KAST 3D Printer Claims to be 12 Times Faster Than Other Printers – Launches on Kickstarter Soon

At the HAXLR8R conference in San Francisco on Monday, 10 hardware companies debuted products which they believe will make a difference. One of those companies was KAST, who showed off their new patent pending ‘Retina Casting’ 3D printer.

Unlike what some believe, this new technology is not exactly the same as SLA (stereolithography) according to KAST, but it’s very similar. The process uses UV-sensitive liquid resin, but all of the details were not divulged. We were told that the solid form of the final cured resin will melt at approximately 400 degrees celsius.

“We spent 2 years of development to acheive this,” explained KAST. “The best thing about KAST is that we not only just print dots, we print surface.”

This means that the printer can print at extra high speeds because it can cure layers of resin, an entire layer at a time. According to the company, this printer can print 12 times faster than existing SLA 3D printers. This really seems unbelievable to me. If it can really print at 12 times the speeds of regular SLA 3D printers, they will have a device that will easily revolutionize the prosumer 3D printing markets.

The KAST 3D printer will be targeted towards the prosumer market according to the company, and will be launching on Kickstarter very soon, although an exact date was not given. There will be 3 pricing levels. Early birds will have the opportunity to pick the KAST  3D printer up on Kickstarter for a $1,790 contribution. After that, the Kickstarter price will be bumped up to $1,990. The MSRP after Kickstarter ends will come in at about $3,090. So if you purchase it on Kickstarter, you are saving well over $1,000.

“With KAST, the prototype is the product,” said Co-founder Compiler Liu.

Here are a few specifications of the new KAST 3D printer:
– Print Size – 200mmX150mmX200mm (6L)
– Layer Resolution – Approximately 50 Microns (x,y) and 20 microns (z) axes
– Material – Liquid resin

It is being advertised as “Faster than any desktop printer in the world”. Whether or not this is true, has yet to be seen or proven, however we certainly look forward to their Kickstarter launch.

What do you think? Is what KAST is claiming possible? Do you believe that they will bring an SLA-like 3D printer to market for under $2,000 that can print 12 times faster than any other 3D printer on the market today? Take part in the discussion at the KAST forum thread on 3DPB.com.