The Cetus Extended 3D printer, a Rails-based printing technology has been occupying a great deal of my time as of late. This 3D Printer has a build volume of 180x180x280mm and supports 1.75mm PLA filament.
A very important consideration for children is a printer’s power source. Many 3D printer kits from GearBest, eBay or AliExpress contain open, live wiring that may prove extremely dangerous to children. This printer is a safe choice for children and schools. Cetus ships a kid-friendly power supply that will put to rest any parental concerns. Remember kids are curious. IMHO the Cetus minimalist design provides a better introduction to real hands-on 3D Printing for my children.
Cetus printers have an active Facebook group providing great feedback from a growing community of owners. I am also pleased to see an active Reddit community.
Popular 3D applications Simplify3D, Ultimaker Cura, Slic3r, and Craftware all connect to the Cetus Extended and run very well on an iMac. USB and WiFi are built in and Cetus has an iPad client. The Cetus app will also convert G-code to native machine code before sending objects to the printer.
There are a many popular FDM 3D Printer types. FDM is the most common 3D printing method used in consumer, desktop 3D printing. Cartesian and Delta printers are fine FDM printers. However, for my children, the Rails-based design of the Cetus Extended was a better selection. The Anet A8 may be the cheapest plastic printer but the sturdy aluminum Cetus frame cannot be overlooked.
This type of 3D printers is a cost-effective means for product development and rapid prototyping in small business and education sectors since it’s capable of fabricating robust parts reliably and quickly.
The Cetus Extended has only six modules for assembly and aluminum extrusions. A big feature of this printer is the IKO linear bearings. They run very smooth. Easy to assemble and perfect for kids to learn the foundations of 3D printing.
You have three choices for the Cetus Extended printer bed: coated, uncoated or heated. The heated bed is currently in “beta” yet getting positive reviews on their Facebook page.
The build plate is 3mm aluminum. This is a big bonus when compared to kits composed of plastic/acrylic parts. A coated bed is $12.00 USD. Heated beds provide for a wider selection of filaments. There are no moving parts between the slider and the build plate which ensures the build surface is flat and parallel along the X-axis. The Y-axis is calibrated at the factory. For better prints run a custom calibration. This is known as the ‘paper test’ and is important for large prints.
The Cetus Extended is providing a wonderful learning experience for our children.