AIO is of course aiming to give the beat to their 3D Scanners and Fax Machines rival Makerbot with this promised product. The Replicator and Digitizer from Makerbot have been the market leaders in 3D scanning and printing technology for some time. Now, AIO looks all set to knock them off the perch with this rather strong punch. Not only Zeus will add a 3D fax machine-- something unheard of before--but AIO has even declared that the price of the device is going to be significantly cheaper than Makerbot's newly released Replicator 2, currently priced at 2,459.
This machine is currently available for sale at select Microsoft stores. However, the unit can only print 3D objects whereas if Zeus ever materializes in the avatar it is conceived at the present, it will be able to integrate 3D scanning, copying, printing and faxing abilities all in one machine.
The development of the machine, according to AIO, is going to be a crowdfunding project and it starts at Kickstarter from September 4. The unit will also be able to work independently of a desktop system, according to what AIO is saying. It will work with an ARM processed on-board computer and will be able to instantly upload the faxed or scanned data into the cloud.
The model has been created by Jens Windau and Kai Chang, students in Computer Science and founders of AIO Robotics. There is little information to be had about this in the official AIO website, but according to the posts at RepRap, the model will also include a 12-inch turntable beside the on board computer and will be able to print at 100 micron resolution.
AIO also informs that they may even lower it to 75 or 50 microns. They further promise that the machine will be user-friendly and even non-techies will be able to handle it without any difficulty. There will be 4 easy-to-operate buttons in addition to a 7 inch touchscreen.
Other promised specs include automatic platform leveling, a CNC aluminium casing, possible multiple extruder upgrade, an interior turntable, an API open source package for easy modification of the device by the user, 3D object reconstruction and sophisticated cloud processing abilities.
So, is this going to be a reality, after all? AIO is depending on funding from pre-orders at Kickstarter to get started on this hugely expensive project. They have also announced that once the project gets on the path, they may improve on a number of promised specs. More details about the project are promised upon its debut at Kickstarter.
