3D Printers

First look at the new Sinterit LISA 2 SLS 3D printer

As hinted in my visit to the company’s HQ earlier this month, Sinterit has a new 3D printer on the block. As of today, the Polish 3D printer provider has released the LISA 2.

Developed on the same user-friendly basis as the first generation of Sinterit 3D printers, the LISA 2 is an affordable 3D printing solution for industrial applications.

“We started development of the LISA 2 because we feel we needed it,” comments Paweł Szczurek, Sinterit CEO and co-founder, in an exclusive interview for 3D Printing Industry.

“We have an FDM market now where everything is the same. We wanted something more.”

The product of experience 

Though the LISA 2 is an entirely new system from Sinterit, it still works using the same base technology as its baby sister the LISA 1. This is testament to the years of SLS experience and development that Sinterit’s brings to the table.

“From the very beginning we saw the potential for [accessible SLS 3D printing],” explains Szczurek.

“Right now, even though we are a very young company, we have one product that produces parts with better mechanical properties [than FDM] and so, when we improve the materials, introduce new ones, it should be even better.”

The new machine is also bigger than before. The LISA 2 has a print bed measuring 150 x 200 x 260 mm (X x Y x Z) producing a build volume of 316mm. The LISA 1, for comparison, is 150 x 200 x 150 (X x Y x Z) with a volume of 227 mm.

By expanding along the Z axis in this way, the process avoids drawbacks to increasing the print-bed’s size.

3D printing capability on the LISA 2 (left) vs the LISA 1 (right). For reference, the body, spring legs and two wheels of the vehicle on the left can be 3D printed in a single LISA 2 build. The remaining 4 wheels are 3D printed in a second. The spring legs on this vehicel could not have been 3D printed in a single piece on the LISA 1 3D printer. Photo by Beau Jackson
3D printing capability on the LISA 2 (left) vs the LISA 1 (right). For reference, the body, spring legs and two wheels of the vehicle on the left can be 3D printed in a single LISA 2 build. The remaining 4 wheels are 3D printed in a second. The spring legs on this vehicel could not have been 3D printed in a single piece on the LISA 1 3D printer. Photo by Beau Jackson

Nitrogen is a game changer

With the LISA 2, Sinterit has also is its expanded materials portfolio. Nitrogen can now be used in the system by simply attaching an inlet cable to the outside of the machine. Input can either be from a standalone canister, or hook-up to a workshop’s existing gas supply.

Nitrogen gas canister attached to the LISA 2. Photo by Beau Jackson
Nitrogen gas canister attached to the LISA 2. Photo by Beau Jackson

Konrad Kobus, a Mechanical Engineer in Sinterit’s research and development department that has been working on the LISA 2 from the start, explains,

“Nitrogen is a game chamber because it opens up possibilities to print with very specific materials, that have a very high robustness to them.”

Sinterit has an open materials platform meaning that customers are free to experiment with their own SLS powder formulations in LISA SLS, a capability making the machines an attractive low-cost solutions for material development labs. In total, Sinterit has test around 60 – 70 polymer formulations on the LISA 2 so far.

In addition to the standard strong and chemical-resistant plastics Nylon PA12 and TPU-based Flexa Black, the LISA 2 will launch with the addition of two new materials – Flexa Grey and PA11.

Flexa Grey provides a superior flexibility to SLS 3D printed products, as demonstrated by miniature 3D printed book sample handed to me at Sinterit HQ.

PA11 on the other hand provides enhanced chemical and temperature resistance over PA12.

Not a startup anymore

Now Sinterit has entered its second generation of 3D printers it is an exciting time for the company. With this release “Rather than being considered a startup, we will be seen more as a growing company,” comments Szczurek.

“We want to show people that we are real and we really mean it. It’s not just that we have made one thing, we are focusing on providing the next and the next, and constantly improving.”

The LISA 2 is available for pre-order now at $14,900 USD, or $17,400 as a full end-to-end package. First deliveries of the system are expected September 2018.

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Featured image shows Paweł Szczurek, Sinterit co-founder and CEO and the new LISA 2. Photo by Beau Jackson