Shanghai-based 3D printing company, Polymaker will make its 3D printing hardware debut via a Kickstarter campaign next week which aims to bring two new 3D printing products, PolySmooth PVB and Polysher, to the market.
Designed to fundamentally improve the surface quality of 3D printed parts, this new product offering includes an FDM material, PolySmooth and part polishing hardware, Polysher to deliver parts produced on any FDM machine with a smooth and glossy surface.
“For extrusion-based 3D printing, the poor surface quality has always been a prominent disadvantage which separates 3D printed parts and parts made by conventional manufacturing methods”, said by Dr. Xiaofan Luo, the President of Polymaker. “What we want to do is to bridge this gap, bringing 3D printing to the realm of making final products, not just prototypes.”
Polymaker has almost identical printing characteristics as PLA can be polished with common alcohols such as isopropyl alcohol or ethanol, which are used within the Polysher. The key component of the Polysher is a unit called the nebulizer, which consists of a thin membrane with hundreds of tiny holes (< 10 microns) attached to a piezoelectric actuator. When activated, the nebulizer will generate a fine aerosol of micro-sized alcohol droplets filling up the sealed chamber in the Polysher. These micron-sized droplets then create a film on the surface of the 3D printed part, smoothen and unite the layers creating a truly glossy surface with no visible layers. Once the polishing is done, the on board drying system will begin to dissipate the mist and begin drying your print.
“We believe every 3D printing user, from designers to engineers and makers can benefit from such a technology, powerful and versatile yet simple to use, safe and affordable” commented by Aaron Jennings, Polymaker’s Design and Communications Manager.
Polymaker teamed up with Pragmatic Designs, Inc. and Gyre9, LLC, two US-based product development companies to create a sleek and durable product that’s also extremely user friendly. Polymaker also partnered with Mascon to manufacture the Polysher.
“I am thrilled to work with Polymaker to create the Polysher,” said Julia Truchsess, President of Pragmatic Designs, Inc., “being a 3D printing enthusiast myself, I was immediately drawn to it when Polymaker presented this project to me about a year ago. This can be a game-changer and I am so glad to be part of it.”
Polymaker will launch the KickStarter campaign on April 25, 2016, with shipping scheduled to start in Sep, 2016.
