Arduino, maker of the open source hardware platform of the same name, is teaming up with a startup called Sharebot to sell a 3D printer for about $1,000.

Announced today, Materia 101 will be demonstrated at the Maker Faire in Rome this weekend. An on-sale date has not been revealed.

"The printer will be available only on the Arduino Store both as a kit and pre-assembled," the announcement said. "Official pricing of the device will be disclosed at a later date but the kit will sell for less than 600 EUR/800 USD, while the pre-assembled version will be available for less than 700 EUR/1000 USD."

Materia 101 is a "precision 3D printer" powered by the Arduino Mega 2560. Like all Arduino products, hardware documentation will be open.

"The collaboration with Sharebot—which has been also opening different parts of its previous printers—will lead to the release of all technical drawings, mechanical documentation, and customized Marlin's firmware of this printer," Arduino said.

Home 3D printers can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to thousands. Even expensive models can be frustrating, so the Materia 101's price could be a fair one if it works reliably. Arduino's single-board computers have been used by hobbyists to build 3D printers, though the Arduino company has not previously offered its own printer.

Arduino's announcement listed the device's technical characteristics:

Printing technology: Fused Filament Fabrication

Printing area: 140x100x100mm +/- 5mm

X and Y resolution: 0.06mm

Z resolution: 0.0025mm

Filament diameter: 1.75mm

Optimal temperatures with PLA: 200-230°

Tested and supported filaments: PLA

Unsupported but tested filaments: Cristal Flex, PLA Thermosense, Thermoplastic Polyuretane (TPU), PET, PLA Sand, PLA Flex

External dimensions: 310x330x350mm

Weight: 10kg

Power usage: 65 watts

Electronics board: Official Arduino Mega 2560 with Open Source Marlin Firmware

20x4 LCD display with encoder menu

Preloaded with PLA printing presets

Extruder block with filament pressure regulation

AdaFruit's blog pointed out that the Arduino printer appears to have features similar to the Sharebot Kiwi 3D, which sells as a kit for €570 (about $720).