It looks like 2012 is going to be the year of the desktop 3D printer. Objet just announced its latest, the Objet30 Pro. Objet designed this printer to address the engineering issues of size, true product realism and 3D printer versatility, and cost.
Noted Bruce Bradshaw in a recent interview, “engineers want the capabilities of high quality and highly capable professional 3D printers but at a lower price point and smaller size.” So the key distinguishing features of this 3D printer versus others is that it adds function at a desktop price.
The Objet30 Pro delivers 0.1 mm accuracy, 28 micron layers. It is equivalent to the Objet24 and Objet30 printers in build size–the tray size is 11.81 x 7.87 x 5.9 in., yet the printing speed is 112 cm³/hr for opaque material, and 60cm³/hr for transparent material.
One key difference in accuracy and layer thickness is the size of the drops of material deposited from the polyjet print head. In the Objet30 Pro, this drop size is 50 pico liter, which gives you the fine detail and smooth finish.
The other key difference is printer materials. With the Objet30 Pro, you can print in seven materials. Two of those materials are a transparent choice and a high temperature choice.
The clear transparent material (Objet VeroClear) has a water-clear transparency that simulates PMMA (Poly (methyl methacrylate). PMMA is a transparent thermoplastic that is often used as an alternative to glass.
Then, there’s the RGD525 high temperature material. Until the Objet30 Pro, this material was available only on Objet Connex500 and Eden500V 3D printers. It simulates the thermal performance of engineering plastics and is dimensionally stable when used for static 3D models and prototypes. It has a heat deflection temperature (HDT at 0.45MPa) of 65° C (149° F) out of the printer and 80° C (176° F) after a short oven-based, post-thermal treatment. The material’s temperature resistance suits applications that require thermal testing of static parts such as hot air flow or hot water flow in taps and faucets.
Operation of the new printer is simple. Everything is controlled by a few mouse clicks. You save your CAD file in STL format. From there, you arrange/set the model on a tray, and then send it to the printer console. The printer console is easy to use and provides all the information on the printing status.
This printer will use 2 cartridges (1 kg or 2.2 lb) of modeling materials and 2 cartridges of supporting materials. This allows “hot swap” during printing and supplies enough material for up to 36 hours unattended printing.
Objet Ltd.
www.objet.com
