Prusa Research,
a 3D printer manufacturer announced the names of the first customers for its industrial 3D printing solution, Original Prusa Pro Automated Farm System.
The first customers are said to be MOTOISM (custom-made motorcycle parts, Germany),
Ruhr-Universität Bochum (education, Germany), SCHLEIF-TEC (prototyping, Austria), and Oratek (innovative technological solutions, Switzerland).
Prusa Research has also announced its pricing, which begins at €45,000 / $50,000. (VAT excl.).
The AFS also
The Farm System has maintenance plans and training courses available, as well as on-site support and immediate printer replacement.
“Because demand far exceeds our production capabilities,
we have chosen companies that are geographically close to us and represent the application of 3D printing in various lines of business for the first phase,”
said Josef Prusa, CEO of Prusa Research.
The industrial portfolio of Prusa Research
Prusa Research had previously completely improved the original Prusa i3 MK3 3D printer.
The novel features of the MK3 are primarily intended to help extend its usability and encourage casual users to use 3D printers.
To that end, the MK3 includes a variety of smart sensors to help pause and recover prints when something goes wrong; an improved, adjustable print sheet to help with post-processing; and other under-the-hood improvements that make the MK3 Prusa’s smartest 3D printer.
In addition, Prusa announced the release of the Original Prusa XL, the company’s largest desktop 3D printer.
The FFF system, which was unveiled at Formnext 2021,
has a build volume that is more than four times larger than the company’s flagship MK3S+ and eight times larger than the MINI+. The XL is also Prusa’s first CoreXY 3D printer, with vibrations reduced for improved print quality on larger print jobs.
Furthermore,
the printer includes an optional tool changer add-on that enables users to use up to five independent tool heads at the same time.
As a result, the system is well-suited to producing multi-material prints using up to five different filaments simultaneously.
Trilab was launched at Formnext 2022
Prusa Research debuted some new products at Formnext 2022.
For example, the Trilab SL1S Medical printer is designed for dental labs, or industrial, delta-technology 3D printers.
Trilab is owned by Prusa Research to the tune of 80%.
“We will continue to prioritize individual customers, small businesses, and hobbyists.”
However,
we are seeing increased demand from larger business customers who are tired of paying exorbitant prices for 3D printing solutions.
It makes sense to cater to this demand as well,” added Prusa Research’s CEO.
Furthermore
, Prusa Research introduced new Prusament printing materials, including bio-based and flexible 3D printing resins, as well as the Prusament Refill,
an environmentally friendly option for refilling existing 3D printing filament spools.
Print farm systems
Previously, BCN3D Technologies,
a Barcelona-based open-source 3D printer manufacturer and developer of Independent Dual Extruder (IDEX) technology, released a video of its print farm. The print farm operates around the clock with 63 BCN3D 3D printers.
BCN3D creates, manufactures, and sells desktop 3D printers, specifically the BCN3D Sigma and BCN3D Sigmax.
According to the company, the BCN3D Print Farm uses additive manufacturing to produce 47 pieces for each 3D printer.
Furthermore,
Atlanta-based 3D Printing Tech announced the strategic acquisition of 3D printing service provider and competitor Voodoo Manufacturing,
which will close in 2020.
The transaction allowed 3D Printing Tech to continue providing 3D printing services to the general public while also accelerating its growth,
bringing the company closer to operating one of the largest fused deposition modelling (FDM) printing farms in the United States.
Developing 3D trends
In other news,
Czech automaker koda revealed that it has been using 3D printing to streamline its automotive operations, bringing prototypes, spare parts, and tooling in-house.
As part of its ‘More flexible with 3D print farms’ project,
the company established several print farms using systems developed by companies such as Prusa.
The Czech Confederation of Industry named Koda’s additive manufacturing initiative one of the country’s five most innovative Industry 4.0 applications since 2020.
In addition,
the company announced plans for its ‘FORCE – Future Factory’ initiative,
which would see koda ramp up its digitization efforts at many of its manufacturing facilities.
