During this year’s 3D printer shootout, where our group of experts compared a whole bunch of 3D printers (See the results here!), there were many conversations about what we were all excited to see. Sure, we all enjoy seeing a few iterative improvements here and there, but what really brought reactions of giddiness from our testers was talking about things we couldn’t get our hands on to test yet.
Here are four machines that repeatedly came up in conversation as machines we would love to put through their paces. Hopefully next year we’ll get our chance!
SinterIt
SinterIt is bringing SLS printing to the desktop, where lasers burn fine powders into physical objects. At $5,000 or less ,(correction: $8,000) these printers will appeal to those who have a big wallet and need better quality than standard FDM printing.
Carbon3D
Carbon3D’s resin-based printer made waves this year with their “continuous printing” technology that allows an item to be created very quickly with almost no visible layers. The extreme speed at which this system uses UV light to solidify resin — stated to be an incredible 25 to 100 times faster than current SLA printers — will change the use of printers in manufacturing.
MarkForged
Typical prints from almost any 3D printer are not quite strong enough for industrial use, especially if what you need is both strong and light. MarkForged is embedding their prints with carbon composites, allowing for fully 3D printed parts that can withstand pressures similar to metal. Their pitch is that you can now print functional parts that used to require a mill to fabricate.
Voxel8
Voxel8 wants to expand the function of the 3D printer outside of passive parts. By printing in conductive materials you can embed circuits directly into your prints. Simply add the electronic components and you’re finished. Printing entire functional electronic gizmos isn’t too far away for this group.
11 thoughts on “4 Upcoming 3D Printers We Can’t Wait to Get Our Hands On”
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SinterIt website says it costs $8,000, not under $5,000.
I’m still waiting on more information about 3DSystems Cubejet (I understand it’s still being worked on and was improved, but haven’t heard anything new in a while.)
The only one that interests me is the MarkForged. Stronger parts seems like a good idea to me. I’m not sure resins are truly a step forward. Pretty, and seemingly faster now, but perhaps only for display. Here’s a stress test using resin, pla, abs, and nylon based materials. http://3dprint.com/14533/3d-print-material-test/
I recently switched to ABS since most of my PLA had expanded too much to fit through my friggin bowden tube. I’m not AS happy with ABS, but it at least gets the job done and doesn’t “expire”. I’m very not interested in switching to liquids or powders.
How about we come up with a PLA that doesn’t soak up water at ridiculous rates?
I’ve used PLA from a 2-3 year old spool just fine. Most of that time was in a sealed bag though.
I think it’s best to pay out filament from a sealed case anyway. A standard PTC connector to the extruder and you have a nearly sealed filament path too.
Yeah, I wasn’t storing my filament properly in the past. Now I have a big clamp sealed plastic box with lots of desiccants inside. It tends to keep the humidity around 20%. I’ve considered enclosing the whole spool to printhead path, but it seems like too much work. Maybe something for a rainy day.
I’m a fan of the Raise3D models. http://Www.Raise3D.Com
FDM technology refined to a very high level, in a beautiful package with proven tech and all the features.
all looks great but carbon3d looks simple and i like simplicity :)
How much does 100 gram of the UV-hardening resin cost?
http://www.shapeways.com/materials
these seem to be prices per gram of ready printout, not raw consummables. Never mind there’s no carbon or resin.
Till I saw the draft that was of 8946 dollars, I accept that my friend’s brother was like really generating cash in his free time with his pc. . His aunt’s neighbor has done this for only 8 months and by now repaid the loan on their home and bought a new Car .Why not try this.
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It seems out of place to call the Markforged an “upcoming” machine when it’s already available. A local custom shop has one that’s running.
The voxel8 is an interesting idea, but it also strikes me as so many things that can go wrong when you combine the complexity of a 3D printer and a pick and place on the same run. Watching it run, the question of repairability seems to go out the window since the shell, circuit and components are all one integrated part. It might need special care in design to even be able to diagnose problems with the circuit.