The 3D Printing Pen

Imagine being able to make your drawings into real objects, customize jewelry, and draw buildings! You're probably thinking, "That's impossible!" However, with the 3Doodler pen, you can do all this and more without needing to learn complicated computer software! The 3Doodler is exactly like a pen, except instead of ink, it releases molten plastic which hardens in several seconds. The 3Doodler requires a special type of plastic strand, which is extremely easy to load into the pen. Once you have pushed the plastic through the back of the pen, you are ready to start doodling! You can either doodle 3-dimensional structures, or make flat drawings, and then lift them right off the paper.

Thanks to Professor Lynn Klett at Pellissippi State College, a scientist studying polymer compositions and 3D printing, I was able to borrow a 3Doodler pen. She showed me how to use it, and explained how it works. She also showed me several 3D printers in action, and told me about one of the world's first 3D printed cars, engineered at the Oak Ridge Lab in Tennessee. Click the following link for more information on how it was made: http://web.ornl.gov/sci/manufacturing/media/news/detroit-show/
                                             Here are some projects I made with the 3Doodler pen:

A neuron

How does this seemingly magical device work? It works exactly like a hot glue gun, heating the plastic until it is soft, then extruding it. However, unlike hot glue guns, it can melt two types of plastic: ABS and PLA. PLA requires a lower temperature to melt, and is a corn-based polymer, whereas ABS is petroleum-based. Why use two different kinds of plastic? ABS can bend more easily when dry, and is easy to peel of paper. PLA, on the other hand, often peels paper with it, and is brittle, but more suitable for drawing on hard surfaces. Although PLA and ABS are more suited for some uses than others, they are still able to make the same projects. For example, if you want to make a detachable paper doodle, you can still use PLA. If you have any questions about general use of the pen, visit http://the3doodler.com/faq/.