DeltaWASP Pellet – WASP’s idea how to make 3D printing cheaper

DeltaWASP Pellet will be probably the first custom made 3D printer which enables to print 1-meters high object, usable in everyday life, like for example furniture, in extremely low price.  It is a 3-metres-high 3D printer, with a nozzle with a diameter between 4 and 10 mm and one of the first 3D printers which print from pellets.

WASP has produced a new line of  3D printers, customised to print big objects. The earlier experimentation concerned 1-metres-high objects, but it will be also possible to create models of different measurements. However,  to print big objects is not practical to use filaments with a diameter smaller than the millimeter, because it would need too many days to finish a print. This fact was a stimulus to manufacture a nozzle between 4 and 10 mm in diameter.

A necessity to control costs is a very important matter for WASP. Generally speaking, filament prices still hover around 30€ for 1Kg spool. The pries of row material as grains and PLA pellets hover around 3€ for 1Kg pack. That is why WASP resolved this problem and made an extruder that works directly with grains, the result is a printer that uses 10kg of material in 8 hours.

WASP involved a team of creative people recently graduated, designers and professors. During previous meeting they realized their furniture projects: tables, stools, chairs. They are particularly interested in chairs, thanks to the support of Giorgio Gurioli, an expert teacher from ISIA-Faenza. With the 3-metres-high DeltaWASP Pellet they printed some experimental models, later improved by Giulio Buscaroli, a young student involved in an internship at WASP.

Since the beginning WASP has been interested in self production of relief goods. So WASP’s development and innovation have been proceed in that direction. A good printer, accurate and speedy, able to print a product rendering is an interesting result for the Industrial field and Design World, but a printer that could make directly the final product could be utilized in digital handcraft and other jobs. These are the bases of what we named Maker Economy.

Massimo Moretti, WASP’s founder

This printer will be available on the market soon. WASP wants to make available the DeltaWASP Pellet for FabLab interested in self-production of customized furnitures. In step with the Maker Economy: little makers able to realize standard objects that normally require expensive tools.

3D printing is a niche industry, which cannot be (at least in theory) cheap. WASP’s idea seems to be revolutionary, because it is a great alternative to traditional materials, which have their definite price. The manufacturer has not given a price of the device, but 3D printing from row material as grains and PLA pellets (for about 3€ for 1Kg pack) seems to be a breakthrough.

Source: WASP