3devo Introduces SHR3D IT at RapidPro to Complete the Plastic Life Cycle in 3D Printing

RapidPro 2017 is off to a great start this week in the Netherlands as the Benelux region comes together to celebrate “prototyping, (low volume) production and product development,” with a big focus on 3D printing. A number of well-known companies are represented at this year’s event, which runs 7-9 March in Veldhoven. Among the exhibitors is Utrecht-based 3devo, a company that’s been steadily working its way to prominence in the materials sector. From modest roots and an early, thankfully-failed, 2015 Kickstarter campaign, 3devo has come a long way over the last few years, as I learned through sitting down with them at formnext back in November.

3devo specializes in bringing 3D printing materials manufacture to the desktop, with their NEXT 1.0 and the 3devo Advanced desktop filament extruders, which can create viable, print-ready filament from pellets of a variety of materials — including the tricky and desirable PEEK. While most spools of filament are priced with a premium indicative of the time and equipment it took to get the materials onto a spool, pellets of plastic represent a significant cost savings for those able to work with them.

“For some, we are a danger. We can explain to customers that you can buy pellets for a few euros per kilogram, rather than a spool of filament for €30,” Tim Wesselink, the owner of 3devo, told me at formnext.

The ability to create filament from pellets can open a lot of possibilities for businesses that use the machines from 3devo, and now the company is stepping its game up further with an eye to the entire plastic life cycle. Today they are officially introducing the newest product that’s been keeping the team busy in development: meet the SHR3D IT. Designed with an eye to recyclability and sustainability in materials, the SHR3D IT is set to ‘complete the plastic life cycle’ through:

• A portable and relatively lightweight design, where granulators in general are only available on industrial scale
• High efficiency through combining a shredder with a granulator
• Easy plug and play
• Processes the material into the desired grain size in 1 run
• Quick and easy to clean when need of changing materials.

“Shr3d it is completing the plastic processing circle,” Wesselink told 3DPrint.com. “Small in size high in efficiency is where we want to make the difference.”

The SHR3D IT will be available within the next six months, as 3devo shows off the final prototype this week at RapidPro. The company noted to us that final pricing has not yet been determined, but it will definitely be less than €4,000. This fits it in nicely with the price point of their existing desktop extruding machines, creating an ecosystem for full plastic processing in the creation of 3D printing materials. The desktop extruding machines from 3devo retail for around €3,500 for the NEXT 1.0 Next Level, and around €4,000 for the Advanced Level. The machines are differentiated by their temperature ranges, as the Advanced offers a larger range of viable temperatures (up to 450° versus up to 350° on the Next Level). Both have dimensions of 506 x 216 x 448 mm (ex hopper), and have a 0.7 kg/hr capacity.

“Implementing these two technologies to combine the best of both,” Wesselink told us, offers a major advantage right on the desktop.

Technical specifications of the SHR3D It system are:

• Dimension (ex hopper): 550 x 310 x 260 (l x w x h)
• Color: Black Powder Coated
• Input material: Polymer / Plastics
• Granulator knife specs / speed: 3 knives / 900 RPM
• Shredder knife specs / speed: 6 blades / 9 RPM
• Material knife specs: High carbon, high chromium and air hardened
• Filter screen hole size: 3 mm (replaceable)
• Capacity: 5,1 kg per hour / 4 liter per hour
• Energy consumption: 1100 Watt = 1.1 kWh
• Voltage: 220 Volt / 230 Volt
• Additional information:
  • Replaceable knives / Easy accessible shredder
  • Accessible granulator compartment
  • Shredder rotation reversible

We will be keeping up with all the latest from RapidPro as well as 3devo, reporting as we hear of more developments. Discuss in the SHR3DIT forum at 3DPB.com.