Some folks in the Netherlands have developed a new system that performs “Flexible Hybrid Slicing”.
This new process, developed by Gerben Eykenaar of The Export Office and Maarten Kurver of Ctrl Design, both in The Netherlands, is something we haven’t seen previously.
The idea is to pause in mid-print and manually insert a pre-cut piece of reinforced PLA, then resume printing. The finished object thus includes a very strong reinforcement layer. Or layers, if you’ve put several into the print. The company says the insertions are “PLA reinforced with natural fiber”.
There are some questions, however. The most obvious question is how do you obtain reliably cut, pre-made insertions? We suspect the company has a way to do that.
Secondly, we’re wondering how printer operators would feel if they had to attend to their (potentially) very long print, waiting for layer 568 to pause so they can insert a reinforcement. This may be problematic for operators.
At this time the product is not yet available, but we understand they intend on launching a crowdfunding campaign soon. At that time we will find out more details, including pricing.
Via Facebook
