The new Sharebot 42
The S42 was reconfigured to switch up the printer’s design and layout a bit, to both maximize the available printing area while minimizing the printer’s actual footprint. Sharebot designed the S42 to be the perfect size for the home, a small office or a makerspace of any kind without sacrificing the high level of printing quality or dependability that has made their previous printers so successful. Depending on the final price point, it looks like they have another winner on their hands with the S42.
The S42 offers impressive printing resolution.
The printer was developed entirely by Sharebot R&D, who put a lot of effort into tweaking the basic Sharebot design to make it as compact as possible, while adding in some impressive technological improvements that leave previous iterations far behind them. The S42 has a brand new full metal body and frame to provide increased stability. It is virtually plug and play thanks to a self calibrating system for the X, Y and Z axes, a filament sensor that halts the print if consumables run low and a set of interchangeable extruders. The extruders can easily be set to 4, 6 or 8 mm to offer a faster printing speed or a higher level of detail depending on the needs of each individual print job.
The new 3.2-inch six-color touch screen control panel.
The electronics have also been beefed up considerably, with a new ARM internal electronic board that not only controls the printer, but the integrated on-board webcam. It also maintains a constant wi-fi connection for the new web interface. The wireless connectivity can be managed from any internet enabled device, including desktops, laptops, tablets and even smartphones so it can be monitored and controlled from anywhere. The old digital control screen has been replaced with a 3.2-inch six-color touch screen control that can manage all of the printing operations without needing to go back to a computer. The S42 also has a pair of USB slots, one to read 3D printable files and the second that is reserved for planned hardware expansions and add-on components.
The Sharebot 42 has a new, expanded printing envelope that stretches the available build space to a respectable 9.8 in. x 8.6 in. x 7.8 in. (250mm x 220mm x 200mm) and has an integrated heated bed that can reach temperatures of 194°F (90°C). It can reach a maximum printing speed of 24 mm/sec with a minimum layer thickness of 0.05 mm. The S42 will print with most 1.75mm filaments, including PLA-S, Nylon-Carbon, Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU), ABSHF and high temp Poly materials.
Internal filament storage.
The filament control detector will automatically sense when the materials are close to running out and pause the print at an appropriate point, allowing for the spool to be replaced inside of the new, internal filament storage area. The spool-carrier is compatible with both 750g and 300g spools of filament and will snap out of sight while the printer is in operation, which will reduce snags and impurities from getting into the material as it melts.
The fourth generation of the Sharebot professional quality FFF 3D printer promises to offer high-quality prints with some top of the line detail. Sharebot says that they specifically created the S42 with desktop engineering in mind, and added the new features to improve the overall user experience. So far there has been no release date announced, and there is no pricing available yet. However, based on previous Sharebot releases, the S42 is bound to be quite the bargain. You can find out more about the entire line of Sharebot 3D printers over on their website. Discuss in the Sharebot S42 3D Printer forum over at 3DPB.com.