A new DIY 3D printer has popped up on YouTube, and it doesn’t have linear rails; instead, it uses string.

You read that right. YouTuber Dmytry “dizekat” Lavrov’s aptly named “Marionette” features a glass plate as the XY axis. The print head moves upon it on a slider that is pulled by four strings, themselves driven by two stepper motors. The print bed is also raised and lowered by strings – six of them – hooked up to a winch and pulley system.

The whole setup is very Rube Goldberg, even going so far as to use guitar tuner pegs to adjust the 3D printed mechanism that sits atop the glass, which works in tandem with a similar mechanism below to maintain the correct amount of tension in the strings.

The Marionette’s practicality, perhaps unsurprisingly, is not very high, with Lavrov noting that the slide tends to “rattle” on the glass, limiting the printer’s speed and acceleration and potentially causing artifacts on finished prints. Additionally, the absence of a heated bed tends to cause prints to warp and lift off the build plate.

However, another video on Lavrov’s channel shows the Marionette printing a Benchy in an astounding 3:55, with the printer moving so quickly that it would appear sped up, if not for the timer. The results are hardly impressive from an aesthetic standpoint, but if speed’s what you’re after, the Marionette’s got it.

For more on the Marionette, check out Lavrov’s “dizekat” YouTube channel, where there are a few videos that showcase various aspects of the machine such as a deep dive into its build and the aforementioned speed test, or the Marionette’s GitHub.

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