Nexa3D Unveils Powder Bed Additive Manufacturing Platform

Nexa3D, maker of professional and industrial polymer 3D printers, makes commercial availability of its new ultrafast Quantum Laser Sintering platform, the QLS 820. The QLS 820 thermoplastic 3D printer is designed for higher volume production and higher temperature processing for greater material selection.

The company is showcasing its new QLS 820 production platform at IMTS 2022—Additive Manufacturing Pavilion, Booth 432504. 

“My hat is off to our entire team of determined innovators, passionate engineers, and experienced marketers for bringing to market an industry leading thermoplastic production platform that fully delivers on our ultrafast brand promise,” says Avi Reichental, co-founder, and CEO, Nexa3D. “As we attend IMTS 2022, we are very proud, that our new QLS 820 is printing at speeds of up to 8 liters per hour, at packing density of up to 20%, delivering orders of magnitude productivity gains without the typical costs and lead-times associated with tooled plastics.”

QLS 820 represents a new class of powder bed technology that combines ultrafast printing with open materials and cloud software platform to deliver large production volumes.

At the core of the QLS 820 is Nexa3D’s Quantum Laser Sintering (QLS) print engine consisting of four CO2 lasers with 100W power each. The QLS 820 features an exchangeable build station that operators can use for continuous production during the cooldown process, eliminating production bottlenecks and increasing throughput and over all asset use. The entire system is automation ready and designed for 24/7 lights-out operation.

The QLS 820 delivers a polymer-based production alternative to traditional injection molding without the design constraints, costly tooling investments and extended lead times. The platform works with standard materials such as PA11 and PA12—direct replacements for injection molding grade materials, and is also compatible with higher-temperature materials, such as PA6, at processing temperatures up to 240 degrees Celsius.

Throughput

The quad-laser QLS 820 has a large build volume of 350x350x400 mm, 50–200-micron Z resolution, and four 100W CO2 lasers. With the printer’s removable build unit, the QLS 820 is designed for maximum uptime, according to the company. In a switch, users can begin the breakout process and a new build unit can dock with the printer to start printing.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.