MoonRay, The UV DLP 3D Printer is Launched on Kickstarter by SprintRay

Last October we reported on a startup company called SprintRay and the launch of their StarRay SLA 3D printer. Since then I have had the opportunity of meeting with Amir Mansouri, co-founder of the company, at various expos and conferences, and have to say I’m thoroughly impressed by what they have been able to accomplish. My last meeting with Mansouri was a couple of weeks ago at 3D Print Week in NYC, where he was able to present to me the company’s latest machine, the MoonRay.

Today SprintRay has just launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for this very machine. A UV DLP 3D printer, the MoonRay stands out from just about every other SLA 3D printer on the market today. Starting with its very looks, this green and grey/black machine has an incredibly small footprint. The internals though are what really stand out. Most DLP-based SLA printers utilize traditional projectors that you might find within a home theater. The engineers at SprintRay stepped outside of the box and instead created a custom projector made specifically for their new machine.

Called the Ray1, this projector is not only 70% smaller and 90% more energy efficient than a typical commercial projector, but it produces 100% UV light, and has a lifespan of 50,000 hours. This is compared to 5% UV light and a 2000 hour life found with a typical commercial projector. What this equates to is much more uniform output with a distortion of under 1%, while overheating and noise is no longer a concern. As for the technical specifications of the MoonRay, they are as follows:

• Technology: UV Digital Light Processing SLA
• Build Volume: 5 x 3.2 x 9 inches
• Printer Size: 20 x 15 x 15 inches
• Resolution: X, Y – 100 microns / Z – 20 microns
• Min Layer Thickness: 20-100 microns
• Print Speed: 0.7 inch per hour
• Curing Light Wavelength: 405nm

Oftentimes we see companies turn to Kickstarter that are not prepared for the tough tasks ahead of them. After meeting the team at SprintRay and discussing with them their backgrounds, I can tell you first hand that these guys certainly seem to have what it takes to launch this machine and meet their self-imposed deadlines. In fact, the co-founder and CEO of the company, Jasper Jing Zhang, played an instrumental role working along side Behrokh Khoshnevis on one of the more incredible initiatives within the space, the Contour Crafting project. Both Jing Zhang and fellow co-founder Amir Mansouri have actually both worked with Khosnevis, who to many is considered the grandfather of large-scale, house 3D printing.

The team that’s assembled behind SprintRay reads like an All-Star lineup, and the hardware and components they are presenting within the MoonRay are only the start. The MoonRay is more than just a piece of hardware, it’s an entire ecosystem–which includes their own RayWare software featuring an anti-aliasing algorithm to significantly smooth the surface of prints. Additionally, SprintRay is offering their own affordable resins which are available in multiple colors including a castable resin, perfect for jewelers who do lost-wax casting.

The MoonRay is being offered on Kickstarter starting at just $2,499, and comes with two liters of the resin of your choice. The company is looking to raise $100,000 in order to fund the full-scale production of their new machine. If funded, they intend to commence shipping the first units sometime in November of this year. Once the Kickstarter campaign ends, the MoonRay will retail for around $3,500.

Let us know if you have backed this project and what your thoughts are on this UV DLP 3D Printer. Discuss in the MoonRay forum thread on 3DPB.com.