The Fuse 1 and Form Cell: Putting the Means of Production in Your Hands

#81

Yep, that’s correct! The chamber starts more or less empty and powder is deposited layer by layer during the print. Powder will only fill to the height of the object.

#82

Justs the thought of getting PEEK parts out of an SLS machine the size and price of the Fuse 1 gives me the chills…

#83

Hopefully there is enough headroom for the chamber temperature for PEEK. It would probably print fairly slow because of the higher temp compared to Nylon.

There are also some new Nylons/PEEK materials out there that may be some where in between.

#84

3 questions:

  1. What is the maximum part size going to be? When looking at existing SLS machines I’ve noticed that the maximum part size is quite a bit less than the build chamber size. I’m assuming this is due to part shrinkage which is compensated for by the fuse 1 software.

  2. What is the volume of the powder? For example, how many cubic inches can be filled with 2 kg of powder? I’m trying to guess what the cost to print various height parts will be. I realize powder cost has not yet been released but I can guess based on current market prices.

  3. When build is complete and chamber is removed from printer, can parts be removed immediately? Or does chamber need to cool before parts can be removed? If it needs to cool, how long?

#85

You should check out the Fuse 1 Tech Specs page which has a bit more information that you might find useful.

  1. The build volume is 165mm x 165mm x 320mm. Part shrinkage is taken into account for this value and is compensated for such that the final parts are dimensionally accurate.
  2. We’re not quite ready to release powder properties yet, but the Fuse 1 will be shipping with PA11 and PA12.
  3. There is a cool down period after printing whereas the chamber slowly returns to ambient temperatures. The cool down period is currently set to be 50% of the printing time though that can change.
#86

I understand that shrinkage is accounted for in the final model. If the build volume is 165mmx165mm then I assume maximum part size is approx. 132mmx132mm or a bit less? Shrinkage for existing machines is a good 20% or more depending on the type of nylon used. Or is the actual build volume more than 165mmx165mm so that final part sizes can be this measurement?

#87

  1. I have been led to believe that the dimensions of the build chamber will accommodate a part up to the maximum dimensions listed in their specifications sheet. I will be very disappointed if the maximum part size is substantially less…Hopefully this can be clarified soon.

  2. Based on the build volume of 165mm x 165mm x 320mm (assuming this is also the volume of the build chamber) the total volume is approximately 8.7 liters.or approximately 0.69 liters for every inch of build height.
    I have heard that materials are likely to be priced at $80 - $120 per Kg. This would mean that printing 1 inch in Z would cost between $55 - $83 and printing the entire volume (in Z) would be $696 - $1044.
    When you consider that a full volume build can be completed in less than 30 hours with a 15 hour cool down, then it would be possible to complete 16 builds in a month with a cost in materials ranging from just over $11k to almost $17k not including tax and shipping fees.

I think this is really pretty impressive and also enforces the need to utilize all of the available build space on each build. I was happy to read that Formlabs is incorporating a robust packing algorithms into preform to better utilize available space.

The Fuse seems to be targeted for manufacturing and for those that produce a volume of smaller parts, it seems it will be able to deliver an impressive volume each month.

#88

Is there any info on the Nylon powder being used like an SDS sheet? Any info on how much dust will be in the air from operating the machines. My company has ordered two of the Fuse’s. I would like to put them in my office but I don’t know if that will be possible due to the dust.

#89

That’s not how this works.
That’s not how any of this works.

First, you can’t guarantee two resins would mix homogenously.
Second, photoactivators aren’t picky - you can’t get it to start polymerization of just one resin in the mix.
Third, even if you could, you can’t have polymer chains going through another media (second resin).
And fourth, even if none of this were the case, what would cure the support resin that’s part of the mix (still) in non-support areas? You’d need two passes for every layer except support ones.