Meet the LOCOOP Y, one of the newest in desktop printers to come out of Seoul, Korea.
The printer boasts a hefty list of impressive features, including the ability to eliminate one of the most frustrating parts of 3D printing – Print shift.
The team at Locoop had a particular problem with the lack of precision that many smaller printers have, so they looked to high -precision industrial printers for inspiration. One of the biggest differences when it comes to printers with high amounts of precision, is that those that use technology inspired by the delta robot, which uses 3 operated arms, tend to do better than those which rely on carrier rails.
Printers with these ‘arms’ have existed before, though LOCOOP are doing their best to bring this technology to the mass market.
In fact, these arms have also made it easier to remove and change the print head itself, as the the arms just click in place.
The printer even has up to 50 micron accuracy, which doesn’t change over time either, This is because there are no carrier rails to get worn or lose tension. Print for 48 hours straight, and there shouldn’t be a difference in print quality.
Now, layer shift. The bummer of 3D printing. The one thing that makes your awesome model like its suffering horridly with a slipped disk. Sadly, this happens when cartesian and linear delta printers lose tension on their rails, which ends up with things not quite lining up properly.
According to LOCOOP, layer shifts tend to happen around three-quarters through a large print, which by Murphy’s Law, will go wrong when you’re on a tight deadline. Thankfully, with the elimination of rails, LOCOOP has also managed to eliminate this problem.
The printer also features a touchscreen, which allows the user to:
- Select items to print from the SD card
- Run the cleaning cycle
- Calibrate the printer
- Level the print bed
The door on the LOCOOP Y is also an important feature of the printers design, as t helps maintain a constant temperature around the print bed. When the printing area isn’t kept at the right temperature, the print job is far more likely to warp when cooling. Keeping the printing area as a sealed, temperature-controlled space allows the printer to keep the print job at the right temperature, which vastly improves problems with warping. The bed also hold the print job in place well too, also decreasing the chances of warping.
Other Features of the LOCOOP Y include:
- Large Door: LOCOOP Y’s huge front facing door makes it easy to take out even the largest of prints.
- Extra-Large Removable Bed: The extra large printer bed lets you print objects that would be impossible with a conventional 3D printer. The bed also comes out easily so that you can remove objects without damaging them. The polycarbonate surface is specially textured to make sure prints adhere well, stay flat, and don’t curl up at the edges.
- Memory Card Slot: Transfer your designs easily to LOCOOP Y by using a memory card up to 4GB. That’s four times the memory supported by most 3D printers.
- Less Energy Consumption: At just 60 Watts, LOCOOP Y uses half the energy of a conventional 3D Printer. This makes printing with LOCOOP Y not only super efficient, but also environment friendly. Think of what this would mean for a lab or school running multiple printers at the same time.
- Open Source “CURA” Compatibility: LOCOOP Y is compatible with the CURA interface that you already know and love. (It’s the most popular open-source slicer available!) Nothing new to learn. Start exporting G-code immediately.
Meet the Founders
“I’ve loved to build since I was a kid, and now I’m in charge of hardware at a 3D printing startup. It’s a dream come true. My hope is that LOCOOP can bridge the gap between academics and creativity and give everyone a chance to see their creations brought to life.”
Yeo Myung Lim, co-founder of LOCOOP
“My vision for LOCOOP is simple: I want 3D printing to be as easy as using inkjet printers. Ever since I started my Ph.D. in Astronomy, it was my dream to 3D print homes on Mars.”
Induk Lee, co-founder of LOCOOP
This exciting piece of kit has already been used to print various cool products.
Make sure to check out the campaign here!