Danish 3D printing technology provider Create it REAL and Chinese 3D printer manufacturer WEISTEK (aka Tektronics Technology Co.) have joined forces to develop a high-performance and affordable desktop 3D printer for the masses.
The fruit of their collaboration is the “IdeaWerk Speed”, which – as the name suggests – aims to be up to 3 to 10 times faster that most other printers currently available in a similar same price range. Both companies agreed that the single biggest drawback that undermines wide adoption of this emerging technology in the consumer market is the fact that even the smallest of objects require a disproportionate amount of time to materialize and usually involve complicated procedures.
This is exactly the point that both companies want to address through the development of their first 3D printer, set to hit market before the end of 2015. “We were looking for a consumer brand that could offer a reliable 3D printer, easy to setup, safe and capable of handling the high speed and high accelerations generated by our technology,” says Jeremie Pierre Gay, CEO of Create it REAL. “WEISTEK is a strong brand in China and has received very good feedback on its IdeaWerk Plus in the USA and Europe so far. Our technology was targeting business customers at first, where speed and reliability is key, but we have found a way to offer it to consumers who will now be able to enjoy high performances, too”.
Vicky Chen, CEO of WEISTEK conveyed that the company’s engineers were “impressed by Create it REAL technology. The flexibility, the reliability and of course, the performances made it obvious for us to work together,” she said, adding that the new 3D printer is meant to prove to 3D printing early adopters that “3D printing is easy, fun and fast, too.”
IdeaWerk Speed will offer a build volume of 150x150x140mm, and will support PLA, ABS, PA/Nylon, PC, HIPS and other flexible material filaments. The printer will also feature a 3.5 inch color touch screen, a heated bed, a 0.4mm nozzle and will support USB or SD card input.
Create It REAL is essentially a multi-versed team of experts in electronics, 3D graphics, software programing, precision mechanics, and patent and legislative issues that promises to help with mass production of 3D printers by removing all the related R&D risks involved in the process. The Danish team, which offers its technology to any potential partners interested in developing their own 3D printer (including the EVO 3D printer), also developed REALvision , the software to control the printing process. No exact specifications concerning the speed have been revealed just yet, but the printer will be demonstrated for the first time during the upcoming TCT show in Birmingham, UK, taking place from September 30 to October 1.
With over four years of experience in pioneering applications of 3D printing technologies that even include bioprinting, the company has developed sophisticated printing control software tools and its own 3D printer prototype. This makes them a perfect fit for WEISTEK’s manufacturing capabilities. The Chinese company built a new 4,000 square meter production facility in the International Low Carbon City of Shenzen, which can support large-scale production and, possibly, many other future projects that their Danish partners have already begun working on, with the stated objective of helping them fully live up to their name.
