The future of affordable home fabrication: FABTotum (Part I)

Several technologies have been used at home for fabrication by hobbyist from hand tools to CNC milling machines. However, no other technology has changed fabrication at home as the 3D printers did.
 
3D printing is not a new topic at all. Industrial 3D printers are a technology from the 80's. However, lapse of relevant patents on FDM technology allowed the first DIY 3d printing efforts which lead to the first open source 3D printer in 2007. Open source licensing has definitely helped in democratizing this technology.

Most blogs refer to 2014 as the new revolution of 3D printer, as basic SLS/SLA patents lapse. While this might be true, specially if a successful open source effort is released (there are already some DIY efforts in youtube in this direction), I believe that 2014 will be the year of multipurpose devices allowing more to personal fabrication by combining 3D printer with CNC milling and other functions.

Though not the first multipurpose device, FABtotum has caught my attention as being an open source effort toward personal fabrication focused on reducing the manufacturing cost of the device. It integrates a 3D printer, a CNC milling (2.5D and 4-Axis) as well as a 3D scanner.

Their crowd-funding campaign is running on indiegogo. You can see all the features of FABtotum in their indiegogo campaign page as well as the campaign video.

You can get one as a perk assembled or DIY kit for around $1000 (around 800 Euros), shipping included (and you will because they are already overfunded by more than a 100% with 36 days still to go). That is specially excellent news for European hobbyist tired of paying custom's taxes, as this one comes from inside the UE.

Of course 800 Euros is in many eastern European countries two (or three) times a normal salary. However, other open source 3D printers available in Europe go to 1600 Euros+VAT+shipping. Multi-tool devices (personal fabricators) go well beyond that. From that point of view it seems a good deal, apart from the fact that this crowd-funding campaign will help create a new company and a new product.

But is there more to it? Definitely yes! These guys from FABtotum seem to take seriously their stretching goals. If they reach $135000 (which they will and pretty soon), they will include a heated bed in each FABtotum.

If you look at the comments section of the Indiegogo campaign, together with the teaser possibilities in the main page of the campaign, I will not be surprised if they end up adding precise paper cutting with a (laser?) diode, a Dremel holder for harder CNC works, a SD-Card slot for stand-alone working mode (without having to be connected to a computer) or even LAN connected 3D printer.


Additionally, they seem to be listening very well to their backers (their first request was a heated bed and they got it) and I will not be surprised if it ends up being one of the most complete affordable personal fabricators in the market.

The era of the personal fabricators has started!!!