Subscribe to updates

A few years back, the LulzBot Taz was synonymous with high-quality printing and a strong adherence to open source principles. The early LulzBot machines were workhorse favorites at All3DP, which made the turbulent 2019 shuttering of operations of its manufacturer, Aleph Objects, a surprise.

All was not lost for the acid-green and black machines, though, with Fargo Additive Manufacturing Equipment 3D stepping into the void to gobble up Alephs Objects’ assets and the LulzBot brand. What followed was a commendable transition that continued the availability and support of the LulzBot Mini 2, Taz Workhorse, and Taz Pro machines.

Now, some two years later, a completely new LulzBot machine is here, free from Aleph Object’s baggage and, surprisingly, aimed at shallower pockets than the business-focused machines that precede it. It’s called the Taz SideKick, and it’s available in an eye-gouging all-green version.

LulzBot Taz SideKick

A few things are clear after poking around the configurator for the Taz SideKick. Firstly, it’s smaller than we’re used to from LulzBot. Also, it is actually they, because the Taz SideKick is available in two denominations (the Taz SideKick 289 and Taz SideKick 747). The smaller SideKick 298 has a build volume of ~161 x 161 x 180 mm, close to that of the LulzBot Mini 2 but in a more compact footprint.

It drops the stamped metal control box of the Mini for 3D printed appendages all over. The ~228 x 228 x 247 mm variant–the Taz SideKick 747–is currently unavailable, but will (according to the LulzBot website) be available for configuration from July 15, 2021.

The LulzBot Taz SideKick ships almost flat, assembling without the need for a hex key

Secondly, it’s configurable.

There’s a high degree of flexibility to the printer you come away with, with a display-less, print-headless version costing $745. That’s no small chunk of change for a printer that can’t print anything. Further modularity comes in the evolution of LulzBot’s tool heads, which will, according to the product descriptions, be easily swappable on the new machines.

There’s an argument to be made for a display-less machine, we’re sure. Especially in a compact printer with just enough build volume to be useful – it’s a path we saw Prusa Research take with its Original Prusa Mini, a printer that costs approximately half that of the display-and print head-less Taz SideKick.

Your choices extend to whether or not to include a filament sensor, and a decision between the standard glass/PEI build platform or the company’s newer OctoGrab removable magnetic bed. Mesh bed leveling is standard to all configurations of the machine via Antclabs BLTouch.

A fully kitted out LulzBot Taz SideKick 289 with the priciest options of everything (including large-bore hardened steel tool head) costs $1,285.

Honestly, it’s pretty fun poking around the configurator to build a Taz SideKick – an easy 5-minute distraction if that’s the kind of thing you need this early in the week. It’s certainly prolonged this writer’s week-start email clearout.

Procrastinate some more:

License: The text of "New LulzBot Taz SideKick 3D Printer Can Be Whatever You Want it To Be" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.