As 3D printing technology continues to become more functional, accessible, and affordable throughout the world, the industry is starting to realize that we don’t need industrial-sized printers to reach professional-grade quality. The desktop 3D printer market hasn’t exactly taken off as quickly as many have hoped, but that doesn’t mean that the technology itself isn’t improving at an impressive rate. Some companies, such as the Netherlands-based 3devo, a subsidiary of Devoteq, have focused on enhancing the filament production process in order to help desktop 3D printing users and manufacturers to improve the entire 3D printing process.
After launching a Kickstarter campaign in August of last year, 3devo is back with two new industrial desktop filament extruders, the 3devo NEXT 1.0 and the 3devo Advanced. Both were designed to increase the reliability, repeatability, and tolerances of the desktop 3D printer, offering users industrial-grade filament production capabilities from a consumer-priced system.
The Blank Anodized 3devo NEXT and Black powder coated 3devo Advanced.
The NEXT 1.0 is being marketed towards makers, 3D printing shops, and universities looking to lower the financial and environmental cost of the additive manufacturing, as the extruder allows you to easily recycle and reuse old 3D prints and filaments. The 3devo Advanced, on the other hand, was created for compounders, extrusion companies, researchers, plastics companies, universities, and 3D printing companies that want to accelerate their innovation rate for new plastics and create their own unique 3D printing filaments. The Advanced enables these companies and users to create small batch productions of new materials or variants in a cost-effective way.
Both extruders are equipped with different heating zones that can be independently set to certain temperatures, as well as a dimeter sensor with 43 micron accuracy, an automated motor control, powerful cooling systems, and are designed with presets and other automatic functions for easy use. The main differences between the two is the number of independent heating zones (NEXT: 3; Advanced: 4) and the temperature capabilities (NEXT: 350°C; Advanced: 450°C). Additionally, the 3devo Advanced has a mixing section built into the extruder screw, and was designed for the extrusion of materials that require higher temperatures, such as PEEK.
With their new innovative industrial-grade extruder models, 3devo hopes to provide makers, researchers, and companies with access to higher-grade filaments. Additionally, their new devices will allow manufacturers and services to regrind and reuse virgin plastic granulate, thus lowering the overall cost for filament production and use. On top of that, they will also be able to develop advanced and unique materials in a much more convenient fashion. The 3devo NEXT 1.0 is priced at €3,100, while the 3devo Advanced costs €3,950 for the black powder coated variant and €4,150 for anodized variant. Both of their filament extruder models can be purchased directly from the 3devo online shop. Discuss in the 3devo forum at 3DPB.com.
[Source: 3devo]
