3DP Workbench – Large Format Additive Manufacturing Workbench
3D Platform’s WorkBench may be the most convenient industrial 3D printer ever.
The 3DP Workbench is the first 3D printer to feature an actual full, built-in workbench. The large-format printer is mounted on an industrial workbench with 12 built-in drawers and cabinets for storage of tools and supplies. The whole thing is very portable – it has wheels for easy transport, and the printer has a folding gantry system so that it can easily fit through single standard doors.
Some of the features:
- Large format, fuse-filament 3D printer that is industrial strength.
- It’s big! 1m x 1m x 0.5m build area.
- Economically priced coming in at US$27,000.
- Operating costs can be cut dramatically by using open source filaments that are available all over the world.
- It’s accurate, using the SurePrint™ Servo technology mode.
- It’s robust. This is a gantry system and a design that’s used on water jet machines and plasma cutters.
And there’s more:
The printer is mounted on an industrial workstation. Large amount of storage with accessible drawers for mounting electronics, storing extra filament and tools you’ll need for your additive manufacturing workshop.
Another great feature is that the print bed is removable from the workstation allowing you to move it through a single space door – perfect for moving into office spaces or workshops with only a single standard door entry.
What makes this WorkBench really robust is the mechatronics that the system is built on. It’s built on these linear actuators that are long and straight from PBC Linear. Inside is a lead screw that has a patented anti-backlash nut which allows for the quick, high-fidelity moves that are so common with 3D printing.
Taking it to the next level is the SurePrint™ Motors which provides a closed loop system that has 80% more torque than your typical open loop stepper system on most 3D printers. That allows you to have faster, more accurate, better quality prints.
At 3:14 minutes into the video it compares a traditional stepper motor 50mm/second print speed with 55 minutes total elapsed print time to SurePrint™ Servo Motor technology with a 100mm/second print speed and a total elapsed print time of 27 minutes which means that the print setting can be more finely tuned to increase the quality and surface finish of your print.
The WorkBench comes standard with dual extruders (3:30 minutes into the video) which allow you to do things like two colour prints or use two different materials.
The open platform allows you to do advanced things like inserts (3:53 minutes into the video) – allowing you to put metal or wire into a print or electronics for example.