Sep 1, 2014 | By Alec
Tired of the seemingly endless whirring noises filling your home? Does the constantly necessary tweaking and adjusting needed for printing even simple objects bother you? Perhaps you want a 3D printer that just looks different? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then the prototype for the Alta 3D printer might interest you. While relatively little information about this curious machine is currently available, it nonetheless seems like an interesting 3D printer that could be highlighting some improvements for the next-generation 3D printers.
Polarworks, the company behind the Alta 3D printer, is the collaborative effort of Norwegian production and design company Bengler, mechanical engineer Thomas Boe-Wiegaard and industrial design students Hans Jakob Føsker and Alexandre Chappel. The launch of Polarworks was announced in early 2014, along with its intention of developing an 'extravagantly simple and efficient 3D printer'. Things have been quiet since then, until a promising prototype was revealed at last weekend's Maker Faire Trondheim.
A Bulbasaur Pokémon figure printed with the machine at the Maker Faire.
What was shown, was the prototype of a simple but elegantly designed printer, that is quiet and unorthodox. There is no X and Y axis, as it shifts all the mechanical complexities that accompanies their movement to software. Instead, those movements are all executed by a single linear arm and a rotational disk. And interestingly, the Alta Polarworks should be compatible with all usually used software and STL formats.
The ambition to build this printer grew out of the simple but highly adaptable software GRBL, written by Bengler's in-house 'tinkerer' Simen Svale Skogsrud. This software quickly became a staple for various 'maker machines' like laser cutters and writing hardware, but is also used for operating various CNC mills and the popular and open source 3D firmware Marlin. 'It [GRBL] worked for us – it ran a little CNC mill we used to have in our office – and has also worked for hundreds of other DIY projects that shape by cutting with metal, burning with lasers or laying down minute quantities of molten plastic.'
The Alta Polarworks' first creation.
However, Simen has long since wanted to incorporate it into 3D printers which could be, or so he felt, constructed much easier. 'He came upon the idea of using two rotational axis instead of a gantries for the X and Y axis. This cuts part count radically and makes the printer nearly silent. No linear bearings, no timing belts, no gears. Just a few slabs of solid metal and precision motors. It also looks excellent when the printer draws a completely straight line by twisting around.'
In the past few months, the team behind Polarworks have been silently trying to realize this printer, after students Føsker and Chappel, along with engineer Boe-Wiegaard blew new life into their ambition.
And while both the design and the promises made are certainly drawing our attention, we'll have to wait for more pictures and promotional videos before we can endorse the Alta Polarworks' innovations. Their Kickstarter – that will be aiming for approximately $1500 – will start within the next few months, so we hope to be able to present an update on this interesting 3D printer in the near future.
Watch this a short video of this printer's first test:
Posted in 3D Printers
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yeah Alexandre Chappel is a huge scam artist.
Thomas wrote at 4/16/2015 3:20:04 PM:
Would be ok if they weren't scammers.
Reggie wrote at 9/4/2014 1:48:11 AM:
Seems the Polar 3D printer is a much better buy... same basic concept but half the price and their prints look a lot better as well.
Tom McBaum wrote at 9/3/2014 1:16:28 AM:
$1500? No thanks.
michaelc wrote at 9/2/2014 7:07:15 PM:
It looks iike the main advantage is that the construction of the printer is simpler than a gantry system printer, which begs the question, Why is it so expensive?
brub wrote at 9/1/2014 11:47:49 PM:
Ugly prints.
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