There are some very interesting delta-style 3D printers, and one of them is from Tripodmaker.
Tripodmaker is a Belgium-based startup that’s developing delta-style 3D printers for the past four years. Their latest product is the Tripodmaker Black, a large-sized 3D printer. The company has been noticed by industry, having won startup awards in 2014.
But first let’s look at the machine. The Tripodmaker Black is their latest product. The delta-style machine uses 1.75mm plastic filament and can print in ABS, PLA, PETG, Nylon, HIPS, PLA composites and even Polycarbonate.
It’s printable volume is fairly large, at 300mm diameter and 450mm tall. The heated print surface can be warmed up to 90C, drastically reducing the potential for warped prints. You can also optionally add covers to the build volume to capture heat and increase reliability even more for an additional €145 (USD$160).
The smallest layer size possible by the Tripodmaker is listed at 0.075mm, which is better than the industry defacto standard of 0.100mm, but a bit more than the 0.050mm of several other machines. I’m not concerned about this at all, because the Tripodmaker’s huge build volume suggests you’d be printing large objects. Such large prints usually don’t require layer resolution better than 0.100mm, so the Tripodmaker Black is in a good position.
One of the more interesting aspects is PRISMA, the software system for the Tripodmaker Black. It’s a cloud-based system that can store 3D models, as well as performing reliable and very fast slicing to prepare them or printing.
Cloud-based systems are sometimes much simpler for some users than installing, using and maintaining separate software, particularly if it isn’t pre-tuned for the machine in question.
The software system follows Tripodmaker’s strategy of making life easy for the operator, which also includes a simplified startup procedure that takes only 15 minutes, and a series of video documents for review by users.
The Tripodmaker Black is available now, fully assembled, for €2,495 (USD$2,770).
Via Tripodmaker
