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3D PRINTERS
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product. We now offer our partners and
end users one of the most comprehensive
3D portfolios in the UK, backed by
excellent technical support and customer
service, which means they can be confident
about 3D.”
Canon is focusing on 3D Systems’
advanced manufacturing 3D printers,
including the ProJet 1200, 3500, 4500,
6000 and 7000 series. It is offering the
printers to customers in the engineering,
manufacturing and architectural market
segments for prototyping and rapid
product development. Initially, the printers
will only be available through Canon’s
direct sales business.
Made in the UK
Wholesaler VOW has signed a deal
with ST3Di, part of Environmental
Business Products, Europe’s longest
established collector and remanufacturer
of inkjet cartridges, to distribute the
ST3Di ModelSmart Pro 3D printer and
consumables range.
Manufactured in the UK and available
from Staples, Office Depot and Euronics,
the range comprises two state-of-the-art
desktop 3D printers, the ModelSmart Pro,
which enables users to print models up
to 200mm wide with a depth and height
of 150mm, and the ModelSmart Pro 280,
which can print models up to 280mm wide
with a depth and height of 150mm.
Both models can use a variety of
different materials including PVA, ABS,
Wood and a soluble PVA for support
structures and feature a unique smartchip
mechanism that identifies filament levels
and ensures the correct material is used.
Proprietary Helpful Printer Driver software
provides real-time accurate filament levels
for convenient consumables reordering.
Channel attitudes
3D printers have received a mixed
reception from dealers. Matt Goodall,
Service Director at Office Evolution, said
that they have monitored the very rapid
development of 3D printing and it is clear
that it has a place, but the decision as
to whether this is an option for office
equipment resellers is still to be answered.
Vision first launched 3D printing at
its half-year sales conference last April.
Operations Director Mark Smyth said that,
as a provider of printing technology and
a specialist reseller in print, Vision must
consider 3D printing. “Whilst it's still
somewhat of an unknown, you cannot
afford to overlook what could potentially
be the next best thing in print,” he said.
Balreed has seen a small rise in
enquiries from clients, most of whom
simply want to gain a better understanding
of the technology. Printerbase definitely
believes 3D printing will be an option.
Founder Peter Knight says it is an area of
the business that they are already having
success with. In contrast, 1st Office has
come to the conclusion that apart from the
word ‘printing’ there is no similarity with
its traditional core printing products.
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It was
initially
designed to
be a simple
rebate
programme.
Recycled filament helps lower running costs
Dutch start-up Refil is recycling car parts for
more sustainable 3D printing. The company
is selling recycled plastic in filament form
for existing 3D printers.
The first batch of ‘refilaments’ were made
from car dashboards and PET bottles. The spools
containing black filament are recycled from car
interiors while the translucent ones are up to 90%
recycled from plastic containers.
To create the high quality product, scraps
are shredded into tiny pieces and contaminants
physically removed. They are then melted and
turned into 1.75 or 2.85mm diameter strings that
are wound around recycled carbon spools.
The company says that their products share
the same level of quality as premium filaments.
Refil Lead Product Researcher Laura Klaus said:
“We don’t add any toxic dyes to our products and
this has been our biggest challenge. After lots of
research, we can finally develop refilaments that
have the exact same quality as ordinary filaments,
without adding any toxins.”
Casper van der Meer, Co-founder of Refil, said:
“Using our refilament, instead of ordinary filament,
you instantly make everything you print recycled.
From vases, toys and jewellery to architectural
models, prosthetics and other products. They all
become recycled products when you print them
with refilament.”
Refilament won the
Best Material Development
Award
at the 3D Printing Europe trade fair in
Berlin. A spool of 750 grams for dashboard black is
priced at
€
32 and the PET translucent at
€
40.
Use of recycled filament is one of the main
selling points of the EKOCYCLE Cube 3D printer
available from the EKOCYCLE shop-within-a-shop
in Harrods, London. A joint venture between
musician will.i.am and the Coca-Cola Company,
EKOCYCLE is a collection of prestige consumer
products made from recycled materials. Each
EKOCYCLE-branded cartridge contains filament
made from three recycled 20oz PET plastic bottles.
Closer to home, D3D Innovations Ltd has
developed a desktop extruder that lets 3D print
enthusiasts create their own filament out of pellets,
waste plastic and old 3D prints. The FilaFab system
extrudes ABS, PLA, EVA, HDPE, nylon and more,
automatically replenishing used spools. As well
as offering the convenience of an in-house supply
of filament and the opportunity to experiment
with colours and compounds, FilaFab can cut
consumables costs by more than 80%.
Two models of FilaFab Extruder are available:
the compact EX100 for extruding ABS and PLA;
and the EX350, which thanks to its greater power
and speed control, can also handle other types of
polymer.
An environmentally friendly alternative to
polymer 3D prints is offered by Mcor Technologies,
which markets a range of desktop 3D printers that
use ordinary, new or used cut-sheet paper as their
raw material, resulting, it is claimed, in the lowest
operating costs of any 3D printer on the market.
Another benefit of Mcor’s paper 3D printers is that
that they offer true full colour output.
Sustainable 3D printing
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