Essentium announced the new HSE 240 HT 3D printer.
This is a bit of a switch for Essentium, which current offers these two high speed industrial 3D printers:
- HSE 280 HT
- HSE 180
These two devices have a single printhead build volume that’s quite similar: 695 x 500 x 600 mm vs. 690 x 500 x 600 mm. That’s a rather large build volume, but it allows the printing of very large parts, or large quantities of smaller parts within a single print job.
The two devices differ in that the 280 HT is a high temperature device that can 3D print with a wide variety of engineering materials, including PEEK, ULTEM and PEKK. These are easily sourced, as the Essentium devices all allow use of open materials from third parties.
But what if you don’t quite need the large build volume? What if your parts are smaller or you require fewer parts in each batch?
That’s the need addressed by the new HSE 240 HT, which includes many production-oriented features inherited from existing equipment, such as high-speed 3D printing, spool switching for long print jobs and accurate part production.
As you might suspect, the “HT” indicates that the new machine is in fact a high temperature device like the HSE 280 HT. However, it does not have the dual print heads of the senior device. The HSE 240 HT’s single print head comes with a dual extruder, so it is possible to use two materials, including soluble support material, within a print job. Essentium explained the machine can operate in three different printing modes.
We don’t yet know the precise build volume of the HSE 240 HT, but there’s a clue visible in the exterior dimensions of the machine.
While the HSE 280 HT and HSE 180 both have exterior dimensions close to 1590 x 1250 x 2490 mm, the new HSE 240 HT’s exterior dimensions are a much smaller 1168 x 795 x 1687 mm. The exterior width and length are 73% and 63% respectively of the HSE 180 devices. That implies a much smaller build volume.
I’d guess the build volume of the HSE 240 HT is close to 500 x 300 x 400 mm, but we’ll find out for certain in the near future.
Providing devices with smaller build volumes is often done by 3D printer manufacturers after the introduction of larger equipment. This is because they receive feedback from clients who identify business cases for using smaller-volume devices. Here, Essentium is simply filling that need with the new HSE 240 HT.
Essentium said:
“At 1168mm wide x 795 mm deep x 1687 mm high, the HSE 240 3D Printer is small enough to fit in small and medium-sized factory spaces and university labs.”
This new device opens up the possibility of selling more equipment to more clients, and that’s a good thing.
Via Essentium
