When we think of FDM 3D printers, we think Cartesian; the print head always rides along rails in the X- and Y-axes, and the machines are cubic in form. But the developers behind the stunningly low-cost Tiko have literally been thinking outside of the box, adopting a triangular form factor and opting to use a delta-style mechanism to drive the print head.

Enter a caption (optional)

This solves a lot of problems at once. The key issue with a Cartesian system is that you need highly accurate, precision-machined parts to achieve the tolerances necessary for dead-on printing. By going with a delta mechanism, which drives the print head via three arms and essentially triangulates the position, they eliminate the need for expensive parts.

Enter a caption (optional)

But for the delta mechanism to be accurate, it has to be connected to three precisely-spaced rails, the corners of the triangle. The development team has got around this by opting for an extruded unibody design. This is a brilliant, and economical, insight: Dozens or hundreds of feet worth of body can be extruded at once and sliced into individual units; the stiffness of the triangular shape ensures rigidity; and this completely eliminates the need to assemble and connect rails, with the tolerance woes that can bring.

Enter a caption (optional)

The end result is that the Tiko rings in at a staggeringly low $179. Interested parties are numerous and have responded positively: The team was seeking a paltry $100,000 on Kickstarter, and at press time had racked up nearly $1.7 million in pledges. Here's the pitch, and a closer look at the machine:

If you want in on this, you'd better do it fast—at press time there was just 16 days left in the pledging period. Delivery for the early birds (which are, sadly, all gone) are expected to begin shipping later this year, while subsequent pledgers will have to wait for February of 2016.