I have had the privilege of being able to experience many forms of 3D printing, from very low cost consumer FDM 3D printers to professional Multi-Jet 3D printers costing nearly a hundred thousand dollars. But, my favorite 3D printer type has always been powder/binder printing.
Perhaps first and foremost, you don't have to deal with vexing supports marring complex and beautiful finished parts. The powder is, itself, the support system and it is easily blown off the part at the end of the print. But, another reason is that it is a surprisingly clean and safe method of printing. In my mind it is MUCH safer and, ultimately, cleaner than liquid resin SLA.
Ceramic 3D printing, could be within reach of designers and artists, has been around for a while in the form of extrusion printers using a form of semi-liquefied clay. May clay artists have found this method of printing to work well for them. Extrusion clay printing has definitely been of value to others; But, it's never had an attraction for me. Maybe I know that I'm just too lazy to clean up the mess after the print is done.
Earlier posts have talked about my experience with ceramic resin using a Formlabs Form2. While we seem to be making progress with reliability, and it definitely has a place for small, intricate items like making ceramic jewelry. It still is NOT a method I would want to count on to build a 3D ceramic printing business due to the print times. It is not particularly well-suited for scalability.
I'm just going to say it. My bias is toward powder/binder, which is remarkable since I personally have not printed a single ceramic item on a powder/binder 3D printer. The problem up to this point is that unless one was willing to spend several hundred dollars there were no powder/binder printers dedicated specifically for ceramic powders. One had to modify a gypsum powder/binder printer and find a 3rd party to supply an appropriate ceramic powder and accompanying binder.
Ceramic Powder/Binder Printing to this Point in Time
Tethon (Tethon3D.com) is one such company. They provide several clay based powders to those who wanted to convert older ZCorp 310 printers to create ceramic 3D objects. At YouthQuest Foundation, we were just given a surplussed ZCorp Z310 Plus by the Fairfax County School System.
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| ZCorp Z310 Plus Powder/Binder Printer |
The down side, even if it does work well, is that it uses an HP 10 printer cartridge and, while they are still available on eBay, they have not been manufactured since 2016! So, it is NOT a printer upon which we can rely too far into future. Sooner or later even if one could find an HP 10 cartridge, the chances of it working would be slim to none. But, for now, it is our best hope to begin our journey into printing in ceramics at the lowest possible cost and risk.
New Options: Kwambio & ComeTrue
A week or go, I would have written that there were only two new options for printing ceramics in 3D that was anything close to being a reality. And, those options came from the same company, Kwambio. The Ceramo Zero Max, at around $5,000, is the low-cost option and the Ceramo Two, at around $40,000, is the professional option. (Prices might vary when actually released) But, now I know that there are two viable companies making viable ceramic powder/binder printers. Let's first examine Kwambio.
Kwambio - Ceramo Zero Max, Ceramo Two
The primary printer I've been following for the past few months is by Kwambio.
We also have a sample part printed on a Kwambio ceramic printer.
It has a wonderful feel and finish. So, we know that it can produce beautiful ceramic prints. I wish I could tell you more; but, as far as I know, there is not a single Kwambio printer in the field as it has yet to ship. Do I believe it's real? Yes. But, until I visit the Kwambio offices in Hartford, CN, I am completely relying on the part I have in hand and the great communications I've had with Kwambio's sales and marketing teams.
Microjet- ComeTrue
For over a year, I have been following reports that two new powder/binder printers were reportedly being readied for market by Asian companies. One was by SkyTech and was called the 3DPandoras. So, far the 3DPandoras is what we used to call in the video game field, "Smoke & Mirrors". From what I can tell, so far, all they have managed to achieve is to make their kickstarter customers demand their money back. While that could change in the future, I'm not counting on the 3DPandoras any time soon.
Until a week or so ago, I would have told you that the ComeTrue ceramic printer was ALSO most likely smoke & mirrors. But, while reading about Tethon3D powders, I stumbled upon a reference that their powders also work in the ComeTrue M10 3D printer. Hmmm... how could they know unless there was an actual ComeTrue printer with which to test it. So, I made a concerted effort to see if, in fact, the ComeTrue printers had started shipping into the USA.
It took some effort; but, that effort paid off when I was actually able to talk with the North American distributer and quickly got some references for actual users.
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| ComeTrue M10 3D Powder/Binder Ceramic Printer |
It should be noted that the users with which I've talked have the full-color A10 version. But, the reviews I'm getting so far, are largely positive and realistic. If they reported that a new powder/binder printer was absolute perfection, I would have dismissed them immediately. After all, we've lived with the Z450 for more than 5 years and pay a hefty price for support just to keep it running! But, what I have heard is that while there have been minor issues, the response by the support teams in both North America and abroad have been swift and helpful. That is wonderful news.
The ComeTrue M10 is their ceramic specific printer. I understand that the delivered price, with training and installation, comes in at around $20,000. So, it falls between the two Kwambio offerings in price. However, I have NOT seen a sample part. But, here is a video that might be helpful.
If and/or when I get my hands on an actual sample I will let you know.
NOT EITHER/OR
For our application to be successful, we need to be able to print at production levels. And, the most important factor is mitigating down time. All 3D printers fail. And, that is a given for a powder/binder printer. The issue is not a failure; but, how well you can avoid having that failure disrupt your business catastrophically. And, that probably means building in redundancy.
For an individual artist already creating ceramic works of art manually, a single $5,000 Kwambio Ceramo Zero Max is AUGMENTING your income. So, being down for a day or even a week isn't catastrophic. But, for others, sharing the down-time risk over 3 lower cost printers might be a better strategy than purchasing a single high cost printer.
If we are successful in the endeavor we have planned, which will provide employment and training for at-risk students on the autism-spectrum, our ultimate strategy might be to have several $5000 printers, a $20,000 printer and a $40,000 high-volume professional printer in order to provide the highest levels of performance and quality while mitigating the affects of temporary failure by sharing the load over several print platforms.
The point is that having multiple choices is terrific. As I learn more about each of these options I will be quick to share them with you.
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