Could SLA be the new FDM? After the XFab was presented at CES by DWS back in January and Autodesk announced a new open source DLP 3D printer just last month (not to mention 3D Systems’ Projet 4200 and the ever present Form1 from Formlabs), now it is XYZprinting’s turn to launch its own version of a consumer/prosumer desktop stereolithography (SLA) 3D printer: the Nobel 1.0.
This is not the only big news to be revealed by the large Taiwanese company this week either. XYZprinting’s booth (G 0236) at Computex is introducing a host of new 3D printer models. As anticipated by Michael a couple of months ago, this 3D printer manufacturer is launching its daVinci 2.0 Duo and daVinci 2.1 Duo Plus. Along with them it has also launched two completely new models, the DaVinci 1.0 AiO and the DaVinci 2.1 AiO 3D printer + 3D scanner systems. AiO, if you hadn’t guessed, is All-in-One.
The new SLA 3D Printer will be priced under $2500 and is scheduled to start shipping middle of next year. It will have a 12.8 x 12.8 x 20 cm build volume, which is fairly large for this type of 3D printer. For example it will cost less and print larger than the Form 1.
In fact it will cost less than any SLA 3D printer currently on the market, even ones with smaller build sizes such as the Projet 4200. Of course SLA technology is not as simple as FFF/FDM to build, so print quality will certainly be a big issue, one that we will be able to observe and compare more accurately in the following months when, it seems, there will be a lot more SLA 3D printers hitting the market.
The 3D printer + 3D scanner AiO systems are FFF machines that also feature automated calibration, WiFi and USB connectivity. The 1.0 AiO model will be priced under $700 and its scanner will reportedly be able to capture 15 x 15 x 15 cm objects (with a printing volume of 20 x 20 x 20 cm) in about 5 minutes with a quality that – according to XYZprinting – is comparable to that of industrial grade 3D scanners. The 2.1 model will have similar capabilities while also integrating a dual extruder and a 5” touch screen panel.
The company announced and demonstrated its patent pending technology’s scanning abilities through the “Who Replicated the Mona Lisa” online promotional initiative, linked to the Computex booth, where it also announced that the AiO models will arrive respectively in the last quarter of 2014 (the 1.0) and in the first quarter of 2015 (the 2.1). Might not be quite enough for a Nobel prize but it sure is big news for the consumer/prosumer 3D printing world.
