YNG is Kickstarter funding their new printer with several new features including zoned printing.
Ronald and Erik Kasparian were fascinated by 3D printing but had frustrations with the process. During their college careers and as new engineers they realized that anything can be designed but not everything can be brought to three dimensional reality. Further, they had frustration with 3D printers that came unassembled in a box, or printers that required other users to help with the build.
When looking to build a large project they could not find a printer with enough build space and had to settle for assembling several smaller pieces together. Difficulties with assembly, calibration and general maintenance led the brothers and their team at YNG LLC to develop their own 3D printing system. Reveal3D is YNG’s entry into the 3D printing field, currently running a Kickstarter campaign.
The smaller GT model has a 480 x 525 x 390 millimeter build envelope, and the head can travel at speeds up to 100 millimeters per second. The layer resolution has a range of 50 to 300 microns, and boasts a polyetherimide (PEI) surface. The larger meter Reveal3D printer has a build window of 1000 x 1000 x 430 millimeters. The machines level themselves using a magnet alignment system.
Both models feature zoned printing and zoned heated printing beds, allowing the user to print in sections of the printer. Different sections can print different materials with different heated bed temperatures, and when one zone is printing the user can remove prints from other zones. The Reveal3D has sixteen zones, the GT model has four.
As a product the Reveal3D seems solid to me. The build envelope is huge and the ability to print different pieces in different zones, at different heats feels like a great innovation that many hobby sized 3D printers lack. There’s a great picture on the company’s Facebook page that shows a huge 3D printed bison that was done on the printer. The campaign still has a long way to go before meeting its $25,000 funding goal by November 26. If funded first units are expected to ship in early 2017.