
Aerostruder v2 Micro tool head
During its IMTS debut, Colorado-based open-source 3D printing company, Aleph Objects, Inc., announced the availability of the LulzBot Aerostruder v2 Micro Tool Head.
After dropping several hints which seemed to point towards a stereolithography-style machine, the company has instead unveiled a long-awaited hardware upgrade to its LulzBot Mini 2 machine, launched earlier this year, promising a "new realm of possibilities" in high resolution plastic extrusion-based 3D printing.
“Aleph Objects probably [has] the most useful and interesting array of tool heads for their 3D printers, and E3D is excited to contribute its expertise to a tool head that really pushes the limits of the technology,” E3D Online Ltd. Co-Founder and Director of R&D Sanjay Mortimer said. “There’s a lot more to come from this collaboration, and we feel like we’re just getting started.”
The tool head has been built with a hot end from UK-based 3D printing component manufacturer, E3D. The E3D Hot End features a 0.25 millimetre nozzle and 360-degree part cooling, offering a high degree of accuracy for snap-fit parts, high print quality for aesthetic applications, and tight tolerances for engineering and prototyping. Aleph Objects says the machine will allow users to create high-detailed "penny-scale" prints with layer heights as low as 0.05mm (50 microns).
Aleph Objects Product Specialist Adam Straight added: “The Aerostruder v2 Micro Tool Head—paired with the LulzBot Mini 2 3D Printer—has changed my perception of what is possible with filament 3D printing. In terms of resolution and surface finish, the prints from this new tool head are very impressive."
Adapter kits are slated for release in the coming weeks for additional LulzBot hardware including the LulzBot TAZ 6, TAZ 5, and LulzBot Mini 1 3D Printer.