3-D Printing Pens 2.0: Smaller, Lighter and More Nimble A trio of inventors in Europe have announced a Kickstarter campaign for a new device that allows you to doodle in the air.

By Catherine Clifford

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

3-D doodling may feel like one of those "back to the future' concepts. Well, the future is already becoming old-school because there's already a next-generation 3-D printing pen.

A team of three inventors in Europe -- Delphine Eloise Wood, Anton Suvorov, and Ismail Baran -- have announced they will be taking their 3-D printing doodle pen, the Lix 3-D Pen, to the crowdfunding site Kickstarter.

3-D doodling means that you can draw in the air. It sounds pretty far out. We had to check out the video (embedded below) to understand completely.

Related: Re-Making Manufacturing in the United States

Lix bills itself as "the smallest 3-D pen in the world," with a thickness comparable to a normal writing pen. Others on the market, such as the 3Doodler, have been larger and more bulky.

Still, Lix isn't as easy to use as an everyday pen; it has to be plugged into a USB port and the user needs to feed a plastic string into it. But the output may be worth it: the pen allows a user to doodle in three dimensions by quickly melting and then cooling the plastic to form freestanding shapes.

When it comes to market, the Lix 3-D is estimated to cost $139.95. A limited number will be available for $70 for pre-order when the Kickstarter campaign launches, according to a company press release.

Related: From Relic to Beacon: Brooklyn Navy Yard Gets New Life as Cutting-Edge Manufacturing Hub

Catherine Clifford

Senior Entrepreneurship Writer at CNBC

Catherine Clifford is senior entrepreneurship writer at CNBC. She was formerly a senior writer at Entrepreneur.com, the small business reporter at CNNMoney and an assistant in the New York bureau for CNN. Clifford attended Columbia University where she earned a bachelor's degree. She lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. You can follow her on Twitter at @CatClifford.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Side Hustle

This 30-Year-Old's $6,000-a-Month Side Hustle Started Making Money 'Immediately' — But He's Not Quitting His Day Job

Derrick Mathy works in orthopedic surgical device sales and is on a mission to bring people together in real life.

Leadership

How Uniting Industry Stakeholders Transformed My Business

There is power in bringing industry stakeholders together. Each conversation ignites a spark, and if you nurture that spark, it can become the driving force that propels your business and the entire industry to new heights.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Career

What Is 'Task Masking'? Young Workers Retaliate Against Return-to-Office Mandates With a Viral Strategy.

Many professionals value the flexibility of remote work — and they're not reacting well to forced in-office returns.

Business Solutions

ChatGPT Isn't Cutting It for Busy Professionals Anymore

Find out where they're turning instead.