The enemy of that goal is downtime. So, part of the "Due diligence" responsibility is to try, as much as possible, to estimate what the vendor has done, both in terms of design and support to mitigate downtime. This is a bit tough when few machines are in the field and reliability history is in short supply. But, because it is essential to come up with the best evaluation as possible whatever the situation, we are forced to simply do our best by looking at what IS available. It would be wonderful to be able to wait until there are hundreds of users in the United States; but, we don't have that luxury.
I have to be honest, when I first began looking at the ComeTrue3D line of powder/binder printers all I saw were short slick sales videos with little real information. But, once I was able to talk with some users who had such great things to say about the A10 printer, MicroJet Technology and the Canadian distributor, it was clear that doing whatever it took to dig deeper was going to be well worth the effort.
The first goal was to find any and all documents and videos that would provide a more full understanding of the printer itself. So far this amounts to:
- 2 Overview videos
- 5 User documents
- 5 Intro - 1st Steps Videos
- 14 User Update & Repair Videos
- 4 Advanced Maintenance Videos
- 3 Cost Estimator Spreadsheets
- 2 PixiRite Software and Tutorials
This post will be limited to simply providing a summary of thoughts arising from reviewing the videos and documents surrounding the inking system. In subsequent posts I will delve more deeply into what I believe EACH of the materials reveal about the product and the philosophy of the company behind it.
First, MicroJet Technologies seems to understand the true situation of potential users in the United States. They are located in Korea. Their distributor is in Calgary Canada. And, we are thousands of miles away. The more we can help ourselves when issues arise, the shorter our downtime. The evidence that MicroJet Technologies understands our justified concerns begins with some fundamental design decisions as evidenced in the videos so far released.
It starts with, potentially, the most vulnerable parts, those of the INKING SYSTEM.
We have an old ZCorp Z450 color powder/binder. The designers decided to rely on then easily available HP B/W and Color print cartridges for the basis of their inking system. The same is true for the ZCorp Z310 Plus that was just donated to YouthQuest Foundation. While the HP cartridges used in the Z450 are still available, the HP10 used by the Z310 has not been manufactured since 2016! They can be found on eBay; but, they are extremely old and at some point will NOT be easily replaced. The most frequent errors thrown by the Z450 are printer cartridge "POGO" errors requiring replacement before proceeding.
Microjet Technologies uses their own cartridges. This makes sense because they are a huge manufacturer and innovator of inkjet print heads. What's more, the cartridges are continuously filled by large bottles of ink! You don't replace a cartridge when the ink runs out. You simply replace the bottle of ink... the least expensive part.
Not only is this strategy far less expensive than using a small conventional ink jet printer cartridge, with the T10, it means that materials other than colored ink can be fed through the cartridge. One of the existing users is doing just that. They are experimenting with using multiple binder types at the same time. They can even color the secondary binder if they want. this kind of versatility is not only useful in research, it tells us the value of the design. It may seem like an oxymoron; but, it's a closed system (proprietary cartridges) that is also OPEN (user supplied inks & binders).
So, lets start with the ComeTrue T10 3D Printer Installation Video that illustrates our point.
There are a number of things to point out in this video that tell us a lot about the philosophy behind the design of the T10 and that carry over to the M10.
Loading Ink and Binder is Software Assisted
The client software that comes with the T10 or M10 has a Maintenance Tool Tab that positions the printer carriage to the correct place for both loading materials or cleaning the print heads.
Easily Accessible Liquid Consumables
All of the liquid consumables are located outside of the printer. And, the status of all of the liquid consumables can be ascertained well in advance of running out of one of them. While we would take the precaution of having at least one of each replacement on hand, it's still a good feeling that we would know well enough in advance we were getting low on something in time to order a replacement.
The liquids include inks (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black), binder and cleaner.
It's also nice to know they are LOCKED into place!
The Liquid Feed System is Ingenious and Simple
The ink flows through tubes, having insertion pins, to the print heads . The clips that permit locking a tube are color coded and the print heads themselves are very easily inserted. The video cautions the user to make sure that both print heads are completely in place. That's easy enough.
Cleaner Dispenser is Built In to the System
We appreciate the fact that the cleaning system is an integral part of the design of this printer. While other videos show that we still have some manual cleaning to do, it's nice to know that at least the major cleaning functions can be handled from the client software itself.
The video demonstrates that the cleaning process is done when the cartridges are initially loaded and can be repeated later as needed.
Also, it should be noticed that the level of cleaning is user selectable.
Summary for Due diligence #1
The inking system of the ComeTrue T10 (and consequently the M10) is a HUGE improvement over the inking systems used in the ZCorp powder/binder printers we now own.
While the savings won't cover the costs of buying a ComeTrue, they should be significant. But, the real benefits should come from less down time from "POGO" errors involving the older HP print heads. And, ultimately, having the same manufacturer responsible for both the printer and the print heads should ensure that the situation where the print heads are discontinued for otherwise viable printers should never happen with the ComeTrue 3D printers.
The simplicity and versatility of the inking system is also a positive factor. The fact that one user is replacing a color for an extra binder tells me that the system is not preventing users from finding alternative materials. In fact, I am told this openness extends to the powder as well.
This not only is a big positive about the printer; but, says a lot about MicroJet's customer centered design philosophy.
Finally, our current color powder/binder printer is CMY, with the black cartridge being emptied and used for dispensing binder. Obviously, black features are rarely black. But, it also affects ALL the color tones. The CMYK system of the T10 promises to be a hugely significant improvement.
I give the inking system a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10.
UPDATE: After fighting to find good HP10 cartridges for 7 plus hours for the ZCorp 310, I am more convinced than ever that the newer printers, like the ComeTrue T10 and M10 HAVE to be a vast improvement. Finally got thr 310 to print; but, it was touch and go for a while.
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