For the past few weeks, Polish 3D printer manufacturer Zortrax has been teasing a new product launch set for this year’s TCT Show. With nothing but a short video centred on a “real 3rd generation 3D printer” and a not so subtle hint to PEEK, that machine has today been unveiled as Endureal, Zortrax’s largest machine to date and geared towards high-temperature materials.
Referencing a paper by Manuel Garcia-Leiner in PEEK Biomaterials Handbook, Zortrax defines third generation 3D printers as those that have been built from the ground up to process high-performance polymers. The Endureal meets the criteria as an extrusion-based system with a closed build chamber which can be set to any value up to 200 degrees Celsius. Improving on its previous generation dual-extrusion Inventure printer, the Endureal has thermally shielded zones to keep all components at optimal temperatures so that even when the chamber is at maximum temperature, the extruder and filament cables are kept at around 50 degrees Celsius.
The machine features a sizeable build volume of 400 x 300 x 300 mm and a number of new features focused on safety and reliability. A Blackout Response System has been designed to save the exact position of the print head and resume the print at exactly the same spot should a job be interrupted. Given the large build volume, Zortrax believes this feature will be particularly useful for lengthy prints to minimise build failures in the event of a power outage or similar disruption. Additional sensors – 16 overall – have been installed to detect filament shortages or jams and calibrate the machine. The main goal of many of these sensors is safety, according to Zortrax.
“The Endureal is intended to work in industrial applications where cost of failure is usually very high,” Karolina Bołądź, Board Member at Zortrax told TCT. “That’s why we think focus on safety is so important. In an industrial setting, a 3D printer quite often is just a part of a wider system. A failure to print a critical component can bring an entire production line to a halt and that can lead to immense losses. That’s why we have designed the Endureal to minimise failures and bring the lost time to an absolute minimum when failures happen.”
Zortrax is doing so with sensors that monitor critical components to prevent overheating and detect any problems with parts such as the extruder or fans. Zortrax says the idea is to ensure seamless operation over long periods of constant use.
The Endureal is Zortrax's largest machine to date and is capable of processing high-temperature materials. (Credit: Zortrax)
The Endureal is designed to process high-performance polymers demanded by its target audience of aerospace, automotive, and manufacturing sectors. One of those materials is PEEK, a notoriously challenging material to print with that is also high on the wish list of several industries such as automotive, aerospace and medical due to its high heat and chemical resistance and durability.
“Considering the growing interest in PEEK in both industry and academia, we believe PEEK printing capability is very crucial to making an industrial 3D printer future-proof," Bołądź said. "Polymers the Endureal is compatible with, like PEEK, have excellent mechanical and thermal properties. They are comparable to aluminium but much lighter.”
Similar to the Inventure, the Endureal will allow users to print soluble support via a dual-extrusion system. The machine also features two closed filament compartments to keep filaments and support materials at controlled temperatures and humidity levels and is said to also dry fresh filaments to ensure the best parameters before printing.
Bołądź added: “One of the features making the Endureal stand apart is going to be an ability to print PEEK with a soluble support material designed specifically to work at very high temperatures necessary for PEEK. This enables printing virtually all shapes out of PEEK. That’s one of the things making the Endureal an incredibly powerful tool in the right hands.”
Endureal is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2020. Pricing details haven’t been finalised but Zortrax confirms the machine will be “very price-competitive” compared to similarly capable machines on the market.
Visitors to TCT Show this week can get a first look on the Zortrax booth, E79.
TCT Show takes place on 24-26th September at NEC, Birmingham. Register for your free ticket here.
