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kb:proj:ftg:auto_printer:start [2026/11/07 11:24] – ↷ Page moved and renamed from kb:proj:ftg:auto_printer to kb:proj:ftg:auto_printer:start robertkkb:proj:ftg:auto_printer:start [2026/11/07 13:53] (current) – robertk
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 As of 2026 heated chamber printers are now readily available in the commercial market. When I took on this project, that was mostly only true of very high end printers with companies like Stratasys sitting on most of the key patents until recently. I currently own two consumer printers with heated chambers, though they do not provide automatic part ejection. To me that is the gap in the market. Most print farms use custom printers, like Slant3D, or commercial off the shelf products, but all farms seem to require quite a bit of operator intervention that could be replaced with relatively cheap automation. Prusa has released a [[https://www.prusa3d.com/applications/prusa-pro-afs_236928/|farm oriented printer setup]] with automated print-bed changes, but fully heated and cooled printers that can eject parts themselves have not yet hit the market. I assume this is because large SLS machines produce better finishes in larger batches and attract most of the customers that need engineering materials in their prints. This is definitely something I would like to revisit someday with a different open source printer, perhaps a Voron, but for now it remains outside my expertise. If I ever revisit the project it would be when I can work with a commercial packaging automation company like Packsize where I could help create a pipeline from printer to ship-ready package. I think less automation than that would not be economical and as a systems integrator that is the sort of project that excites me. As of 2026 heated chamber printers are now readily available in the commercial market. When I took on this project, that was mostly only true of very high end printers with companies like Stratasys sitting on most of the key patents until recently. I currently own two consumer printers with heated chambers, though they do not provide automatic part ejection. To me that is the gap in the market. Most print farms use custom printers, like Slant3D, or commercial off the shelf products, but all farms seem to require quite a bit of operator intervention that could be replaced with relatively cheap automation. Prusa has released a [[https://www.prusa3d.com/applications/prusa-pro-afs_236928/|farm oriented printer setup]] with automated print-bed changes, but fully heated and cooled printers that can eject parts themselves have not yet hit the market. I assume this is because large SLS machines produce better finishes in larger batches and attract most of the customers that need engineering materials in their prints. This is definitely something I would like to revisit someday with a different open source printer, perhaps a Voron, but for now it remains outside my expertise. If I ever revisit the project it would be when I can work with a commercial packaging automation company like Packsize where I could help create a pipeline from printer to ship-ready package. I think less automation than that would not be economical and as a systems integrator that is the sort of project that excites me.
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 +{{tag>projects rev_eng 3d_printing}}
  
kb/proj/ftg/auto_printer/start.txt · Last modified: by robertk

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