Objet Announces New Objet1000

How often have you heard the old adage that size isn’t everything? That may be true in some cases, but for additive manufacturing (AM) systems, size can be important. A large build envelope allows businesses to make a single object rather than two separate objects before bringing them together. The size of the build envelope also lets designers print out more than one item at once, saving time.

Objet has embraced the idea that an AM system with a large build envelope can be a valuable asset with the release of the Objet1000. The new printer operates on the same principles as the company’s Connex line, offering more than 120 different digital materials to choose from. According to Objet, the system is also capable of combining up to 14 different materials in the same build. The Objet1000 comes bundled with Objet Studio.

But, I was talking about size, wasn’t I? The Objet1000 has a 1000 x 800 x 500 mm (39.3 × 31.4 × 19.6 in.) build envelope, the largest yet offered by the company. At the other end of the spectrum, the new 3D printer also has a horizontal layer thickness as small as 16µ. Resolution comes in at 600 x 600 x 1600 dpi, with accuracy of 20-85µ for features below 50 mm, and Up to 300µ for large models.

To give you an idea of the size, a handcart is included in the package to facilitate unloading of the model and transporting it to an optional Waterjet unit for cleaning. It can hold six resin cartridges (for a total of almost 240 lbs. of material) for uninterrupted printing.

“As our largest ever 3D printing system, the Objet1000 takes advanced inkjet 3D printing technology to the next scale,” said David Reis, Objet CEO. “The system enables our customers in a range of industries to now quickly and effectively prototype anything at full size, 1:1 scale, from whole airplane and automobile assemblies to complete household appliances. The Objet1000 is the next step in the 3D printing revolution.”

Igal Zeitun, Objet’s vice president of Product Marketing, said Objet's inkjet technology is extremely scalable, as evidenced on the other side of the scale by this year's release of the Objet30 Pro desktop 3D printer. "Now we're scaling up the technology to meet the high-end of market with a large-scale industrial printer," he said.

Zeitun said other large-format 3D printers on the market force users to compromise between model quality and cost of operation. "We have seen those solutions, and they are not complete," he said. "The Objet1000 finds a nice niche—large format, high quality and ease of use—that is needed from the design side of the market."

Bruce Bradshaw, Objet's director of Marketing, elaborates on the timing of the introduction.

"The idea on a large-format Objet solution has been kicked around for number of years," he said. "What put us over the edge was that lot of customers were pushing us to bring it to market."

Objet is targeting the automotive, aerospace, industrial machinery and defense industries with its new 3D printer. Zeitun said potential customers include internal rapid prototyping design departments of big manufacturing companies, independent divisions of large companies and high-end rapid prototyping and manufacturing service bureaus.

The first units will be shipped in the second quarter of 2013, to be followed by a broader launch later the same year. Training and a 12-month warranty is included as part of an introductory offer.

Below you’ll find the Objet1000 launch video.

Source: Objet