Two printing heads are better than one – BOLT and another titbits from the Leapfrog’s stand at AM Europe 2016

During the Additive Manufacturing Europe 2016 we were on one hand witnesses of premieres of diverse 3D printers, on the other hand we could have admire one of the biggest devices of this type printing in FDM technology. Both of the “leitmotifs” were present on the stand of the Dutch Leapfrog. Its main attraction was the newest 3D printer of the company – BOLT.

Wprawdzie to co oglądaliśmy na targach to jedynie prototyp (co wielokrotnie podkreślali przedstawiciele firmy), to była to jego finalna faza. Urządzenie będzie dostępne w regularnej ofercie za kilka miesięcy.

Similarly to Sigma from BCN3D (which was recently tested by Łukasz Długosz) BOLT is equipped with two independent nozzles. Each of them uses another spool of filament, what lets you receive multicolour or multimaterial models. The machine can  work in two modes: replicator mode – using bth nozzles at the same time effectively gives you two printers, what means, that printing the same object multiple times can be done twice as fast; mirror mode – which cuts an orb in half and print both halves.

The device has an enclosed working chamber and air filter, which protects against harmful ABS vapours. It uses new, developed version of software, which can be accessed via the touchscreen of the Bolt or any device with WiFi and a browser. Its advantages are a possibility of controlling using of filament and time of printing and also a functionality of start, pause or stop 3D printing from anywhere.

Besides BOLT, you could have seen older models – Creatr HS i Creatr HS-XL oraz Xeed recommended for dentistry.

A titbit was almost 3-meter high XceL, which is a machine printing in FDM technology of the biggest working area available on the market – 0,5 x 0,5 x 2,3 m and volume of 742 l.

The machine is equipped with two printing heads of a diameter of 0,35 – 1,2 mm, which maximal temperature amounts 270°C. Because of its dimensions, it is possible to use only PLA. It can be connected via USB or WiFi.

The manufacturer implemented a lot of improvements like f.e. system of automatic calibration of working bed, called PerfectLevel or system of automatic loading of filament, connected with a sensor of its flow.

Leapfrog didn’t miss a chance of exhibiting huge 3D prints made with XceL…

When you look at the stands at Additive Manufacturing Europe 2016 and at 3D Printing Days in Kielce, you can claim, that one of the main trends are large-sized 3D printers. The question is, how many 3D printed tables, chairs, vases and lamps do we need? I understand, that part of them are used to furnish modern apartments and can be perfect commercial gadget, but still I am wondering, how many people but these giants printing from normal thermoplastics.