Kwambio Debuts Two New Ceramic 3D Printing Systems at CES 2019

At last year’s CES, New York City startup Kwambio introduced its new, high precision Ceramo One, the first industrial 3D printer in the world for ceramic materials. This week at CES 2019 in Las Vegas, which is coming to a close today, the startup is exhibiting two new ceramic 3D printers – the binder jetting-based desktop Ceramo Zero Max and the Ceramo Two, a new industrial system.

Kwambio got its start manufacturing ceramic objects on-demand for the design industry, and ships over 12,000 objects to customers around the world each year, including GE and Coca-Cola. This success led to the development of its Ceramo One, which relies on binder jetting technology that mixes ceramic or silica powder with a water-based binder that works like a glue.

The new desktop Ceramo Zero Max 3D printer is a smaller version of the Ceramo One, and features the same patent-pending technology at a smaller scale.

“A smaller ceramic printer is an ideal option for those who print prototypes on a daily basis,” said Kwambio CEO Vlad Usov. “With our glass-based powder, the manufacturing process is the shortest possible: it’s just the printing process, an object doesn’t require glazing and firing. It is a way to prototype efficiently.”

The $5,000 Ceramo Zero Max has a build size of 150 x 150 x 150 mm, and features a resolution of 300 dpi per layer. The 60 kilo 3D printer, which has 128 jets and a single printhead, is good for use in a home or office setting.

“We are inspired to see so many design-oriented women-led businesses on the rise,” noted Dmitriy Skomorokhov, Kwambio’s Sales Director. “Entrepreneurs in Canada and the United States design stylish smoking pipes and other accessories for smokers. Kwambio prints thousands of them yearly. Many of our clients are considering printing their products in-house with the help of our new and shiny Ceramo Zero Max, and we are here to help them establish a full production on a budget.”

The industrial 352 kg Ceramo Two 3D printer has a build speed of 1,000 mm per second, a 400 x 250 x 400 mm build size, a resolution of up to 600 dpi, and can achieve layer thickness of 50-200 μm. It also features one printhead, requires 1,000 watts of power to work, and will cost $45,000.

Both the Ceramo Two and the Ceramo Zero Max 3D printers use STL file formats for 3D printing, and are compatible with Windows XP and Vista 7-10, with TCP/IP network connectivity.

Kwambio also sells some optional equipment, such as a $2,000 depowdering station and a $3,000 kiln. In addition, the startup develops its own range of proprietary, sustainable clay- and glass-based powders, all of which come with a water-based binder.

The startup’s introduction of two new ceramic 3D printers isn’t the only news coming from Kwambio – this year, it partnered with a few corporations, including Stanley Black and Decker, and also became a part of the Hartford, Connecticut-based STANLEY+Techstars Additive Manufacturing Accelerator, now in its second cycle.

“That was a major push in development of a new material: a mix of ceramic powder with aluminum oxide which is used for engineering and metal casting,” Kwambio wrote about the partnership. “It has a higher density and a low firing shrinkage. It can be used in metallurgy, as it withstands contact with melted metal with temperatures up to 1300°C (the majority of alloys). It is also a strong dielectric and can be used to manufacture complex leached rods.”

Kwambio is also working on a new material, which “definitely could be used on a new printer.”

Both of Kwambio’s new ceramic 3D printers – the Ceramo Zero Max and the Ceramo Two – are currently available for pre-order on the startup’s website, and should be shipped out to customers this July. If you’re still at CES today, you can see these new systems for yourself at Kwambio’s booth #53376 at Eureka Park.

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