- Hey guys, it's Andru Edwards here,
Editor in Chief of GearLive.com.
3D printing, a futuristic technology
that's not only cool but very functional.
Sure, you can print great wall art
or things to display on your desk,
but it can also save you a bunch of money
depending on what you print.
For example, I know someone who needed a new part
for their refrigerator.
Their refrigerator had gone bad
and they didn't make that refrigerator anymore
nor the parts for the refrigerator anymore.
So the choice was get a new fridge
or find the part.
They couldn't find the part so what they did was they
3D printed the part that they needed.
The part would have cost several hundred dollars
even if they could find it.
And the 3D print job costs under $5.
Now that just blew my mind.
I've always shied away from 3D printing
just because it seemed a little too technical
even for someone like me.
A little too confusing, something I didn't want to
take the time to learn.
But when I saw this new 3D printer from New Matter
called the MOD-t, I knew I had to give it a try.
What New Matter has done is created a way
to simply 3D print objects directly from a web browser
on your computer or your smartphone.
So imagine when you're browsing the iOS App Store
or the Google Play Store, download an app.
3D printing with a MOD-t is pretty similar.
You search through the app store, you find a print
that you want, you hit "Download", and it will download it
to the MOD-t printer and they'll start printing.
That easy, that simple.
Getting the MOD-t set up was even easier than I thought it
would be with very minimal assembly required.
Set it up, download the software for Windows or Mac,
get firmware updates if there are any available
for your MOD-t at the time, and then connect it
to your home Wi-Fi network because that's how it talks
to the MOD-t service.
Just make sure you have a 2.4 gigahertz band enable
on your router because the MOD-t will not connect
to a 5 gigahertz network.
Now, if you've known about 3D printing for a while,
don't worry, this is not dumbing down the process.
In fact, you don't have to use the New Matter store at all.
If you have your own projects, or you've
downloaded projects from other places
like Thingiverse for example, you can actually
use those STL and those OBJ files with the MOD-t
to print whatever you have files for.
But the main point is if you're new to 3D printing,
the MOD-t walks you through the process step by step
to get you use to and accustomed to
what 3D printing can be.
At $399, this is one of the most affordable 3D printers
that you can buy.
And I'm serious about that.
A few years ago, 3D printers in this class
cost upwards of 14 hundred dollars for one printer.
So we're down by a thousand bucks and MOD-t
makes it even easier than those older ones did.
So if you're like me and you don't wanna deal
with all the technical details or learning 3D printing
from scratch, the MOD-t is for you.
At the same time, it's a system that grows with you
like I said.
You can use your own STL files.
You can use your own OBJ files, or when I say "your own"
I mean files you've gotten from somewhere else.
You may not be at the point yet where you're designing
your own prints, but you can certainly get them
from other places besides a New Matter store.
But I appreciate the fact that New Matter doesn't try
to lock you into their platform
which some other 3D printing companies are trying to do,
either by locking out certain file types
or only allowing you to use their brand of filament
that they will then overcharge you for.
Filament is the plastic that's used to 3D print things.
Oh, and before I forget, one other cool thing
about the MOD-t is that it's also social.
So if you find a design or if you upload a design,
you can actually share that to other friends of yours
and they can then 3D print that in their home
if they have a MOD-t very easily as well.
Aside from the easy setup and simple method
of getting the filament all set up,
the MOD-t also just looks cool
what with that see-through casing.
And by the way, for the parents out there,
something like this is really cool for kids.
Remember, 3D printing isn't going away.
To the contrary, it's actually gonna get bigger.
And kids will learn more about machining and art
and planning out their designs, and seeing trial and error,
all that with the MOD-t, than you'd think at first glance.
Now I wanna hear from you guys.
Have you gotten into 3D printing yet?
If so, what devices have you used
and what's the coolest thing you've printed?
Let me know in the comments below and I'll meet you there
for further discussion.
Hit the "thumbs up" on this video if you enjoyed
what you saw today.
If you're into 3D printing, "thumbs up" for that.
And don't forget to click or tap on my face
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on all future video releases.
And, some upcoming big giveaways we have coming
here in the holiday season as well.
Thanks for watching as always guys, I'm Andru Edwards.
I appreciate your support and I'll catch you
in the next video.
(instrumental rock music)