The Titan 1 3D Printer

By on May 28th, 2014 in printer

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Another resin-based personal 3D printer has been launched: the Titan 1. 

There are fewer new plastic extrusion 3D printers emerging, but you canā€™t say that about those using resin technology. San Francisco-based Kudo3D joined the party with a blockbuster Kickstarter launch that saw them blow by their initial target of USD$50,000. As of this writing, theyā€™re closing in on USD$300K, well past their goal. 

But what makes this particular 3D printer so attractive? There are plenty of other more well-established resin 3D printers available today. We found that although the Titan 1 offers advantages common to all resin units, such as high resolution and faster printing, there seems to be four key features. 

The first is the build volume. The aptly-named Titan 1 offers a build chamber of 190 x 83 x 240mm. The Z dimension is whatā€™s interesting, as it is permits the printing of tall objects. Most resin printers have relatively small build chambers, but the Titanā€™s Z-axis is significantly larger than youā€™d find elsewhere. 

Of course, printing larger objects takes more time, right? Not so on the Titan. Itā€™s DLP light engine permits speeds of apparently up to 171mm per hour (at 0.1mm layers, and slower if smaller layers are used.) 

Another unique feature is the ability to change colors in mid-print. Evidently you must swap out the resin reservoir so that subsequent printing can use a different color. The result is differently colored layers, not full RGB color, but nevertheless weā€™ve not seen that capability on a resin 3D printer before. 

But the most intriguing feature weā€™ve observed is the price. The Titan 1 lists at a mere USD$1,899, far less than most other resin machines, and even less than some popular plastic extrusion machines. Note, though, that that price was their initial reward level that has now sold out; subsequent pricing will be slightly higher. 

It used to be that high quality prints required high-priced equipment. Not so anymore, thanks to the Titan 1. 

Via Kickstarter