Open Printer Progress Update
Open Printer provides a progress update on its open-source 3D printer project and announces its nomination for a French design award, highlighting key technical developments and community milestones achieved during the development process.
Background
- Open Printer is an open-source hardware project aiming to build a fully hackable, repairable desktop 3D printer, designed to compete with closed commercial models like those from Prusa or Bambu Lab.
- The project is crowdfunded on Crowd Supply, a platform that specializes in open-source hardware campaigns (similar to Kickstarter but more focused on tech/engineering).
- The update announces the printer's nomination for a French design award (likely the Janus de l'Industrie or similar), which is significant because French design awards carry weight in European industrial design and engineering circles.
- The update also describes specific progress on the printer's mechanical design, electronics, and firmware — important context for backers waiting on delivery.
- Open tools, open-source hardware, and right-to-repair are growing movements; this project sits at their intersection, aiming to prove that open designs can match proprietary performance.