The New Lumifold : Italy’s Lumi Industries Bustling with 3D Printer Releases & Development for New Year

We thought it was time we checked back in with Lumi Industries, an Italian company we reported on late in the summer as they launched the LumiPocket LT on Kickstarter, highlighting their sleek and unique 3D printer that multi-tasks in offering laser engraving and PCB etching also.

The Italy-based forerunner in resin 3D printing solutions has indeed been busy, offering a substantial list of items in development since August.

The LumiPocket LT is in the process of receiving last minute fine tuning, and the LumiKit, a ‘boxed version’ of LumiPocket, is being readied for an end-of-January release. Recently presented in Italy at the Rimini Maker Faire, it offers a projector adjustment system that is easier to use, two different printing areas, and according to Lumi’s latest press release, it has a more stable structure that shields ambient light and dust.

The New LumiFold is now also being announced as a year-long project in the works by the Italian manufacturer, as they’ve been refining the original resin-based LumiFold from 2013 to make it more compact offer even greater compatibility.

“We believe that, similar to the evolution of computers from big mainframes to compact personal computers, this will help the 3D printers to become more and more adopted,” states the Lumi team in their press release.

Focusing on the space feature, the Lumi team sees a smaller 3D printer offering greater accessibility in general as it’s so easy to move from one location; for example, teachers have an easier time bringing hardware into the classroom–or a doctor has an easier time showing off printable devices for the future during a conference. In the medical realm this could go one step further, offering the great benefit of self-sustainability in developing countries, where medical professionals could easily transport a compact 3D printer to areas in emergency, as well as to isolated regions where prostheses or a range of diagnostic devices could be fabricated.

“A more compact 3D printer also means that it can be integrated in other systems, or that in the same space of a conventional 3D printer, more functions can be added,” states the press release.

Lumi is also working on some other very important new concepts related to the New Lumifold, mainly involving a unique mechanism for the Z-axis of a 3D printer that allows the design of extremely compact machines for rapid prototyping.

“Its most interesting feature is that the total height of the 3D printer, when closed, is smaller than the maximum height of the 3D printed part, as it expands while printing,” states the latest Lumi press release, regarding this new patent-pending system. “In the last years, we have seen many innovations in the way the resin is cured, but the mechanical lifting system is mostly unchanged. We think that our solution can be a disruptive innovation that will change completely the way 3D printers are conceived and designed.”

Lumi is also working on:

• The New LumiFold TAB – this accessory transforms your tablet into a 3D printer, and may be as compact as the size of a cover, at less than 3 cm in diameter. Through a special system using modulated light, the electronic parts can be controlled from the tablet without wiring.
• A volumetric display employing the ‘Pepper’s ghost illusion’ (akin to a holograph) can be also be built into the rear of the TAB, with the 3D model rotation controlled by an integrated gesture sensor. The tablet can be charging when printing, and will run the slicing and supports generation in both automatic and manual mode.
• The New LumiFold CUBE is an ultra-compact UV 3D printer designed for and targeted at the jewelry market, offering a printing area of 10 x 10 x 5 cm and an external size of 12 x 12 x 12 cm.
• The New LumiFold DLP is a portable UV resin 3D printer with a printing area of 15 x 15 x 15 cm that is designed for jewelry use as well–but also dental, as is versatile, capable of working with a wide range of materials
• The New LumiFold XL is a UV resin 3D printer with a printing area of 25 x 35 cm, 30cm height, standing just 15cm tall when closed.
• The New LumiFold FDM is a filament-based 3D printer, implementing Lumi’s compact Z-stage, at less than 10cm tall, featuring an expanding chamber that keeps the temperature controlled. This particular printer is being developed with a Lumi partner very experienced in FDM 3D printing, as Lumi’s speciality is in resin-based 3 printing. They do, however, foresee the LumiFold FDM as having potential for use in space, with a lightweight, ultra-thin design.

The hope at Lumi is that new collaborations will come about with several of these new projects, and they are optimistic that some larger companies may want to purchase the TAB concepts for their own products. As the new year approaches, Lumi is seeking to create some major new trends within the 3D printing industry.  Discuss this machine in the LumiFold TAB forum on 3DPB.com.