Continuing on its mission to bring 10 million colors to 3D printing, Mimaki has just announced a new “baby” in its family: the 3DUJ-2207 UV-LED 3D printer.
Full color 3D printing remains something of a holy grail in 3D printing — but it’s also one that’s already available. Mimaki has been showcasing industrial 3D printers capable of 10 million colors for some time now, and their offerings are now expanding accessibly.
This week at the virtual Formnext Connect, Mimaki Europe and Mimaki USA shared a look at their lineup, featuring the new addition.
Mimaki 3D Printers
The Mimaki family now comprises the 3DUJ-2207, 3DUJ-553, and 3DGD-1800 3D printers.
At the last few editions of Formnext, all eyes were on the full color 3DUJ-553. Key features of the system, per Mimaki, include:
- Print in full colour with over 10 million colours
- Water soluble support material
- Build size 500 x 500 x 300 mm
- Strong ABS-like material and thin walls possible
For the large-scale 3DGD-1800, introduced earlier this year, key features include:
- Production of large objects up to 1.4m x 1.1m x 1.8m (WDH)
- Gel dispensing 3D print technology with UV curable resin
- Prints up to 350mm in height per hour*
- * Vertical speed when printing 1m diameter cylinder (hollow)
- Hollowed structures, reduced weight and illumination
- Prints two independent objects in one run
Joining these, the 3DUJ-2207 features:
- Affordable full colour 3D printer
- Small footprint, ideal for office environment
- Scalable solution for every signmaker
- Build size 203 x 203 x 76 mm
- Water-soluble support material
Mimaki 3DUJ-2207
At Formnext Connect, this new 3D printer debuted. It was announced in a virtual press conference by Danna Drion, Senior Marketing Manager for EMEA; Ronald van den Broek, General Sales Manager, Mimaki Europe; Bert Benckhuysen, Sr Product Manager, Mimaki Europe; and Josh Hope, Sr Manager — 3D Printing & Engineering Projects, Mimaki US.
“We’ve gone back to the drawing board to design a product that was more entry-level,” van den Broek explained in the event. “We think that 3D technology is definitely the technology of the future. Not only cutting the price, we wanted to disrupt the market by offering this product at a price that would be accessible for everyone, removing the barriers to entry into the 3D industry. …They were dreaming of full color, and today have access. I think for us and for the 3D industry this is a historical launch.”
Breaking down barriers is certainly an admirable goal in higher-quality 3D printing, especially when it comes to full color.
The “entry-level” positioning of this “accessible” system is especially intriguing. Pricing hasn’t been announced, but the intent is to make full color 3D printing available to many, many more users the world over. For comparison, the 3DUJ-553 is priced under €200K (as of November 2018).
Based on Mimaki’s UJF-2043 “engine”, the 3DUJ-2207 uses UV-LED technology. This was presented during the event for better understanding:
The system is well-suited to applications such as producing scaled models, prototyping, figurines and gaming, medical and education, as Benckhuysen explained.
The new 3D printer is planned for global commercial availability from January 2021.
Via Mimaki
