Well, if you are anything like me you’d scoff at the idea, and then you’d be shown the 2BEIGH3.
Now, if being a hybrid 3D printer/CNC machine isn’t enough to peak your interest, then maybe the list of supported materials might change your mind. Not only can the 2BEIGH3, pronounced “2 by 3”, print the usual ABS and PLA plastics, it can also handle acrylic, PET (recycled plastic) and nylon derivatives.
The really remarkable thing about printing with nylon is that it gives the 2BEIGH3 the ability to produce models that are either entirely or partially flexible. In the video below, the 2BEIGH3 prints a child’s prosthetic insole which would be useless if it were made of more rigid plastics.
If you’re feeling ambitious and you read through the instructions to build a 2BEIGH3 (let alone make one), you’ll soon see that this machine is another example of ingenuity leading to great and useful design. While it might never compete with multi-material systems that have large build areas and a plethora of other features, it’s still a remarkable machine.
I’ll leave you with a few useful words from "taulman," the inventor himself:
“I designed and built this unit in 8 weeks from concept to cutting/printing parts. Now that I have them, I can tell you it was not the overwhelming task I thought it would be at all. Just have a bit of faith in yourself and like they say, 'Just do it'. Yes, I made mistakes along the way and I threw ‘em in a 'Don't do that again bucket'. And 'yes' my CNC bit tried to drill its way to China, however, plastic is cheap and disposable. Knowledge is not!”
For 2BEIGH3 Build Instructions Visit Instructables