RoVa4D Full Color Blender 3D Printer Reaches Kickstarter Funding Goal in Less Than Six Hours

August 1, 2016 by Clare Scott 3D Printers 3D Printing

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It’s understandable to wonder if a Kickstarter product will live up to the hype. After all, many things that look too good to be true often are, and it’s scary to pledge a lot of money to a campaign without certainty that you won’t wind up with a dud product. When a company has already run multiple successful Kickstarter campaigns that launched quality products, however, it’s a good bet that they won’t let you down.

The RoVa4D Full Color Blender 3D Printer boasts some bold claims: an affordable full-color, multi-material desktop 3D printer that’s easy enough for beginners. In this case, I think it’s safe to trust that the recently launched Kickstarter campaign will deliver everything it offers, as the developer, ORD Solutions, has a great track record so far. They’ve already run two Kickstarter campaigns that largely exceeded their funding goals, and their RoVa3D multicolor 3D printer, released after a 2014 Kickstarter, has gone on to sell hundreds of models. It’s a pretty good bet that their latest project won’t disappoint, either.

ORD Solutions’ customers seem to agree, as the RoVa4D was fully funded in less than six hours, and now, less than a week into the campaign, they’re at nearly 500% of their goal. It’s always startling when a campaign reaches such high levels of support in such a short period of time, but the RoVa4D offers a lot to be excited about.

One of the most attractive elements of the RoVa4D is its color-blending capabilities. Cyan, yellow, magenta, black and white filaments are extruded into a single hotend, allowing for virtually unlimited color combinations to be created in a single print, either clearly separated or blended in a subtle gradation. Then there’s the material blending. A second hotend allows for up to five different PLA-based filaments to be mixed and printed in one piece, facilitating the creation of entirely new materials. A third hotend is dedicated to support materials.

Printing the colors you want to print is remarkably easy, too. The user simply chooses or designs a model, then “paints” it within the design software in any color or colors he or she desires. Pictures and photographs can be “wrapped” onto models, as well. The printer, which recognizes which color (cyan, magenta, yellow, white or black) is loaded into each extruder, then mixes the appropriate amounts of each color in the mixing chamber and extrudes a precisely shaded print to perfectly match the model.

Like its predecessors, the RoVa4D has an all-aluminum frame, aluminum hotends, automatic bed leveling, and liquid cooling. With a build volume of 12 x 12 x 12 in, it’s significantly bigger than the RoVa3D. Interchangeable GeckoTek build plates are included for easy adhesion and removal, and stringent safety measures were applied to make the printer suitable for schools or libraries.

Rewards start at $25 (all amounts in Canadian dollars), which will get you a RoVa4D T-shirt. For $2,000, existing customers who own a RoVa3D can upgrade their model to a 4D with a five-color mixing head and filament-switching extruders. Early birds who pledge $4,600 will get a full RoVa4D package, which includes the printer itself plus:

Flexible material head and support material head
Wireless printing/wireless touch interface
Lockable safety enclosure
Quick start kit
RoVaSlice Custom Printing Design Software
Two quick-change GeckoTek plates
Either five CMYKW color filament spools or five multi-material spools plus one PVA and one RoVa-flex spool

Higher contributions will get you the same from later production batches, while a pledge of $6,500 gets you the beta unit delivered as early as November. Shipping is free in Canada and the continental US. Are you funding this campaign? Discuss in the RoVa4D 3D Printer forum over at 3DPB.com.

Watch the Kickstarter video below.

https://ksr-video.imgix.net/projects/2413664/video-690564-h264_high.mp4