Nov 17, 2016 | By Andre

DLP (Digital Light Processing) 3D printing technology remains a popular mainstay in the sector thanks in part to success stories on crowd funding platforms like Kickstarter. So it’s a welcome thought knowing another DLP 3D printer has already funded with a long way to go before its campaign completes.

Backed by Mayc - a Hong Kong based Design & Development firm - the D2K Illuminate DLP UV-LED 3D printer has already broken well beyond their modest ambition of $58,000HKD (roughly $7,500USD) and have secured their place in the ranks of funded campaigns.

So what, if anything, sets the D2K Illuminate apart from the rest? The campaign pushes heavily on the fact that it uses a 2K resolution LCD screen as a projector and promises high resolution, accurate parts as a result. And after following along through the details and checking through the example prints, there really is good reason to get excited about their system.

It is ultimately the LCD screen (along with a UV405nm LED Bulb) that brings form out of the otherwise dormant 3D print resin. With controlled blasts of light through the active screen, the resin cures at up to 35 micron a second, matching layer height limits and a build volume of 121x68x130mm.

Beyond the fundamentals, the physical exterior look and feel has a lot to do with how the campaign eventually does. As things stand, the cover is made of Acrylic (presumably laser cut) board but an injection molded casing because practical anywhere over 50 backers. Not that acrylic is bad, and neither is the solid stainless steel z axis rod that minimizes print deformation while activated, but injection molded parts are always desirable from a design perspective.

On the inside, USB and HDMI adapters are present for external outputs, it is run by Creation Workshop 3D print driver software and fuelled by their custom 405nm UVC curable resin blend.

And while similar specs have been produced with prior Kickstarter funded DLP 3D printers, the low price point might convince you the D2K Illuminate is worth a look. With the Super Early Bird unit still on sale for roughly $775USD (later stage editions still max out at around $812USD) it’s as affordable as one can expect with a DLP 3D printer while still having a sense of a reliability and quality.

Of course, it is always tricky to know where a crowd funded project may lead once the realities of production delays and supply chain promises falter, but the team seem to have gone through what is necessary to get them to where they are.

Wanting a 3D printer that is capable of assisting any designer with producing high quality parts at a low price, they have been at it for over a year and claim 95% of the development of their system is already complete.

If all goes according to plan, early bird backers should have their 3D printers delivered to them by the end of December and the balance some time in the middle of 2017. I would be pleasantly surprised if they can deliver on all their goals. Although, even if they don’t deliver as quickly as promised, a slight delay is still worth the low early adopter prices.

There is some hint in the campaign page that suggests they have the finances in place to move things along quickly however. They write that “We’ve input lots of money and times, hence, D2K Illuminate 3D printer is already well developed and prepared for every backer, no need to wait too long as we are everything ready to proceed with the production once the campaign time’s up.”

In the end, just like so many Kickstarter campaigns out there, the success and ultimate contribution to 3D printing by the D2K Illuminate DLP 3D printer depends almost entirely on how close they can deliver their project on budget and within a reasonable time frame. So far however, so good.

 

 

Posted in 3D Printer

 

 

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Simon wrote at 11/24/2016 7:46:33 PM:

What curing times do you work with? On Kickstarter they mentioned about 18.5 seconds @35u. The guy from Alibaba (I think that's where you got yours from, too, told me, I should go down to 3 seconds. I know, it's dependent of the resin type. I'm completely new to the topic, I have just received a litre of Fun-To-Do industrial blend, and the printer is going to be here tomorrow. So if you could give me a hint on this, that would be great! Of course, I'm also interested in these facts. Bazooka, what do you mean by that? Does the display show something reasonable? Does the Z axis work? Is it doing anything?

Bazooka wrote at 11/23/2016 2:24:59 PM:

I have the same printer but couldn't get it running. Possibly it's faulty. What were your defects?

Bazooka wrote at 11/23/2016 2:10:07 PM:

I have the same printer but couldn't get it running. Possibly it's faulty. What were your defects?

Printin' wrote at 11/17/2016 3:06:01 PM:

Is this a knockoff of the MORPHEUS DELTA or the other way around?

~~Ol~~ wrote at 11/17/2016 10:22:41 AM:

I already got this printer from what i guess is the original manufacturer for about 60-70% of their price , only the color is not same ( light grey body, green acrylic cover ) . this is quite a good printer , suffering only of small and easy to fix defects . i'm not sure if you can "kickstart" a product that is already on the market... wait and see...



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