F&B Rapid Production has just launched a new crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo for a massive FFF 3D printer, and its smaller little brother. The MetalBro BIG has a huge print bed of 700mm x 300mm x 700mm and a brand new hotend that can allow the printer to reach printing speeds of 500mm/s, while the smaller MetalBro300 Expert has a more conventional build volume of 300mm x 300mm x 250mm.
The German 3D printer manufacturer is looking to raise €50,000 ($61,888) by 12-15-2014 in order to fund the development of both MetalBro 3D Printers and the custom 3D printing software that will operate them. F&B Rapid Production plans on delivering all of the printers by the end of July 2015, however if they fall short of their goal they suggest that the deadline may need to be extended.
The first ten campaign backers can get the MetalBro300 Expert for the early bird price of €2,550 before it goes up to a still respectable €2,700. And the first ten early backers can get the MetalBro BIG for €5,900 before it jumps up to €6,500. They are also selling their high temperature hotend individually for €200, or a complete hotend kit including a pump, pipes, radiator and hardware for €500.
The MetalBro300 Expert, on its own, seems to be a very solid 3D printer. While its build volume is a rather standard 300mm x 300mm x 250mm, because of the high temperature hotend it can reach printing speeds between 30 to 500/mms. It has a layer resolution of 50 microns, an XY printing precision of 11 microns and a Z printing precision of 11 microns 0.4 microns. The MetalBro300 Expert uses 1.75mm filament.
With the MetalBro BIG the massive build volume of 700mm x 300mm x 700mm pretty much speaks for itself. The same hotend as on the Expert can produce printing speeds between 50-600 mms with the same layer resolutions. The MetalBro BIG uses 3mm filament.
Take a look at F&B Rapid Productions Indiegogo video:
The HotBro hotend – not its real name, F&B neglected to give it one so I’ve decided to name it myself – has some rather impressive stats of its own, mainly its ability to reach temperatures between 180-300 ˚C. Being able to reach temperatures that hot means that there are very few 3D printing materials that the HotBro is unable to melt. That means it is able to use PLA, ABS, PVA, HDPE, PC, Nylon, Laywood, Laybrick, Gel-Lay and Lay-fomm. While with a few minor upgrades it can easily use more complicated materials like TPE, Ninjaflex and Bendlay.
While both printers look like pretty solid 3D printers I do think the crowdfunding goal of €50,000 is a tough one to meet, especially in a flooded market. While the extremely large size is a nice novelty, it may not be a necessity for potential backers. Being able to print models 27 inches long is great, but it may not be worth doubling or tripling the cost of smaller 3D printers with similar specs. Thankfully F&B is using Indiegogo, so even if they do not fully fund they will be able to keep any funds raised, and they have planned for the eventuality.
F&B Rapid Production has produced 3D printers before, so they have a track record of making decent 3D printers.
