09-17-2014: Dremel released the Idea Builder

It was supposed to be a mass-market 3D printer released at the peak of consumer 3D printing hype

On September 17, 2014, Dremel, a major American tool manufacturer known primarily for its rotary tools, announced its entry into the 3D printing market. Its debut product was the Dremel 3D Idea Builder, which was officially presented at MakerCon in New York City. Initially, the 3D printer went on sale at Home Depot and Amazon. Dremel gained popularity mainly in the education sector and among hobbyists and DIY enthusiasts.

Riding the wave of massive hype around consumer 3D printing, Dremel – a power tool company, which invented the high-speed rotary tool back in 1934 – also decided to enter the 3D-printing business. Dremel partnered with the Chinese manufacturer Flashforge to produce its printers. The Idea Builder was based on the Flashforge Dreamer dual extrusion 3D printer. While the Dreamer printed with ABS / PLA / PVA, Dremel's printer lacked a heated bed, so it could only print in PLA.

It had a plastic exterior, a detachable blue lid, and two removable panels on each side. Its build area was 230mm x 150mm x 140mm (9” x 5.9” x 5.5”), with a removable bed to simplify model extraction. The Idea Builder cost $999 and was meant to be the market response to the MakerBot Mini, which was launched around the same time in the US and priced at $1,399.

Dremel also partnered with Autodesk, offering customers free 3D models through a website designed to help quickly create projects. Customers could also design models for the 3D Idea Builder from scratch using the Autodesk 123D suite of free 3D modeling applications.

The successors to the Idea Builder were models from the DigiLab series: 3D20, 3D40, and the currently still offered DigiLab 3D45.

Obviously, Dremel didn’t conquer the 3D printing market—neither in the US nor in Europe—but it cannot be said that they failed. Their 3D printers were quite popular and found use in many places, though they simply could never meet the original hype surrounding consumer 3D printers.

Source: www.makezine.com