FabWeaver Launches Type A530
(Mar. 25, 2022) FabWeaver, an off-shoot of the South Korean 3D printer maker Sindoh, announced that its new FDM printer called the Type A530 will start shipping this spring. FabWeaver debuted at the Formnext trade expo in November.
Dubbed a “prototyping workstation for industrial 3D printing”, the A530 features a modest build volume (310 x 310 x 310 mm), dual extruders, and a built-in multi-spool material chamber. Targeting the office environments of product designers, the open-material printer features print speeds up to 200 mm/s, the company says, and there’s a heated chamber (75 ºC).
The Type A530 is priced at just under $10,000.
Black Buffalo 3D Launches Modular Construction Printer
(Mar. 15, 2022) The number of construction 3D printers on the market is small but grew one bigger this week with US-based, South Korean-backed Black Buffalo 3D officially launching its Nexcon 1G.
Black Buffalo 3D sells, leases, and trains on its 3D construction technology to help increase adoption, it says. If you want one for yourself, the basic configuration will put you back about $800,000. But, according to Black Buffalo, the efficiencies gained and labor saved compared to traditional construction methods make it a savvy investment. The printer can complete a 1,000 square-foot structure in under 20 hours.
The Nexcon 1G is a modular 3D construction printer that can be extended on its X, Y and Z axis to scale up (or down) to fit the size of a project, up to three stories tall. A bit unique about the 1G is the ability for users to reposition the base tracks and move the printer to a new print area without having to dismantle the X or Z axis.
The multi-axis gantry system can generate prints for any 3D modeled design created using conventional CAD software. The printer uses Black Buffalo’s proprietary cement material – the company calls ink – that can be colored and customized to match temperature, humidity, and altitude-specific conditions. The company says it has worked for years in perfecting the materials science that goes into their “ink” to ensure it meets all of the International Coding Commissions Criteria for AC-509 3D Printed Walls.
Unlike construction printer makers Peri, Icon, or COBOD, Black Buffalo doesn’t have many 3D printed homes under its belt that people live in today, but after selling a printer to homebuilder Alquist 3D earlier this month, that soon may change.
The company is so confident in its new printer after several years of development, it recently purchased 106 acres in Pennsylvania to build a new construction 3D printer factory. Will they 3D print their 3D printer factory? We’ll see.
Fluicell’s Compact Biopixlar Microfluidic Platform
(Mar. 1, 2022) Swedish company Fluicell launched the Biopixlar AER single-cell bioprinter this week. The technology maintains cells in their native environment within a compact microfluidic platform. The size of this bioprinter is one of the aspects setting it apart from others.
Biopixlar AER is the first high-resolution platform designed to fit inside a standard cell culture flow hood, making it easy to use together with other invitro and 3D cell culture technologies, the company says. This combination of compactness, ease-of-use, remote control, and portability makes it flexible enough for a wide range of applications, including aerospace and deep-sea exploration.
The exchangeable microfluidic printhead lets you deposit cells right where you want them with micrometer precision. This makes it possible to create everything from single-cell arrays to detailed tissues containing multiple different cell types. “Biopixlar AER’s microfluidic bioprinting technology requires very little sample volumes, making it the ideal choice for uses involving scarce and valuable materials, such as applications within personalized medicine using patient-derived material,” the company says.
The latest machine comes with the Biopixlar Wizard software to automate and follow the bioprinting process in real-time. The Wizard features a wide range of ways to control the built-in microscope, LED light source, and camera. With Biopixlar Wizard, you can follow the bioprinting process in real-time, using the imaging conditions that best fit your experimental setup.
The Biopixlar AER is the company’s second single-cell 3D-bioprinter to create detailed biological tissues.
