Create Just About Anything With da Vinci 1.0 3D Printer

What do you get for the person that has everything? Something to create anything they want. 2014 was the year of creativity for gadgets and personal 3D printers were the big highlight. You can make just about anything and daVinci 1.0 is here to help.

In case you’ve been living under a rock (or just have wicked cool things to do), 3D printing is the construction of 3D objects through layering materials (like plastic) all controlled by a computer.

The da Vinci 1.0 is one of the first affordable personal 3D printers. Created by the Taiwanese team XYZprinting, the printer fills the consumers’ dark void of not having their hands on new technology in their home. It simply plugs in, scans, and prints.

Unlike the technology behind 3D printing, da Vinci 1.0 is designed to be easy to navigate. The printer comes ready to go out of the box (although you do need to hook it up via USB to a computer). The enclosed printing area means that you’re safe from high temperatures. But, don’t worry; your curiosity is rewarded with viewing windows so you can watch your new stuff get built.

da Vinci 1.0 has automatic software updates to keep your printer doing what it does best. It can create objects up to 20x20x20cm (7.8×7.8×7.8”), which is 20% larger than other printers in the same class. When you run out of “ink,” or just want another colour, you can simply change out the 600-gram filament cartridges in the machine.

For those that were living under that rock, da Vinci 1.0 is equipped with EZ Mode- a 3-step process for in- or under-experienced 3D printer users. Additionally, XYZprinting have an open platform of thousands of designs if you’re feeling uninventive. You can upload and share your innovations on the platform as well.

da Vinci 1.0 is quite compact (but not so much when compared to the 3Doodler). It’s only 18.4x20x22” (46.8x51x55.8cm) and weighs just under 52 lbs. when it has a full cartridge. It has a 2.6” LCM display that is bilingual in English and Japanese. da Vinci 1.0 works with both Mac and Windows but needs OS X or Windows 7 or higher. Spare parts, such as a new single nozzle for $99 or a tool kit for $10, can be ordered directly from XYZprinting.

With XYZware software and FFF (Fused Filament Fabrication), da Vinci 1.0 uses ABS and PLA filament to perfect your designs. It prints in four modes: fine (0.1mm), standard (0.2mm), speed (0.3mm), and ultra fast (0.4mm) with 150mm per second with a single nozzle. Additionally, da Vinci 1.0 has empty filament detection and auto nozzle cleaning.

With any new device, there will be those that love it and those that think it can improve. Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan of Gizmodo.com did a hands-on review. She notes that despite an extremely cheap price, da Vinci 1.0 uses only XYZprinting’s filament spools so you’re stuck with their 13 colours (each spool is $28) and will probably spend more over time.

Liana Bandziulis of Wired.com also thinks da Vinci 1.0 has a few cons for its many pros. She states that da Vinci 1.0 has a clean look (albeit what we thought would be “modern” in the ‘90s) but the software, XYZware, doesn’t allow the user much creativity beyond changing the size and rotation of the objects.

da Vinci 1.0 is the first personal 3D printer to be so easy on the pockets. It’s only $499 for the system. XYZprinting also have a 2.0 and a 1.0 AiO (“All in One) for $649 and $799, respectively; although they vary in their abilities to print the same size and rate.