The bigger a 3D printer is, obviously, the better. With that logic, it seems pointless to have a tiny 3D printer. At least that’s what I thought before I saw this: The Smallest 3D Printer in the World created by a YouTuber My N Mi.
In a video posted two weeks ago, My N Mi showed off what could be the world’s smallest 3D printer. How small? Well, it is 18 x 31 x 41 mm (0.71 x 1.22 x 1.61 inches) and weighs a feather-light 17g (0.60 oz.).
To put the size in perspective, it is roughly the height of a matchstick and it makes an SD card adapter looks like a giant card. And yes, it is totally functional.
The 3D printer, which appears to be made out of wood and plastic, with some metal, and powered by a single brushed motor, uses SLA (LCD) printing technology.
It claims to have an XY accuracy of 0.135 mm and boasts a layer resolution of 0.005-0.3 mm. As expected the build volume is super tiny, or 11 x 11 x 17 mm (0.43 x 0.43 x 0.67 inches), to be precise. It is so small that filling up the print area with liquid resin has to be done using a syringe.
In the video, My N Mi 3D printed a robot. Exactly how long it took is unknown because part of the print process was sped up 40x.
Anyhoo, the tiny 3D-printed model is a robot figure. It looks to be slightly translucent but incredibly, we can see the details on the chest and distinguish the visor on its face. With details this sharp, perhaps, there is a use for a super tiny 3D printer like this.
In another video posted 3 weeks ago, My N Mi showed off what appeared to be a nano-size tugboat printed by the same printer. At that point, my mind is completely blown. I have to expand the video to full screen to take a better look at the 3D-printed tugboat. It does not help that My N Mi’s video maxes out at 720p. I wonder why…
Images: YouTube (My N Mi).
via Tom’s Hardware.
