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by Dale Dougherty (Author)
At Make: we've cheered, and sometimes steered, two decades of rapid evolution in digital fabrication tools for home, hobby, and business use. But this year is an astonishing one.
Multi-material 3D printing is finally legit, with smart, tool-changing machines that don't waste filament on purges and poops. In this issue we review Snapmaker's U1 tool changer, plus new 3D printers from Elegoo, Flashforge, and Prusa that are packed with advanced features at plummeting prices. We also go hands-on with new lasers from xTool -- the burly MetalFab metal cutter/welder and petite MOPA F2 Ultra engraver -- and with desktop CNC mini mills that have achieved the trifecta of power, price, and software that doesn't suck.
Tool makers are innovating outside the big categories, too. For the first time ever, you can do UV printing at home! Why not try a full-sheet CNC router that stows on a shelf? Or new category-mashers like the LatheEngraver or Saltgator soft-gel injection molder? It's a good time to succumb to your tool temptations.
Plus 15 fantastic projects, including:
- Embrace your inner mad scientist with a high voltage plasma toroid generator
- Track the position of the ISS in real time on an actual globe
- Hack a Spider-Man-style web flinger to control it with your mind
- Learn how to use smart serial servos with the Oxocard Connect
- Use WLED to create full-color LED displays
- 3D print concrete and metal
- And more!
