Yesterday one of my best friends invited me to his house to see his new toy: a 3D printer, proudly bought on Internet from China. He assembled it piece from piece, and now he can print whatever he wants to.

I am not a great expert of 3D printers, however I'll try to explain some interesting features. Obviously if you have questions I'll ask my friend to write the answers down here.

But first, checkout this two little videos (audio in Italian, but images speak from themselves):

<blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="4"> <div style="padding: 8px;"> <div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 50% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"> </div>

<p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"> <a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" href="https://instagram.com/p/0YdTYnNSmX/" target="_top">A Montoro vedo in funzione la prima stampante 3d comprata per puro diletto !</a> </p>

<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"> Un video pubblicato da @musikele in data: <time style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;" datetime="2015-03-18T20:17:20+00:00">18 Mar 2015 alle ore 13:17 PDT</time> </p> </div> </blockquote>

<blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="4"> <div style="padding: 8px;"> <div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 50% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"> </div>

<p> <a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" href="https://instagram.com/p/0YdfrItSm3/" target="_top">Vuoi stampare qualcosa in 3d? Chiedimi come! #NerdPorn</a> Un video pubblicato da @musikele in data: <time style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;" datetime="2015-03-18T20:19:01+00:00">18 Mar 2015 alle ore 13:19 PDT</time> </div> </blockquote>

<p> </p>

<h3> Some Technical Details </h3>

<p> This printer is extremely fast but it's one of the cheapest, so it is not so precise. It uses 13-15 passes to build 1 millimeter of plastic. </p>

<p> We can build objects with maximum dimensions of 200 x 200 x 180 millimeters. </p>

<p> The plastic used is PLA (very solid) or ABS (smoother), however ABS it is a bit toxic to breathe in house, so we are not experimenting with it for now. </p>

<p> Every software capable of designing CAD can be used, if it can export data in .STL format. (My friend says that this is very common among CAD software). </p>

<p> Yesterday we produced the small ball of the video in about 45 minutes. </p>

<h3> And now? </h3>

<p> My friend is willing to collaborate with anyone that wants to produce something; just talk to him because maybe your idea must be adjusted to fit in the printer. </p>

<p> It is not so common to have a friend with a 3D printer available: once you have it and see how easy it is to build your own things, it's like a drug: you never want to stop. </p>