After the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire and the “Dark Ages” (a Game of Thrones like period, with not much room for inventors and artists) a new wave of incredible creativity spread from Italy to encompass all of Europe. It started from Florence and it was a re-birth of arts and sciences, in a way very smilier to what is happening today with the explosion of personal manufacturing and 3D printing.
So It should not surprise that – after experiencing the “dark ages” (or actually the “stupid ages”) of Silvio Berlusconi’s rule for over twenty years, Italy has now jumped to the forefront of maker culture, with 3D printing companies popping up all over the country. The area around Florence, home to artisans and advanced technological companies alike, has been particularly ripe with such projects, the latest to reach the market being KTech and its first desktop 3D printer: Genesis.
The idea to create a 3D printer came to KTech’s current CEO Paolo Carcia, mechanical engineer, and in an ever more crowded desktop FFF 3D printer market, KTech does focus on some traits that it hopes will make it stand out. The machine has a fully anodized aluminum body, with no heated parts exposed, and a hefty print volume of 200x200x194 mm and a compact size. However KTech’s main innovation focuses on software.
“Our main goal is to present the Genesis as a completely wireless system,” explained Giacomo Bartoloni, sales manager and web & mobile developer. “Apart from the power cord, Genesis will have no cables or wires anywhere. All the filament is positioned inside the machine, where there is room for two spools, and connections are wireless. In fact – he adds – you can load up the models to print through a web-based interface”.
Another primary focus of the KTech team has been to enable customers to easily 3D print with ABS, which is a more “professional grade” material compared with PLA, and that is the target the company is focusing on for now. The Genesis has a heated plate and also comes with a HEPA filter for protection from ABS’s fumes.
Now, after delivering the first machines – selling at €2,200 – and exhibiting at the Florence Artisan Fair, Ktech is heading to the Maker Faire Rome, where it will showcase more news, with rumours of a new low-cost, entry level system to be presented. From then its on to more shows throughout Italy because this new wave of creativity does not seem to be stopping. “There is a lot of things happening and for once Italy is at the very forefront of innovation”, says Bartoloni. In Florence the Renaissance was born seven centuries ago, and in a way the Tuscan city has lived off that amazing burst of creativity up until today. Now it is time for a re-rebirth.
My hope is that a new, technological renaissance is really underway.
