Spending Quality Time with the Idea Builder from @Dremel

Dremel, known for making great tools, has created their own 3D printer and I have been lucky to play with it over the past month to see what it can do. For those that follow me on Instagram and Twitter, I'm sure you have seen some of the pictures, but I wanted to recap some of them here.

I always like to start with some of the basic print jobs that come with a machine. Dremel has some simple designs you can print right from the machine without having to connect it to a computer. It also has an SD Card slot, so you could save designs on the disk and upload to the device when you are ready. Here are some of the basic prints that come with the printer.

Frog

This is a simple fun design that was easy to print.

Vase

The pattern on this is beautiful and, while it took a bit to print, it came out beautiful. People always ask how long something took to print and the answer varies on a couple of points. If the print was set to the highest setting, it will take longer. Low, Normal, and High are the three settings and the lower the setting, the faster the printing. Also, the larger the object, the longer it will take. It's important to keep these in mind when setting up a print.

T-Rex Head

Leo loved this, but wanted to know when I was going to print the rest of the body. :-)

I really wanted to dive into other designs from other creators to see how the Idea Builder would handle them. Here are a few that were very nice and easy to print.

Coaster

I printed the coasters for my son and nephew. They loved them and thought they were very cool.

Napkin Holders

I made these for Thanksgiving and it tool about three hours to do all six. It was a nice addition to the Thanksgiving Table.

TARDIS

This took the longest to print, but the color is beautiful and it is very solid. I placed another print job next to it for scale. It's a little attachment to offer support to my lightening cable to prevent stretching and tearing. Dremel has some nice colors that can be bought to go with the printer. It's nice to change up the color filament to get a different look to a design. The change of filament was very easy and the printer never jammed. It makes printing so much easier without the hassle of jamming happening every few hours. Those who make paper copies know exactly what I'm talking about.

For my final print job, I wanted to tackle something very nerdy and in multiple parts. I wanted to see how well the Idea Builder could handle printing non-stop for almost two days and provide the accuracy necessary to assemble various pieces together.

Here is the Sword of Omens from Thundercats.

I loved this show from the 80s and I was sad the that reboot did not stick around because it was very well done. It took me two days of Thanksgiving break to print all of the pieces and about an hour or so to assemble them together. I still plan on sanding and painting this sword to finish the project.

My House

I designed this house using Tinkercad. My students use this at school and I'm working on getting better at it. It's not perfect, but I'm so proud of this house I built. Designing the house forced me to think in 3D. It has me thinking about perspectives I normally would not notice. My son watched me do some of the design and he really wants to design on the computer. He is only 4, but I have let him try and design using the shapes and he thinks it is very cool. He wants to design his own Dragon Claw.

This 3D printer is really great. The print jobs are solid and the quality is there for small and big projects. The price point of $999, might seem high for some people, but it is worth it for a classroom or a home that wants to have students design and print. I had the printer working non-stop for a few days and I did not encounter a single issue. That is huge for me and any other person who does not want to deal with the hassle of printer jams or filament issues.

If you are looking for an entry level 3D printer for your home or classroom, I would highly recommend that you check out the Idea Builder from Dremel. You will not be disappointed.