There’s so much news coming out on 3D Printing this year, it’s becoming difficult to both cover it all and separate out the wheat from the chaff. With printers being announced every other week, new materials and reports of acquisitions, it’s no surprise that 3D printing is getting the coverage it has. Throughout all of these, there are a few truly innovative products that stand out–Inspired by all who have come before, but innovative nonetheless. The 3Doodler is one exciting new product launched this year. Another is the ProDesk3D from botObjects. They announced the product today and, though we have yet to see a working version, if it works it will change 3D printing forever. Why? It’s a full-color desktop 3D printer that prints using 5-colors of un-adulterated PLA filament. We talked with co-founders Mike Duma (CTO) and Martin Warner (CEO) to find out more about how this machine will work and when it will be available.


botobjects-prodesk3d-solidsmack

Full-color for the Desktop

You’ve seen and heard about full-color 3D prints before. It’s currently done by MCor with paper and by 3D Systems with their powder/binder printer technology acquired from ZCorp. To date there’s not been any plastic PLA/ABS/PVA printers that mix the colored material for a full-color print. They’re doing it with a cartridge system similar to your paper 3D printer, a 5-color PLA cartridge.

The ProDesk3D is the first 3D desktop printer to offer true full color printing – changing the way the creator thinks about what they are printing. Just like normal ink printers, the ProDesk3D uses its proprietary 5-colour PLA cartridge system, capable of mixing primary printing colors to generate the colors of choice for the object you wish to print. This is delivered seamlessly with our software included with the ProDesk3D.

Now, along with a completely new type of print head, they tell us that much of the pain involved in using a 3D printer is eliminated with the ProDesk3D printer. They’ve incorporated a self-leveling print bed and have developed the software from the ground up to be both simple to use and remove the complexity of prepping a part for print. They plan to make the product available to the public in June 2013, with a price point yet to be disclosed, but competitive with the current higher-end desktop printers, like the Makerbot R2 and Formlabs Form 1. A full-color, plastic printing, desktop 3D printer with self-leveling build platform and easy-to-use software–sounds too good to be true, right? We’re hopeful this product is the real deal and we’re looking forward to spinning up those motors when they push the printer out of production.

Press Release / Click to expand

Introducing the ProDesk3D – the new standard and benchmark for 3D Desktop Printing

Introducing the first Full Color 3D Desktop Printer for home and business. The ProDesk3D printer finally delivers a production-ready, complete experience for the consumer – no more experimentation needed. To achieve new heights in 3D printing, the ProDesk3D has revolutionized the whole 3D printing process, from cutting-edge design, to compact, safe engineering, to an eco-friendly – re-usable cartridge system and much more. The ProDesk3D offers breakthrough innovation, with seamless software integration, to deliver a true full color experience at an affordable price, with great accuracy and speed, delivered in an easy-to-use experience.

PROPRIETARY FEATURES (patent pending)

Industry’s first true Full Color 3D Desktop printer
The ProDesk3D is the first 3D desktop printer to offer true full color printing – changing the way the creator thinks about what they are printing. Just like normal ink printers, the ProDesk3D uses its proprietary 5-colour PLA cartridge system; capable of mixing primary printing colors to generate the colors of choice for the object you wish to print. Our cartridges are eco-friendly, and re-usable. The ProDesk3D comes with our own simple-to-use software.

Improved accuracy with printed Support Material
To support your printed 3D objects, the ProDesk3D delivers a PVA-based Support Material via our proprietary Dual-Extruder head. Now the most complex 3D designs can be printed with ease. Our Support Material does not require a messy finishing set or any chemicals to complete your design.

Fast automatic set-up – with self-calibrating build platform
Just like normal ink printers, there shouldn’t be any complex or tricky set up, the ProDesk3D arrives out-of box complete. Plug it into the mains, quick auto software download, insert your cartridges in seconds, and load up your 3D design and print it! Our industry leading proprietary Self Calibration Software talks to the ProDesk3D, understanding the composition of your uploaded 3D design, and while it auto-sets the printer, it also self calibrates the printer bed. No more tricky software set up!

Delivering industry leading accuracy, speed and durability
The ProDesk3D will be capable of printing down to 25 microns, beating industry-leading speeds using durable PLA and PVA support material. The ProDesk3D sets a new standard for PLA-based 3D models, leading the industry on finish quality and durability. The ProDesk3D is capable of printing ABS material.

Cutting edge tri-fan system
In order to ensure consistency of airflow within the enclosed casing, the ProDesk3D delivers a unique proprietary based tri-fan system to balance airflow across the cubic space of the build platform, enabling time and time again consistent 3D builds, and eliminates inaccurate modeling.

A beautiful anodized aluminum safe casing – highly functional with industry leading presence
The ProDesk3D arrives in a high quality, beautiful and safe anodized aluminum casing. The goal had been set to think about the maturity of 3D printing, what would it look like in 5 years time, and how would the right case endure these times. Setting new standards with aluminum design, the ProDesk3D separates itself from the kit-like contemporaries.

Load your 3D designs and let our software print your model in just a few clicks
It wasn’t enough to create a revolutionary 3D printer; it was the goal to develop seamless, simple-to-use software integrated with the ProDesk3D for the printing process. The goal was to demystify the process of 3D printing, and keep the technical jargon under the hood – enabling everyone to load designs and get them printed easily with just a few clicks. The ProDesk3D ProModel software does just this.

More info at botobjects.com

Author

Josh is founder and editor at SolidSmack.com, founder at Aimsift Inc., and co-founder of EvD Media. He is involved in engineering, design, visualization, the technology making it happen, and the content developed around it. He is a SolidWorks Certified Professional and excels at falling awkwardly.