A Korean manufacturer hopes to begin marketing a new 3D printer in the west.
HyVISION is a manufacturer of imaging test equipment based in Seongnam, just south of Seoul. Just as several other Asian manufacturers have done, HyVISION has developed a personal 3D printer and hopes to bring it to market in the west.
The cubicon Single is, as you might expect, a single extruder machine using plastic filament as build material. The machine is capable of printing in both ABS and PLA plastic, and we suspect many others as well.
We were informed by company representatives that they’ve been considering certifying use of nylon and flexible filaments on the cubicon. This we believe, as you can see in the image above.
In any case, the cubicon mechanically accepts any filament you can feed into it. However, the filament’s spool must fit into this cavity on the side of the machine, unless you’re up for rigging up an unusual homemade feeder.
This machine includes a number of features found on mid-priced personal 3D printing gear, including a touch panel, heated print surface, 0.1mm layer size, print volume of 240 x 190 x 200mm and a very solid aluminum body structure. It also has an auto-leveling feature, making the cubicon very easy to use.
But the most interesting feature from our standpoint is that the cubicon includes a convection air recirculation feature with powerful air filter. This makes the cubicon one of the very few machines to include air safety features, something we may see a requirement on future personal 3D printing equipment.
As you can see, the cubicon is totally sealed from the outside, making prints more reliable by capturing and distributing internal heat, plus permitting the filtration system to work efficiently. The filtration system is also more than just a carbon filter, as it includes a nano-filter to capture nanoparticles emitted by filament.
One question to consider, though, is whether the company could be violating one of the Stratasys patents on heat control during printing. That’s not for us to decide, however.
We’re told the device will be released in the first quarter and may be priced in the USD$3,500 range. Also, if you happen to be a 3D printer reseller, you might want to give them a call.
