Photo by Oliver Johnson
Photocentric Titan 3D printer at Formnext
The additive manufacturing industry's annual November trip to Frankfurt is never short of big announcements, but perhaps taking the crown this year for the biggest, in a literal sense at least, is Photocentric.
First teased at last year's Formnext, the UK-based 3D printing and photopolymers company is presenting its Liquid Crystal Titan 3D printer, a large-format polymer system which uses a 32-inch 8K high-resolution LCD screen. With a build volume of 695 x 385 x 1200mm, Photocentric, known for manufacturing accessible LCD-based 3D printers, believes the Titan is the largest LCD-based additive manufacturing system in the world.
At Formnext 2023, Hanifeh Zarezadeh, Product Manager at Photocentric, gave TCT a rundown of the Titan's features, which include a pixel pitch of 91 microns and print speeds up to 86 mm per hour. It is also compatible with a range of materials from Photocentric and BASF Forward AM including tough and flexible resins.
"Our mission in life with Photocentric is to make 3D printing affordable for everyone," Zarezadeh told TCT. "So the Titan cost RRP is just below 100,000 Euros, and the full solution in which you have the wash unit and also the cure unit is about 180,000 Euros."
Zarezadeh said Photocentric expects the biggest markets for Titan to be in prop-making for theme parks and film, but also in industrial sectors like aerospace and automotive. On the booth, Photocentric presented a number of examples including an automotive engine cover measuring 56 x 62 x 11cm, which was manufactured on the Titan in 32 hours for a cost of 208 Euros, and a full size 215 x 105 x 70 cm 'Neptune' statue that was printed in 130 hours at a cost of 1,330 Euros.
Photocentric is showcasing the Titan's full ecosystem, including the large-format Cure and Wash XL stations.
Also on the show floor this week, TCT got a first-hand look at TRUMPF's updated TruPrint 2000 system, Roboze's Hypermelt technology with the ARGO 1000, and more. You can find all of the biggest news and launches from Formnext 2023 here.
