I would not have thought that paper would make a good material for rapid prototyping. But it turns out that paper parts are suitable for a variety of applications including industrial, vacuum forming, casting, prototyping for industrial design, architecture, medical/dental, and gaming.
Mcor Technologies Ltd is the manufacturer of the only 3D printer in the world that uses paper as the build medium. Based in Ireland, the company just opened their first US office at the Irish Innovation Center in downtown San Jose.
The Matrix 300 builds models out of ordinary paper that are tough, durable, eco-friendly, and low in cost. The consumables for this machine are office paper, a water based adhesive, and a tungsten carbide blade for a total cost of €0.01 ($0.014) per cubic centimeter.
According to Deirdre MacCormack, marketing director, “People are always amazed at the quality of our parts – paper is perceived to be flimsy but our parts are robust and can be dipped in a wax to be made stronger and water resistant. Paper also has a special quality – our customers like the tactile nature of the end product and the pure color achieved with colored paper.”
The print envelope is approximately 6.5 litres (396.654 in.³) and this envelope can be stacked and filled to capacity wasting little or no paper. However, even if a small part was printed in the build envelope, creating a lot of paper waste, the cost is little in comparison to other technologies and it is eco-friendly.
Part resolution is 0.1 mm (0.00393 in.). The Matrix prints a smooth part even before post-processing is carried out.
Check out the video of the Matrix 300 in action:
Mcor Technologies Ltd
www.mcortechnologies.com
