Review: Can the 3Doodler Pen unleash your inner artist?

€99

Remember back in January the 3Doodler Pen was unveiled at CES? Well it has finally hit the Irish market.

If you’ve never seen it before, the 3Doodler is a pen that draws in 3D. It’s designed to make it easier for people to get to grips with 3D printing, and a lot cheaper.

The catch is that this isn’t a 3D printer; you draw your item in 3D yourself, in the air or on paper, and bend it to your desired shape before it dries fully. it means you can be as creative as your imagination - and drawing skills will allow you to be.

It works in a similar way to a hot glue gun, in that the plastic sticks go in one end, get heated and pass through the tip of the pen to create your model. It cools quickly, so you have to be on the ball if you want to make any changes.

There are two types of plastic sticks: PLA, which is made from corn starch or sugar cane, and is biodegradable; and ABS, which is made from oil, has a higher melting point and therefore more durable and long lasting. Each has its pros and cons, with 3Doodler providing some handy info on its website to help you make the decision.

The good:

The 3Doodler is a good introduction to 3D modelling, and if you want to make smaller items - plastic jewellery, a model, a spare part that has somehow gone missing from something small and irreplaceable.

It allows you to be creative, although this doesn’t always go to plan. On my first try, I made something unidentifiable, nicknamed the “schmurfle”. The second try wasn’t much better. When you look at what it can do though, it makes you wish you were a bit more creative. or perhaps just followed instructions a bit better.

There are stencils available on the website to guide you in the right direction, everything from some vaguely tolerable Mother’s Day tat and a model of Big Ben to jewellery and a desktop catapult (guess what’s being attempted next?). For total beginners, these are handy to have, even in your bouquet of wonky plastic roses or your badly drawn stick boy will never win any awards.

The bad:

This take a lot of practice, first of all to get the hang of actually using the pen without your carefully crafted masterpiece looking more like a monstrosity, as I learned. And even if you do manage to get the hang of it, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your models will come out looking smooth and sleek; they look hand drawn, which is arguably part of the 3Doodler’s charm.

If you go for ABS plastic, be warned: along with that extra durability comes extra fumes. You don’t get quite the same effect with PLA, but the ABS sticks smell extremely plastic-y and you’ll find that you might need to open a window to get rid of the smell. For a long time.

...& the rest:

The tip of the pen is hot. Very hot. It melts plastic, so it has to be. In other words, don’t give this to your young child to play with unsupervised, or not only will you find yourself trying to pick ABS plastic out of the furniture for months afterwards - probably unsuccessfully - but there’s a high chance you’ll be dealing with some 3D injuries too.

The plastic packs are extra, and are available in a range of colours. They can add up though , so use your resources wisely. Each pack, regardless of whether it is ABS or PLA, includes 25 sticks for €10, so there’s nothing to be gained pricewise from choosing one over the other.

It also requires mains power to work, which can be a pain because it limits exactly where you can use it. .

The verdict:

This pen won’t be to everyone’s tastes, but if you want something fun to have a shot at 3D drawing, this is probably the cheapest way to do it yet. It’s a little finicky though, so prepare for some false starts and disasters.

3doodler.ie