Follow engineer Chris Vossen as he builds his own 3D printer.
3D printing is a relatively new hype, but who could be interested in a 3D printing device and what can be done with it? Well, to answer the first question, it’s not just prototype manufacturers. Think about what an artist could do with it, for example, or an instrumentation designer. Virtually any object can be made, as long as the plastic used to ‘print’ it with can hold the required form. So artists and sculptors, be prepared for a new way of creating objects!
Several options for 3D printing are already available. One option was illustrated to Elektor (TechTheFuture’s parent company) some time ago, when they entertained a couple of RepRap enthusiasts demonstrating their version of this free desktop 3D printing machine. Powered by the RepRap community, RepRap parts are made from plastic parts produced… by other RepRap machines! So it’s a self-propelling process where everybody helps each other by producing parts as a reimbursement to the community that provided them with the parts for their RepRap machine.
Now one of Elektor’s in-house electronics engineers, Chris Vossen, was particularly interested in the RepRap. But… his needs were for a more solid version of the RepRap. And possibly easier to build. So the project of building a 3D printer began.
Starting with aluminium as a base material, Chris spent many hours at his desk thinking about solutions to various obstacles this project presented and again many hours working at the lathe milling various proto parts for his own version of a 3D printer. In this section we cover his findings and enable you to witness the creation of a new machine, soon to be presented in Elektor magazine. Comments are welcomed, but not necessarily implemented…
Photo: Chris Vossen
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About Thijs Beckers
Thijs has a BA in Electrical Engineering and has been an editor at Elektor Magazine since 2005. 
Hello Thijs,
This is an excellent 3-D printer. Have you printed any major mechanical parts yet? Did you use 80/20 aluminum extrusion for your frame base? What type of Linear Bearings did you use? Also, did you you use all Servo-motors for motion controll? I am fascinated with your Electrical Engineering degree. Wish I would’ve taken that long ago…
I would like to buy a 3-D printer to experiment with making parts. Are the plastic materials/fillers expensive? Thank you for answering my questions.
Great Work!
Brian M.
Memphis,TN
Hi Brian,
Thank you! No, we haven’t printed anything yet; the machine is still in development. In time we will reveal all of it’s aspects and details, so please be patient… (and keep following us here
)