Atom 2.0, ‘The Most Refined Delta 3D Printer Yet’ Gets Some Upgrades

The majority of delta robots use rotary actuators, but vertical linear actuators are now being used via a linear delta design to produce 3D printers, and they offer advantages over conventional, leadscrew-based machines. These advantages are realized because they have quicker access to a larger build volume, at least when compared to printers with a comparable hardware component cost.

A Taiwanese company, Atom, is offering what they call “the most refined Delta 3D printer yet,” and if the results of their crowdfunding campaign are any indication, their assertion is getting some investor love.  The campaign on the Taiwanese funding site ZecZec reached it’s goal, and then went well beyond, for the $1,599 printer which is slated to ship this May.

The Atom 2.0 is a refined and sturdy-looking machine which features a metal – and modular – design. A triple fan system to regulate the temperature of the hot end, and two additional fans dedicated to cooling the filament as quickly as possible, means a minimal layer distortion during the print process, and the Atom 2.0 also comes with a novel belt clamp system to simplify tightening or the belt.

It’s not only a single extruder device, but it also includes the ability to swap out the extruder for either a double extrusion attachment or a laser engraver. The Atom 2.0 has a build envelope of 22x32cm for a print volume of 12.16 liters, can print minimum layer thicknesses down to 0.5mm using 1.75mm ABS and PLA filaments and offers SD Card and USB connectivity.

Atom says the entire hot end assembly has been re-designed from the ground up using custom-built parts which provide a consistent extrusion of filament. The hot end, CNC milled from titanium, is paired with a custom aluminum heatsink to ensure that the heating stays localized for better temperature control and to preservation of filament integrity.

The company says the fact that all the key structural parts of the printer are made from metal, and that the CNC cut and anodized steel magnetic ball joints, lathe cut carbon fiber rods and injection molded motion components are also critical to the device’s accuracy.

In addition to the solo hot end and dual hot end, and laser engraver configurations, Atom says the center hub has been designed to accommodate new modules in the future.  The $1599 kit includes all the necessary parts to assemble an Atom 2.0.

Did you pre-order one of these delta-engineered printers through the crowdfunding campaign. Let us know your thoughts in the Atom 2.0 3D printer forum thread on 3DPB.com.