PTFE, UHMW or som other low friction plastic it might not be a problem.
@Nigel_Dickinson They’ve already started demoing printers at tradeshows (one of the ways they were funded so quickly–they had a huge mailing list built up already). Also… companies should always have beta testers!
@Nancy_Liang not after release… If you read the kickstarter it says 2 beta releases then main release.
In other words its unproven.
Kickstarter is becoming a risk not worth taking if they propose that.
That white pulley looks printed. Does not have to be in the final product I guess. Slotted on one side to clamp around the square tube tightly but flexing if needed so it will not bind? Would that not risk creating artefacts in the print when the belt passes over the slot?
http://www.printm3d.com/M3D-The_Micro-How_We_Did_It.pdf gives some more details about the materials used. Non-heated ABS-based bed plate. Carbon fiber tubing. They also talk about an efficient radial ceramic heater for the hotend removing the need for active cooling.
