Lunavast CrafteHbot Full Color 3D Printer
Lunavast CrafteHbot Full Color 3D Printer
When the news of Apple's patent for full colour 3D printing broke last month it led many to speculate what a potential machine could look like. The techniques outlined by Apple - basically traditional 3D printing and spraying the object to desired colour post-printing - seem to be in play by this very un-Apple 3D printer launch from Japanese company, Lunavast.
The Lunavast CrafteHbot Full Color 3D Printer DIY Kit is your standard RepRap-like FDM printer using Slic3r and Reptier Host for the printing hacked with a CMYK/LC/LM Inkjet Printer. After using traditional extrusion-based 3D printing process the model is then place under the inkjet printer to be sprayed with a process that Lunavast are calling Direct to Object.
Cubes printed using Lunavast's Direct ot Object Technology
Cubes printed using Lunavast's Direct ot Object Technology
It appears from some of the technical wordings and supporting imagery that the spraying of objects is pretty limited in that it is top down, more complicated objects, perhaps anything with overhangs are required to be split into separate objects.
Though the machine does look pretty hefty and what with so many moving, functioning components it would appear there is plenty of scope for trouble. However it must be said that machine’s novel approach to addressing the colour 3D printing conundrum at a fairly reasonable price ($2,499) is commendable.
Some of the prints from the machine are impressive (others not so much) but the point is that with approaches like mixing filaments proving too difficult to perfect, colouring the filament before printing proving too limited this kind of approach does seem the most logical for full colour prints from an FDM machine.
Lunavast Print Examples
It still remains to be seen what the fate of the CubeJet is after the departure of Avi Reichental. The desktop Z-corp machine pencilled in for a 2014 launch has not been seen since CES 2015. It was suggested by eminent industry experts that this technology or something like the Mcor technology would be most suited to 3D printing in full colour on the desktop.
Nevertheless, it is refreshing to see a new approach to bringing colour to the desktop and interesting that Lunavast have been developing this mashup of 2D and 3D Printing technology for two years, concurrently as Apple file a patent application for its fairly similar technology.
