Modix announced a new and rather tall 3D printer, the Big-120Z. 

The Israel-based company has been growing through their development of a unique concept: large-scale 3D printer kits. Normally 3D printer kits are available only as small, inexpensive desktop units, but Modix has scaled up this approach to industrial-capable equipment. 

The result is a significant cost saving, which is likely a key factor in their growth curve. 

Modix 120Z Specifications

The Modix Big-120Z is a filament 3D printer, and employs dual nozzles, which are E3D Volcanoes.  This suggests it should be able to handle soluble support in one extruder, with model material in the other. That will enable the production of very large, highly complex designs with minimal post-processing required. 

Fortunately, the Big-120Z has a completely enclosed build chamber. Large 3D prints by definition take a considerable amount of time to complete, and the more time a print takes, the more opportunity there is to incur warping. This should be minimized by the presence of the enclosed build chamber. 

Those long duration 3D print jobs should occur quite smoothly due to the use of linear rails in the 120Z’s motion system. 

The machine is made from a standard T-slot aluminum frame, with power-coated surfaces. The enclosure itself is composed of aluminum composite panels. This all-metal design should make the 120Z quite robust. 

Like Modix’s other machines, the 120Z includes a 7-inch color touchscreen to control the device. There’s also a WiFi interface for remote access, but you can also 3D print locally using SD cards or over USB. 

For a build surface, the 120Z sports a cast-aluminum plate, which is heated with 1370W. Interestingly, the 120Z has dual heating zones to save power and warm up time: a 200 x 200 mm zone in the center can be used if the 3D prints are smaller in size. This bed also includes auto-calibration that employs a depth mesh of 200 points, far more than other machines. 

Certainly the most notable specification for the 120Z is its huge build volume: 600 x 600 x 1200 mm, which has to be one of the largest filament 3D printers on the market. 

Using A Large 3D Print Build Volume

What’s the big deal with a large print volume? It turns out that many of Modix’s clients make heavy use of the large volumes of many of their machines to produce visual assets, like displays, statues, artworks and more. Some of these works are in fact larger than the volume offered on Modix’s other equipment. 

That’s where the 120Z comes in: its ultra-tall build volume allows much larger prints. Normally these would be segmented, printed separately and then assembled. That requires a designer to divide the model and insert assembly guides, two or more print jobs, and a lot of assembly work after printing completes. 

The larger build volume could, in some cases, eliminate this extra work. For very large projects involving multiple parts, the 120Z’s large volume would effectively reduce that work by half. 

Modix Big-120Z Assembly

You may be wondering whether you are able to assemble the 120Z on your own, as most other equipment at this scale is typically delivered in assembled form. 

Modix is aware of such concerns and offers a detailed assembly guide as well as “easy to follow” assembly videos. Apparently these also include browsable 3D models of the machine during assembly that can be examined by the assembler. 

While assembly of the machine is a bit more work, there is a big benefit: the price of this huge 3D printer is far lower than you’d expect. It’s listed at only US$9,500, a fraction of what an assembled machine of this volume would cost. 

If you’re looking for a large-format 3D printer at low cost and can handle the assembly process, Modix’s Big-120Z might be a good option. 

Via Modix