As promised at the beginning of the year, VSHAPER unveils its 5AX FDM-based 3D printing system. The polish manufacturer of FDM 3D printers aims to improve industrial and professional applications of additive manufacturing.

As a reminder, VSHAPER CEO Tomasz SzymaƄski announced the development of the system two years ago and invited other companies to join them in the fabrication.

Throughout the development of this system, the engineers of the company focused on the anisotropic nature of printouts, an issue that users still encounter in industrial applications. Indeed, given the fact that the layers are located on the same surface, the printing process often leads to a disproportionate repartition of strength on the axis; not to mention the additional costs required by support structures to maintain model geometry. When printing of high-temperature thermoplastic materials – the base and support material is often the same.

The company’s idea was therefore to seize opportunity where professionals only see challenges. VSHAPER worked on 5-axes, and the system 5AX thanks to 5-axis kinematics, is equipped with a spinning and tilting working platform

“Indexed 5-axis printing allows you to change the plane indexed as the basis, to any other flat plane of the model. It therefore, reinforces various axes within one model. 5AX printer – gives you unprecedented freedom to choose from printed materials and tools during one process. Also, thanks to the use of encoders, it ensures constant control over the printing process. In the case of blockage of the filament flow or jamming of the head, the machine receives immediate up to date feedback”, the company explains in a press release.

Leveraging the system, the user will forget about supporting model walls. Indeed, the printing with 5AX assures an automatic adjustment of the model plane to the print head.

Furthermore, the manufacturer explains that, since the print bed ensures rotation and deflection of the part, there is no longer issue with the filament mechanism, and support structures are no longer required. “It is possible to plan model printing in any axis, which significantly improves the anisotropic factor of material properties”, completes the company.

Lastly, the user can attach 6 different tool heads on the VSHAPER 5AX. The head with the automatic tool identification system adapts the action to the given tool parameters. “By choosing from six tools, it is possible to manufacture complex parts in the form of a one-component system. The machine, receiving the appropriate data, will make a model out of stiff material, reinforce it locally with a high-strength material, and print seals made out of a flexible one. After finishing the printing process, 5AX will smoothly proceed to machine the printed model”, concludes the manufacturer

The Polish manufacturer plans to unveil the system during an official event on May.

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