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Treadmill modded into giant 3D printer with an endless print bed size — taking 3D print sizing to the extreme
Working within the limitations of their 3D printer's bed size is both a challenge and part of the norm for many makers. However, Ivan Miranda and John from Proper Printing have created an infinite print bed by turning a treadmill into a working, giant 3D printer. Their creation can print things on a massive scale, and we absolutely love it.
According to Miranda, he had plans to transform a treadmill into a 3D printer for a while. His friend John had the same idea, and the two quickly got to work on turning their crazy concept into a tangible reality. The result is this impressive 3D printer that works unlike anything we've ever seen.
The 3D printer is a belt printer with all sorts of unique design quirks necessary for a creative project like this. The extruder operates at an angle because it is installed on the treadmill handles. The treadmill belt acts as the print bed and can move prints away from the extruder as they continue. This makes printing massive things with a theoretically infinite bed size possible.
The prints detach easily from the bed as they pull away from the extruder, thanks to the way they curl under the machine once they reach the edge. Plans are in the works to test the limits of their creation, but so far, we're already impressed. Everything from the hardware assembly to the slicing methodology had to be developed from scratch for the project.
Miranda uploaded a video demonstrating the printer in action. In it, we see the treadmill 3D printer print a 2-meter-long I-beam. This impressive feat took approximately 36 hours to complete, which isn't too bad. The team intends to take things a step further by using the setup to 3D print a kayak.
Creating your 3D printer is cool, but there's nothing wrong with buying one to get started. If you're new to 3D printing or want to see what's currently leading the market, check out our list of the best 3D printers to see which ones we recommend.
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Ash Hill is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware with a wealth of experience in the hobby electronics, 3D printing and PCs. She manages the Pi projects of the month and much of our daily Raspberry Pi reporting while also finding the best coupons and deals on all tech.
