Editor’s Pick: The uPrint Personal 3D Printer Uses FDM Technology

By DE Editors

Dear Desktop Engineering Reader:

So I was at this high-level manufacturingtechnology conference last year — I wonder still who got the idea to invite thelikes of me to it. Anyway, one presentation covered the many ways rapidprototyping helps your business make better products faster. After the session,a mob in $300 business casual slacks surrounded the guy. They caressed hisprototype samples like they were Moses’ original stone tablets. But theywandered away when they heard how much his unit cost. They could not justify thecost of an RP system based on the possibility that it would deliver new ways ofthinking into their design process. The new uPrint Personal 3D Printer fromDimension Printing disposes of that objection.

The uPrint is the real deal. It uses fuseddeposition modeling (FDM) technology that Stratasys, Dimension’s parent company,pioneered and refined over the years to produce form, fit, and functionalprototypes out of ABS plastic. Personal means that it is easy to install, setup, and use. It comes with all the stuff you need to get going such as cablesand Windows software to take care of converting your 3D CAD models for RPprinting. You just set it up, hit print, and the uPrint processes and buildsyour design layer by layer from the bottom up.

Speaking of output, the uPrint offers an 8 x 6 x6 in. build envelope. Models are built on a removable modeling base, and it hasa built-in support removal system. Of particular interest to you obsessivetypes, you can watch the progress of your model’s build through the translucentdoors. All this is designed into a box that fits on a desktop, which is, ofcourse, one reason why its called a personal system.

But while I find the personal aspect of the uPrintappealing, what really interests me is its broader appeal for the entire rapidprototype and manufacturing juggernaut. Watching all those executives at thatconference, I could see their wheels turning. I could also see that they couldnot justify such an expense when the technology itself represented a dramaticchange from how they perceived the design through manufacturing cycle. At$14,900, the uPrint is comparable to a loaded engineering workstation both interms of price and the possibilities for new, innovative products and designprocesses. At $14,900, only fear of writing a check remains a barrier to yourown personal RP capability.

You can learn more about out the uPrint andconjure up the possibilities of a personal, desktop 3D printer from today’s Pickof the week write-up. There are links to a video and spec sheets (noregistration) as well as a link to the uPrint launch webcast (registrationrequired as is patience as the legal and investor statements are made).

Thanks, Pal — Lockwood

Anthony J. Lockwood
Editor at Large, Desktop Engineering Magazine