Four years after the release of the very first Inkspire, Polish 3D printer manufacturer Zortrax announces an upgraded version of its UV LCD 3D printer. The new 3D printer comes with two post-processing devices: Zortrax Cleaning Station and Zortrax Curing Station; it would be compatible with a wide range of engineering resins developed by Henkel/Loctite and BASF Forward AM.
With the new resin 3D printer, Zortrax wants to remove this misconception whereby resin 3D printing is meant for the production of prototypes due to a relatively low resistance of models, whereas the target parts are supposed to be 3D printed with engineering materials using FDM technology.
With the durable engineering resins, which are functional equivalents of most resistant filaments, one can successfully print both prototypes and final models using resin 3D printing only. Our system allows for it, as it is advanced, automated, and versatile, the company says.
With a build volume of with 192 x 120 x 280 (mm), the new 3D printer integrates a proprietary light engine provides the same levels of UV exposure across the entire platform, so the users achieve the same prints quality, regardless of whether the models are placed in the center or on the edges of the platform. Compared to its predecessor, the refined resin 3D printing system is said to have 7x more powerful UV light engine, 40% more uniform UV light distribution and 4x more build volume.
The 3D printer is equipped with a resin level sensor that measures the amount of resin needed to 3D print a certain model – if there is not enough liquid in the resin vat, the 3D printer informs the user about it. Therefore, the user’s engagement in the whole process is minimized.
Inkspire 2 also has closed air circulation. HEPA filters, installed in the printer, absorb chemical particles during printing, reducing the unpleasant smell. Vapors created during 3D printing do not escape the machine through gaps, but they are filtered by an advanced filtering system.
As far as post-processing is concerned, it should be noted that Zortrax Cleaning Station aims to remove excessive resin from the models’ surfaces, as well as nooks and crannies, whereas the company’s Curing Station provides crucial UV curing once resin 3D printing and cleaning have been completed. Cleaning the prints is necessary to preserve the models’ dimension-al accuracy. Additional UV curing is vital for most resins to achieve their target mechanical properties.
Zortrax Cleaning Station, due to its high-volume tank, can clean relatively large models, 3D printed on nearly any resin 3D printer available on the market. Thanks to a special filtering system, IPA can be safely reused for multiple cleaning sessions. An industrial class curing chamber in Zortrax Curing Station, in turn, provides consistent UV exposure, enhanced by a rotating table and ensures that the models are free of any weak spots caused by insufficient UV exposure.
BASF Forward AM and Henkel/Loctite post-processed the sample 3D prints and then tested them to confirm they are compliant with all the properties declared for the applied resin. Moreover, these de-vices can operate independently of the 3D printer with different technologies, such as UV LCD, DLP and SLA.
“Bringing our system into your business, you can easily create your own manufacturing facility, equip your factory with high-quality, reliable, and professional machines that work for you, or combine them into farms. Our trio complements one another and is most powerful together, but each individual ma-chine is a true game-changer in its own category. The Inkspire 2 is able to work with most advanced resins available. Zortrax Curing Station and Zortrax Cleaning Station are stand-alone devices that can be successfully used to support also other types of resin 3D printers on the market”, concludes Mariusz Babula, CEO at Zortrax.
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