The MoonRay is the latest desktop 3D printer to hit Kickstarter. It’s a 3D printer with personality – and that personality is user-friendly, cost-effective and high-quality. MoonRay’s creators told us their goal was to deliver a 3D printer that was easy to use, cost-efficient and delivered high-quality parts with the ability to print fine details. MoonRay delivers on all three counts.
There’s still a week left to get early access to what creators are calling “the world’s best desktop 3D printer.” As the MoonRay team tells us, the MoonRay is a DLP machine which utilizes a custom-built UV projector that’s 90% more efficient than a commercial projector and allows for high-resolution printing. The machine was designed by the team at Los Angeles-based SprintRay, with a focus on the user experience at every step in the process. Very simply, their work was as much about the people who will use MoonRay as it was about MoonRay’s technology itself.
SprintRay’s desire to make the best desktop machine on the market is reflected in MoonRay’s resolution and build volume. The MoonRay can print as large as 5” x 3.2” x 9” and boasts an impressive XY resolution (smallest feature size) of 100 microns and Z resolution (layer thickness) of 20 microns. This allows for extremely fine details, making the MoonRay perfect for anyone who needs both high resolution and a large build platform. When it comes to quality, MoonRay delivers.
The machine comes fully assembled with everything you need to get started in the box. This includes their intuitive RayWare software, which will walk you through the printing and cleanup processes. RayWare features an advanced support-generation algorithm that makes strong supports without wasting material. If you provide the STL file, RayWare will do the rest of the work for you. It’s straightforward, easy to use – and it works.
Ease of use extends right through to the post-printing process. Simply wipe down your printed part with hot water and break off the supports. There’s no complicated post-curing process required for parts printed with MoonRay. Thanks to its high resolution, your parts will come out of the machine will really smooth surfaces. If you want your surfaces to look and feel even more polished, you can use the surface-smoothing feature in MoonRay’s software that assures your parts are ready to go when they come out of the machine, so you won’t have to waste time sanding.
The MoonRay is priced affordably, currently available at $2,699 for Kickstarter backers. The resins are also a good value at $59/L for standard resins. One of the MoonRay’s most notable features is its resin tank, which doesn’t utilize the PDMS process or need to be replaced. A non-consumable resin tank makes the printing process much less costly.
The chart below illustrates how the MoonRay hits the sweet spot between resolution and price when compared to other types of 3D printers. User-friendly, high-quality and cost-efficient – that’s what makes MoonRay the best 3D printer on the market, and what should make MoonRay your next (or first) 3D printer.
Retail price for the MoonRay will be $3,500, with its resins priced at $59/L. SprintRay has custom formulated high-resolution, high-volume, and castable resins for the MoonRay, which will come with the printer as part of the Kickstarter package. You can back the MoonRay for a special price and delivery as early as December 2015 on Kickstarter until June 6th.
What do you think of this 3D Printer? Discuss in the MoonRay forum thread on 3DPB.com.
