Jennifer Seward, Nick Seward, Torbjorn Ludvigsen, Karl Brown
A
t this point, we all have a mental image of
a 3D printer: a basic box with a bed and
extruder. Even with delta-style machines being
somewhat common, the rectangular box concept
dominates 3D printing. However, if you’ve been
involved in the RepRap community or been to
some of the bigger Maker Faires in the United
States, you may have come across a display of
interesting printer designs that, in comparison to
the squarish Cartesian style, seem bizarre and
unique. These are the works of Nick Seward.
Take the Wally (Figure
A
). This printer looks
a lot like a cute robot printing onto its own belly.
This is largely due to the SCARA (Selective
Compliance Assembly Robot Arm) configuration,
in which its arms move in an almost humanoid
manner in the X- and Y-axes.
Then there’s the Wheelios (Figure
B
), which
also uses a SCARA arm, but this time mounted
on a wheeled, rolling frame. It can, in theory, print
indefinitely in one direction.
GUS Simpson is a spider-esque printer with
three articulating “legs” that form the motion and
the frame (Figure
C
). It’s a delta-type machine
that undulates and flows in its entirety. The full
effect is mesmerizing to watch: you can see it at
youtube.com/watch?v=af7XkgxzmXE.
Seward has physically built at least 13 unique
designs and variations, and innumerable builds
of individual machines. He often shares the full
designs to the RepRap community.
Seward’s introduction to 3D printing came
from exposure to a CNC mill at his first teaching
job. He was instantly enamored, and endeavored
to create his own. Seeing the fun he was having
with this area of exploration, his wife purchased
him a gift, one of the original wooden Printrbot
3D printers. A short period of printing the typical
tchotchkes left Seward feeling a little empty, and
he wanted to give back to the RepRap community.
MORE PECULIAR
PRINTERS
Here are a couple innovative machines
from other makers that you can build too.
HANGPRINTER
Need to print huge? Forget building an
awkward frame, simply run guide strings
to the corners of any room, and hang the
extruder from the ceiling! The Hangprinter
conforms to any room it is in, and can print
as big as you’d want to go. Find the build
files at hangprinter.org.
WHITE KNIGHT BELT PRINTER
The White Knight’s bed is a rotating belt,
and the head is tilted, which allows you to
print items that extend indefinitely, or at
least as far as you provide support. The
belt-fed bed also works for continuous
printing of multiple items. Build files at
github.com/NAK3DDesigns/White-Knight.
Nick Seward, left, with 3D printing pioneers
Josef Prusa, center, and Brooke Drumm, right.
29
makeprojects.com
M75_028-30_SS_UniqueMachines_F1.indd 29M75_028-30_SS_UniqueMachines_F1.indd 29 10/11/20 12:35 PM10/11/20 12:35 PM
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