All parents love their kids and want the best for them, or so I tend to imagine. While current 3D pens are more of creative gadgets than toys for kids, most parents still desire to get children involved in this current trend. 3D pens give kids an opportunity to interact with their peers and develop their artistic skills together. Unfortunately, 3D pens that have been rolled out in the market may not be very safe for kids. They have a heating mechanism for heating the plastic drawing medium and as a result, their nozzles get extremely hot and children risk being burned by it. In this article, we look at the latest and emerging features in 3D pen technology and the promise that it holds for children.
Expected Features Updates
The future 3D printing pens are expected to have numerous new and exciting features. Already some models have incorporated features like automatic sleep mode that kicks in after 5 minutes of inactivity. Future developments will lead to the sleep mode being activated when the print head temperature is lower than 33.8 degrees Fahrenheit or more than 482 degrees Fahrenheit. There are models that have also featured slow and fast setting. Future pens will have this improved for even better control. A common concern in the current 3D pens is the hot nozzle. Future developments of this pen will help solve this problem by focusing on temperature control and general safety improvement.
Low Temperatures 3D Pens
As opposed to the high temperatures used in current 3D pens, future development of this pen will see it use low temperatures to work. Since they wonít work like hot glue guns, they will be safer for kids. Current 3D pens only consider the needs of creative people in general but not kids, which is always limiting. Future 3D pens will aim at giving kids more priority so that they can safely use it to develop and enhance their creativity.
Faster 3D Pens
Although current 3D pens have a generally good speed (some get painfully slow on continuous use), future development of the 3D pen will see this improved. The gadgets are expected to have a warm up time of just 30 or 40 seconds and to extrude tons of filaments. Since they will be heated by low temperatures, the tips wonít be a burning hazard for kids. Also, plastic filaments used in these pens are expected to be eco-friendly.
Low Heat Requirement
The eco-friendly plastic filaments that will be used by future pens wonít require a lot of heat like the current 3D pens. Kids will even be able to draw on their hands with these pens and not be rushed to the ER after that. The low melting point filament will enable a host of other improvement in the 3D pens.
Less Power Consumption
In the very near future, 3D pens will totally not be dependent on power to function. Advancement towards this direction is already being made with the introduction of rechargeable battery 3D pens. Future 3D pens will improve this current technology which will see the rechargeable batteries power up your 3D pen for even one hour of continuous use. The pens will also have simple functionality controls that will make it easy for kids of all ages to use them. The best news is that the price of these pens wonít be bank breaking. Weíre speaking round about 40$ which is affordable and a great relief to parents.
Great for Parents
Since these future 3D pens will be child friendly, safe and easy to use, parents will have a lot more time to themselves. They can chill on the couch on the weekend as the kids experiment with new designs in the creative room or even give more attention to other more pressing issues. These pens will allow children to make birthday or holiday gifts for their friends and therefore help parents save money.
Emerging Technologies
Since ABS plastic gets hot really fast, future 3D pens will use resins that are easily dried by UV light. These pens may use 3 UV light surrounding the nozzle which can be shone on the resin to make it hard. This means the risk of burning will be totally eliminated.
New Models
The newest 3D pen thatís shuttering the 3D printing industry is the CoLiDo 3D pen. It is bestowed with a lot of user friendly features including an auto-retract nozzle. It is also designed with comfort and safety features that will encourage you to practice your doodling.
3Doodler Start is yet another 3D pen that you should look out for. It is especially designed for kids and can help you encourage reactivity in your little ones. This is one pen that you can consider purchasing as a gift for your kids birthday.
Conclusion
3D pens are a useful gadget for kids not just as a recreational tool, but also for developing their creative skills. Current pens have an age limit for use by children and even with that, parents are still advised to monitor their use. This is mainly due to the burning hazard that current pens present as a result of their heating mechanism. Future pens will improve on the safety of these pens for kids. They will have low power consumption and more filament colors will be available. There has definitely never been a more fun time to live like now!
