At CES 2014 we bumbled into a rather large booth (which we estimate cost around USD$40,000 just for the floor space at CES) from XYZ Printing. You may not have heard of XYZ Printing before, but we think they could be a contender.
How could such a new entrant afford a gigantic booth at CES? It’s because XYZ Printing is an offshoot of Korean giant Kinpo Group, a huge company of some 40,000 staff that produce all kinds of useful products ranging from electronics to automotive. Kinpo can afford what ever they like.
The 3D printer they exhibited was the Da Vinci, which apparently has three models. It’s a plastic-extrusion device with a relatively large print volume (200 x 200 x 200mm) with a single extruder. As you can see in the image at top, the machine has an enclosed but not heated build chamber, making prints of both ABS and PLA more reliable. The machine is capable of printing 0.1mm layers, much like more expensive machines.
Ok, but this doesn’t sound particularly unique; many machines have such specifications.
But there is one major difference. The Da Vinci 1.0 is priced at only USD$499!
That’s spectacularly less than even the so-called “mini” 3D printers from the major suppliers.
If you can afford more than USD$500, you might consider their more advanced models.
The USD$649 Da Vinci 2.0 includes two extruders and will be available in 2014Q3 and strongly resembles the 1.0 version.
The USD$999 Da Vinci 2.1 includes two extruders and a touch screen capable of instant previews of print models, as well as an app to remotely control the machine. It will apparenlty also be available later in 2014.
We think the Da Vinci machines represent a significant price breakthrough. A slick, assembled machine with great specs available for under USD$500 could make some considering similarly priced DIY kits to reconsider their purchase.
Via XYZ Printing
