M3D Launches Crane Quad 3D Printer

Through Crane Quad’s technology, users can now print more than 50,000 colors by mixing up to four colors of standard 1.75 mm filament. From common base colors, users can create numerous color palettes covering most of the color spectrum. The base colors needed are CMYK: cyan, magenta and yellow with black, white or transparent as keys. In addition, Crane Quad allows users to print objects in any single color without the cost of owning dozens of traditional filament spools, and allows the physical characteristics of different materials to be fused into a single object with new properties.

According to research by 3D Printing Industry, the total number of desktop 3D printers sold has nearly tripled over the past three years, with more than 500,000 units sold in 2017. Annual sales are projected to pass 1 million units by 2020, and surpass more than 100 million units by 2030. In addition, the research indicates that this growth is generally attributed to the availability of sub-$500 3D printer models, an overall improvement in quality and the rapid increase in quality 3D printable content.

Crane Quad features an all-new QuadFusion 3D Print Head, which enables the printer to print and blend four filament colors. A first-of-its-kind, this direct-drive extruder can mix both colors and material type of most 1.75 mm filaments. The head is equipped with four motors, three fans and a 0.35 mm mixing nozzle.

Crane Quad also includes a new open-source controller board, called the Duet 2 Maestro, which was co-designed and made in partnership with Duet3D. The board features five-axis motion control with unprecedented 256 microstep resolution, 120 MHz Atmel/Microchip ARM processor, and micro USB and micro SD card ports. Its Ethernet connectivity enables a user-friendly webhost interface, which works natively on any web-enabled device.

In addition to Crane Quad, M3D is also launching two other Crane configurations: Crane Dual and Crane Bowden. All Crane series printers are equipped with the Duet 2 Maestro control board. Crane Dual’s configuration is direct-drive and includes a compound mixing nozzle, which enables mixed filament colors or mixed materials as well as independent printing of materials within a mode. Crane Bowden is the foundational base model of the Crane 3D printer series and it has the same set of features and specifications as Crane Dual and Crane Quad, with the exception of the Bowden-style, single filament extruder.

Pricing for the Crane 3D printer series begins at $199 through the pre-order campaign. The first batch of orders is expected to ship in August.

Every Crane 3D color printer is tested for quality and reliability, shipped fully assembled, backed by a six-month warranty and supported by a U.S.-based team.

To learn more, M3D.

Sources: Press materials received from the company.