BCN3D workbench 3D printers Epsilon W27 and Epsilon W50 were one of the key milestones that characterized BCN3D’s 2020 year. Since it has unveiled this new portfolio of 3D printers, the 3D printer manufacturer has completed its users’ 3D printing experience with new filaments and today, with a Smart Cabinet.
The latter aims to ensure that filaments are consistently kept at optimal humidity levels. This way, the operator can obtain the best possible results in every print job while preventing print failure and nozzle clogging.
The Smart Cabinet would rely on smart drying technology and could be utilized with the entire BCN3D portfolio. Thanks to this absorption dryer method, the Smart Cabinet enables a rotating process between drying cycles and regeneration cycles to maintain a constant dry environment around the stored spools and protect them from sudden external changes.
According to the Spanish manufacturer, its filament humidity control keeps materials in optimal condition, and an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) protects the print job at all times, eliminating the risk of losing a print job due to power outages.
It should be noted that humidity is controlled through a desiccant that absorbs moisture, alumina-based pellets especially. It is thereafter released out of the build chamber once the absorption material is isolated from the heating chamber, which helps increase temperature and regenerate the material.
controlled environment
In a press communication, the company explains that after the purge, the desiccant is refreshed and is ready to collect more moisture. The air-tight container and cyclical internal ventilation through the fan, heat, and valves, indicates no user interaction is required. Also, every time the filament is kept dry and in optimal condition for its use, there is no longer a need to change the desiccant.
“The Smart Cabinet draws attention to the important fact that, in order to get fine, repeatable parts, it is crucial to control the whole printing process, which includes ensuring the materials are in optimal conditions. All materials are sensitive to humidity to a certain degree, but some of them, like PA, TPU, or BVOH are especially affected by it. For example, on a humid day, a spool of PA can absorb the amount of water that makes printing issues appear in a few hours, in less than a day… When customers struggle printing PA, wasting time and money on failed or defective print jobs is not because of the printer, or because of the profiles, but because of the degradation of the materials. So to really unlock the potential of AM with technical materials, beyond PLA, a solution like the Smart Cabinet is mandatory.
In addition, as the 3D printers increase in terms of volume, the printing times also grow… so in industrial or lab contexts, where power outages or micro-cuts are quite frequent, the Smart Cabinet offers life-saving protection to reduce waste and improve efficiency. As a result, any customer aiming both with technical materials will benefit from this new product. It should be noted that in the filament PA, for example, some mechanical properties improve by 20% with the use of the Smart Cabinet,” Eric Pallarés, BCN3D CTO states.
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