3D Printing Vending Machine Comes to UC Berkeley

Meet David Pastewka, Ricard Berwick and Will Drevno.  These three UC Berkeley-affiliates have created the first (known to me) 3D printing vending machine, which they've nicknamed Dolly.  Cute.

Their company is called Dreambox.  As of late March, Dreambox is open for business, with print costs ranging from $3 to $15. The machine lives in Etcheverry Hall, 2521 Hearst Ave. in Berkeley, CA.


From their press kit,

The Dreambox founding team met in 2011 in a mobile application development class and competition at U.C. Berkeley. After working on various startup ideas for over a year, their personal struggles with inaccessible campus 3D printing and 2-4 week lead times from online 3D printing services led them to the idea for Dreambox: freely accessible 3D printing for all. 

A Dreambox is a 3D printing vending machine. It is the simplest way to have your custom models created. Take away the dozens of hours to setup a 3D printer, take away the weeks of waiting to receive an item from a 3D printing service, take away the need for a full-time operator and you’re left only with 3D printing’s unique manufacturing capabilities. 

Check out in this video to learn how it works:

You can read more about Dreambox in Gizmag, Discovery News, or in this great, detailed KQED article.