3D printing allows us to make plenty of wonderful things. Regardless of how powerful they’ve become, the results aren’t always perfect, often requiring a little extra work post-printing to get the best results. While sharp blades and gritty sandpaper can do the job, the Retouch3D should help you turn up even more professional results.
A specialty tool designed for finishing 3D-printed models, the handheld device allows you to easily slice and smoothen plastic creations. Whether you want to improve details on a 3D-printed head sculpt, adjust connectors on a custom-made snap-on toy, or clean up imperfections on plastic jewelry for the kids, this thing should speed up the process dramatically.
The Retouch3D has an integrated heating element that brings the tool’s tip to a high temperature, allowing it to cut through plastic the same way a heated knife can slice through even the coldest butter. Temperature can be manually adjusted, although it also comes with 15 different presets, including ones optimized for working with different types of plastic materials. Five swappable tips are included for different finishing tasks: a macro remover for removing large supports and brims; a micro remover for chopping off finer sections of plastic; a macro refiner for removing large layers of imperfections; a micro refiner for layer imperfections on curved and detailed sections; and a blender tip for evening out surfaces and filling gaps. Designed to be held like a pen, it measures 7 x 1.2 x 1.1 inches and weighs 3.53 ounces.
A Kickstarter campaign is currently running for Retouch3D. Pledges to reserve a unit starts at $179.