AON3D has a new M2+ 3D printer.
Hold on, didn’t they already announce the M2+ 3D printer? Indeed they did, way back in June of 2021. This week’s announcement is that they’ve introduced a “new revision” of the device.
Sometimes 3D printer manufacturers do alter the innards of their equipment while not announcing a new product, but this is not quite what’s happening here.
Instead, AON3D is releasing the new revision for certification purposes.
It turns out that they’ve garnered considerable interest in the M2+ over the past year from such organizations as “NASA, Tesla, Samsung, Medtronic, US Army, US Air Force, US Department of Veterans Affairs, US Department of Energy” and more.
[ASIDE: What the heck is the Department of Veterans Affairs 3D printing????]
Evidently these organizations were notably interested in using equipment with particular industrial certifications in order to include the M2+ and the parts it produces into their normal chains of production. These production sequences require particular certifications for equipment, materials and process.
Now AON3D has worked with a certification agency to achieve the required stamps. They explain:
“AON3D has partnered with TÜV SÜD to certify the new AON M2+ to applicable CSA, UL, and CE standards. The machine will join a select few high temperature 3D printers that conform to the Machinery Directive (2006/42/EEC) and may correctly bear the CE mark, as opposed to those which only conform to the Low Voltage Directive.
In addition, the machine will bear the TÜV SÜD (C, US) marking for Canadian and US markets, the RCM mark for Australia and New Zealand, and conforms to IEC 61010, IEC 60204, ISO 12000:2014, and ANSI/UL 61010-1:2017 standards.“
In addition, the new M2+ revision will include some new features, including “liquid-resistant electronics enclosures”, a quieter vacuum pump and a “build volume interlock”. It’s possible some of these features may knit into the certification requirements.
The new revised M2+ is not quite yet ready for sale, but AON3D said they will be shipping them before the end of the year.
The certification angle is important, and one that few other 3D printer manufacturers seem to follow. I don’t quite understand the reluctance to go the certification route, because by doing so it could dramatically widen the addressable market for equipment.
In coming years when an increasing proportion of manufactured parts will be produced using additive manufacturing, this will become increasingly important. AON3D more than likely understands this and has taken immediate steps in that direction.
Via AON3D
