The problem with printers is that no one actually cares. There are plenty of DIY 3D printers, which are arguably even harder to make, but there’s a huge community behind. Regular printers - no one cares.
It’s actually easier with 3D printers in some ways.
3D printers:
Only one extruder needed
Parts are easy to source (basic aluminum extrusions, stepper motors, wires)
There software is easy to find online and install
The accuracy needed is pretty lax
2D printers
Can get away with 1 color, but 4 if you need full color which gets complicated fast. Granted 3D printers aren’t much better on this front
The parts are not easy to source. They’re often proprietary and therefore expensive
Good luck finding software for it
The accuracy needed for printing is far higher than 3D printing
There are open source 3D printers, and quite a few of them. To my knowledge, there are no 2D printers that are open source. At best you can find instructions on how to hack proprietary ones.
The problem with printers is that no one actually cares. There are plenty of DIY 3D printers, which are arguably even harder to make, but there’s a huge community behind. Regular printers - no one cares.
It’s actually easier with 3D printers in some ways.
3D printers:
2D printers
There are open source 3D printers, and quite a few of them. To my knowledge, there are no 2D printers that are open source. At best you can find instructions on how to hack proprietary ones.
I want a full color 3d printer.