I got to see the new, much anticipated V Flash 3D printer last night. I was very impressed, although disappointed by some points.
The good:
Very clean machine. Everything is very modular and designed for an office. The material change is done by replacing a big self-contained cartridge. The part cleaning is done by a chemical process and curing in a UV oven. Very hands-off.
Apparently 3D Systems has designed the V Flash to be close to maintenance free. The software includes a diagnostic program that will analyze the printer, send the results to 3D Systems where a technician will contact the end user to suggest what part needs to be replaced. The printer was described to me as being made up of several modules which are essentially plug-and-play, although I didn’t see any of the modules being replaced. Very interesting. In fact, I was told that they won’t have a service program for sale, they are so confident in the printer being user-servicable.
The parts are amazing. I would say the detail is only one notch below the highest quality SLA or polyjet parts. I’m told that the plastic is a type of UV curable acrylic. The parts do have some flexibility in them, but are more brittle than an FDM ABS part. I didn’t see any snap fits at the presentation, but I think they would be possible. I haven’t confirmed it yet, but I was told the parts could withstand up to 140 C, which might be the highest temp. I’ve seen from a printed part.
Finally, the price. I was a little disappointed to see the true cost. $9900US will get you the printer, no material, no build platforms (they can only be used once, but cost $5 each…not too bad), no wash bins, no UV oven. In other words, not really functional. I saw prices in Canadian $, so I can’t remember what the prices were in US, but consider an additional $5k to get everything you need. It’s a little disappointing, as the below $10k is the big selling point with this machine, but still half the price of anything else on the market. That’s incredible value!
The bad:
The build supports. I noticed a little bit of part deformation around where the supports were located on the parts. It’s not a deal killer in my opinion, because a little sand paper would get your part perfect, but it’s not as clean as an Objet part. Then again, you can buy 4 V Flash for the same price as an entry level Objet.
The material cost is very high. From my estimates, this is the most expensive material on the market. By cubic inch, more than twice the cost of a Z Corp, maybe 60-80% more than FDM. Also, factor in the total cost: material, build plate, chemical bath, wear-and-tear on the UV lamps. Still, not a deal killer as the final part will cost you 15-20% of what it would from an outside supplier.
Last, is the build size. 8" x 9" x 6.75" I think that’s the smallest build area of any machine out there.
The unknown:
Reliability is the biggest unknown on a V-flash. I’ve heard that reliability is a weak point on other 3D system’s products, so I was worried coming into this presentation. However, the machine looks very simple.
The printing works based on a UV curable resin. The resin is spread out on a thin plastic sheet. This sheet is then “flashed” with UV light, but only where you want the material for your model. The build plate is then raised, pulling the cured resin, but leaving the uncured resin on the plastic sheet. Then the sheet is retracted to obtain a new spread of resin. Very simple. I can’t imagine there being a lot of problems with it.
Also, I asked about the delays. Take it with a grain of salt, but I was told the machine was delayed because of refinements. The original goal was to have a self-contained printer, but they couldn’t get the high quality parts without the chemical wash and UV oven. I can believe this, as it makes sense that if the layers were cured longer in the printer, it would result in a solid finished part straight from the machine. Also, 3D systems is promising a variety of materials to be available soon and they were delaying trying to release everything at once. However, there is only one material available today.
The summary:
I think that the V-flash really has moved the 3D printing game forwards a few steps. The entry cost beats everything by a country mile, print quality and material are very high end. The running costs are an unknown, but I really expect this thing to perform as described. Basically, it’s like a Corvette - close to a supercar, but far cheaper.