In what is being described as its “biggest product release" to date, Barcelona-based 3D printer manufacturer BCN3D has announced the next iterations of its Sigma and Epsilon 3D printers and Smart Cabinet, signalling “a new era in its growth.”
The news comes off the back of a significant funding injection back in July, which saw Group Mondragon, CDTI (Centre for Industrial Technological Development) and Danobatgroug lead a 2.8 million Euro investment, allowing BCN3D to expand its product portfolio.
From today, BCN3D’s flagship desktop Sigma 3D printer series now includes the Sigma D25, a next-generation version of its dual-extrusion IDEX technology that will replace existing Sigma and Sigmax machines and provide improved functionality and large build volume for R&D and functional prototyping. Priced at 3,495 Euro, updates include enhanced heat distribution, a refined calibration process and extrusion system, new embedded electronics, and reinforced axes.
The news also includes the first major update on the Epsilon system, launched at last year’s Formnext and pitched as the company’s first entry into the “workbench” segment, promising “industrial power" for "seamless daily operation” across low volume production, functional end-use parts, and manufacturing tools. The manufacturer is offering two versions of the Epsilon, the W50 and W27. Both systems will provide the same capabilities but the new W27 will have a smaller build volume – 27 litres (420 x 300 x 220 mm) compared to the W50’s 50 litres – and what BCN3D says will be “competitive pricing" at 4,995 Euro or 6,995 Euro with a new Smart Cabinet add-on.
In an interview with TCT, recorded for an upcoming episode of the Additive Insight podcast, Xavier Martínez Faneca, BCN3D CEO, spoke about how the company is “renewing the desktop series” and addressing an entirely different market with the Epsilon workbench systems.
“We see that between the thousand Euro machine to the 10,000 Euro machine, there's a separation, there's two markets inside one with the desktop as a printer that you would put on the desktop, as the name says, and in an office environment, maybe doing prototypes or working with, let's say, a small team,” Faneca explained. “In the workbench […] you have to see the machine in a warehouse or in a place [where] there are other machines like milling machines, etc. So, it's a more technical situation and the demands for those machines are higher in safety, and also in capabilities in terms of materials that they have to print. So that's why we want to differentiate these because the message is different and […] the features of these machines need to be different.”
Read more: "We always wanted to help innovators": From RepRap to workbench 3D printing with BCN3D
Completing the Epsilon ecosystem is the new Smart Cabinet which is said to improve machine performance with filament humidity control and an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) to protect users from losing long print jobs during power outages. On the Smart Cabinet, Faneca added: “The idea of the workbench series is to provide the customers with a complete solution.”
In a press release, Eric Pallarés, BCN3D CTO commented: “I see it as our job every day to make every aspect of the customer experience better. With the launch of this new portfolio, I strongly believe we have done just that. The new fully integrated product offering means customers can find the quality and productivity they need at the price-point they can afford, making it easier than ever for users around the world to innovate and create faster.”
The machines are available for pre-order from today and will be made available via BCN3D’s parter network from 19th October, 2020, with the Smart Cabinet following in Spring.
Listen out for the full interview with BCN3D CEO Xavier Martínez Faneca next Friday on the Additive Insight podcast. Subscribe on your favourite podcast platforms.
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