5 Axis 3D Printing Brings New Possibilities

When you walk around a Maker Faire, you’re likely to see a wide variety of 3D printers, though if you look at the basic construction, you’ll find there are usually only two main types on people’s tables. There are cartesian (with a gantry at right angles) and delta (the ones with three arms holding the print head). Sure, there are a few others that appear from time to time, but these two dominate the landscape. Cel-Robox has teamed up with M-Solv to create a new entity called Q5D Technologies to push new manufacturing technologies, such as this one that caught my eye: a 5 axis 3D printer.

Having a 3D printer that can print not only on X, Y, and Z, coordinates but also adjust the angle of the extruder can be extremely useful. For example, as you can see in the video above, they can print directly onto irregular surfaces. They’re still exploring this technology and finding ways that the added functionality can help in manufacturing, so keep an eye on them, as you’re bound to see some more interesting stuff coming.