Tiny MiiCraft+ DLP Printers Ready to Ship

The MiiCraft+ packs a lot of usability into a tiny, DLP printer package.

MiiCraft is manufactured by Rays Optics, a Taiwanese company focused on the design and manufacture of optical lenses, components, and light engines, and they’ve just announced that they’re now ready to ship the MiiCraft+, an improved model they say incorporates the feedback they received from users and production testing.

The MiiCraft printer was first released in 2012, and the company says the MiiCraft+ is “more user-friendly with new interfaces from both the new software and the improved hardware design.”

To update their software, the company says they worked with Materialise, the Belgian provider of additive manufacturing software and 3D printing solutions. The new software package, MiiCraft Builder, integrates the Materialise Builder Processor with an intuitive front-end solution by transferring 3D model data to MiiCraft+ to slice and automatically generate support structures.

A new browser-based user interface can be used in wired or wireless modes to access and monitor the printing process from start to finish.

And the upgrades to the system aren’t limited to software improvements.

A new hardware design integrates a “mini-PC” which allows the device to work independently without connection to a PC or notebook, and the company says users can access the MiiCraft+ via a mobile phone or a router. The Z-axis accuracy can also be adjusted from 5 microns to 200 microns, and is guaranteed to 30 microns when using MiiCraft resins. Printing and curing happen simultaneously within the enclosed resin cabinet thanks to the two-in-one printing and UV curing design, and a more robust chassis design was included as well.

Ray Optics says the MiiCraft+ takes care of the printing and UV curing process at 2cm of height in under an hour when the Z-axis is set at 50 microns.

While the build volume is a rather delicate 43 x 27 x 180 mm, features like model repairing and model slicing mean applications in jewelry design, dentistry, and microfluidics research work are well within the machine’s capabilities.

The entire printer is very, very small at just 41.5cm(L) x 39.0cm(W) x 45.0cm(H), and the whole package weighs in at just 10Kg, or 22 lbs.

While pricing information for the MiiCraft+ is yet to be released, the original MiiCraft Printer checked in at $1,999.

Jewelers and dentists are already incorporating DLP printing technology into their operations, and they might find this latest offering from Rays Optics, the MiiCraft+, an interesting option. It takes up a tiny footprint on the desktop and is capable of creating objects at a resolution down to 30 microns.

Have you used the previous version of this device, the MiiCraft? Do the enhancements of the new MiiCraft+ appeal to you? Let us know in the MiiCraft+ DLP Printers forum thread on 3DPB.com.