Readers may recall a series of stories we wrote earlier this year on Gizmo 3D Printers, an Australian startup with a stupefyingly fast 3D printer. Now you can order one.
I first saw the Gizmo 3D Printers device at CES, where it was printing objects very rapidly – so rapidly that our interview with CEO Kobus du Toit had to briefly pause a few times while he unloaded yet another completed print. That’s fast.
But this machine is not just about speed. The new line of 3D printers (yes, there are now three models), also prints in extreme resolution.
Here you can see an example of the print quality of this machine. It’s rare – or perhaps even exclusive to Gizmo 3D Printers – to see such a combination of speed and detail. Typically one sacrifices one for the other, but Gizmo 3D Printers’ top-down resin process enables continuous, and rapid 3D printing at high resolution.
Wait, there’s more. This machine is capable of 3D printing larger objects. Typically high-resolution resin machines have very limited build volumes in order to compress the pixels and achieve high resolution. While these can do that too, they can also expand and print larger items.
All three models turn out to have the same X-Y maximum build dimensions: 200 x 113mm. Where the models differ is in the Z-height possible and there are several combinations priced differently. Here’s how they line up, with launch pricing:
- GiziMate 130: 130mm tall, USD$2,950 (Expected retail is USD$3,600)
- GiziMate 260: 260mm tall, USD$3,390 (Retail USD$3,840)
- GiziPro 130: 130mm tall, USD$3,650 (Retail USD$4,100)
- GiziPro 390: 390mm tall, USD$4,099 (Retail USD$4,100)
- GiziMax 130: 130mm tall, USD$4,150 (Retail USD$4,600)
- GiziMax 430: 430mm tall, USD$4,450 (Retail USD$5,000)
- GiziMax 800: 800mm tall, USD$4,950 (Retail USD$5,450)
One thing I must emphasize is the ridiculously simple method employed by this line of 3D printers. There is, I believe, only one moving part, that being the build platform that moves vertically in the resin tank. The rest of the structure is essentially static.
This means that there are few points of failure, suggesting that the Gizmo 3D Printers line of 3D printers could be highly reliable.
Gizmo 3D Printers has also developed custom software to drive the devices, called “Gizmetor”. While it provides all the usual slicing and control functions, it does have some advanced features that permit more direct control over layer expression. For example, you could specify that a range of layers will printed with differing degrees of solidity.
There’s one very important add-on that could be considered for your purchase of any Gizmo 3D Printers device: a “super speed” add-on. This is a chunk of hardware that enables: “an area of 110mm x 62mm to be printed at 3mm per minute”. It’s essentially a second, more powerful DLP projector that speeds things up substantially.
One thing the Gizmo 3D Printers line is not is pretty. They are each a rough-looking assembly of electronics, mechanics and tanks mounted on an exposed frame. But, remember, you’re not buying this machine for its looks, you’re buying it for the performance. And price levels.
Physically, these are large machines, with the GiziMax being a massive 500 x 430 x 1859mm, as tall as person! However, as Kobus says:
Ours is a desktop 3D printer. You just need to treat yourself to a bigger desk!
The campaign kicked off this morning, and it’s filling up fast. If you have any interest in a powerful 3D printer at relatively low cost, you should check out the campaign immediately.
Via Indiegogo
