Nov.26, 2014 | By Alec
While a wonderful additive manufacturing technology with massive potential and a truck-load of innovative strength, no one can deny that 3D printing is a bit slow. A bit? It can take hours to print a palm-sized object, which is one of the main reasons that 3D printing hasn't yet been able to rise up as a proper challenger of traditional manufacturing techniques.
All that could change in the near future, however, when manufacturing techniques are sped up. And that is exactly what makes the preview of the Canadian revo machine so interesting. While it won't even go to Kickstarter until early 2015, meaning it will take some time before it can be practically used, this interesting machine is already looking very promising. More importantly, it looks capable of greatly speeding up 3D printing production.
The revo is being developed by the Canadian company Magic Maker, based in Calgary, Alberta. Canadian 3D printing enthusiasts might know them for their online filament store (ABS and PLA, available in 24 different colors), that they also sell at selected markets and conventions in Canada.
But they've also been working on a very special machine: the revo, the world's first metal desktop revocaster. And what is that exactly? A revocaster is a rotational casting device that allows you to cast objects based on molds. Their revolving movement allows gravity to push materials into every corner of the original mold, and thus rapidly form whole shapes. While very quick machines, most are giant and expensive pieces of machinery intended for factories. The revo, however, will allow you to take that technology to your desktop or hobby shed for an affordable price.
And why would this traditional manufacturing technology interest 3D printing enthusiasts? Well imagine the potential of at-home making when combining 3D printing's creative strength with the manufacturing speed of traditional casting production. It will allow you to easily and quickly to produce dozens of copies of your own original designs. As the Magic Maker team stated, 'make duplicates of your favorite 3D models every 10 minutes.'
This would obviously require you to print molds, rather than objects with your 3D printer, but this is relatively easily done. Simply make a regular design, and invert it to create a printable mold. Two mold designs can already downloaded on their website: one of Futurama's Bender and one of a Bulbasaur.
Once printed, such molds serve to make dozens of copies in whatever material you prefer. While we'll have to wait for an official Kickstarter to open up, the revo website already referred to a variety of materials, including 'plastics, wax, chocolate, amber resins, and more!' All of these, they promise, will result in high-quality and sturdy objects, just like a 3D printer would create.
All this is definitely very promising, though we'll have to wait a few months before we can get some more practical information (and hopefully a preview video). There's just one nagging question that needs to be asked: how much would the revo cost? If truly intended for desktops, it will have to be a competitive price to appeal the hobbyists among us.
Posted in 3D Printing Applications
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I would like to purchase one of these. Please send the link to their site.
Jon MacDonald wrote at 11/27/2014 7:50:45 PM:
It's a 2 part epoxy resin, we've been using a quick setting 7 minute resin to ensure that we can make a part in 10 minutes from the time we prepare the mold to the time we pop the part out. We're working on some timed videos to showcase the amount of time saved from 3d printing a part. Can't wait to share!
ThatGuy wrote at 11/27/2014 12:06:27 AM:
Thanks for the answers, that explains a lot. Sounds interesting. Looking forward to hearing more about the resin, that seems to be the key. Some kind of reactive thermoplastic?
Jon MacDonald (Founder of Magic Maker) wrote at 11/26/2014 7:10:53 PM:
Hi ThatGuy, The parts will be hollow, and with modern resins thats ok because they are TOUGH. Some of our test parts were created using only 10mL of resin, with a wall thickness under 1mm. They cannot be crushed by hand! Pretty great material :) The plastic is poured into a hole on the side of the mold, which is then capped to prevent it leaking out. We look forward to showing videos to everyone very soon! Thanks for the great article Alec!
craig wrote at 11/26/2014 7:00:40 PM:
Why not just get an injection molder?
Jon MacDonald (Founder of Magic Maker) wrote at 11/26/2014 6:49:23 PM:
Hi ThatGuy, The parts will be hollow, but the amazing thing with current resin technology is that they can make very hard and durable resins. Some of the prototype parts we've made used only 10mL total resin, and had a wall thickness less than a mm. The part was incredibly strong (you can't crush it by hand) The liquid plastic is poured into a hole and then sealed in with a cap.
Bauermaker wrote at 11/26/2014 6:48:12 PM:
its like the rotomaak, but in metal... http://www.rotomaak.com/
Mike Allen wrote at 11/26/2014 5:28:19 PM:
Yes, this looks like Rotomolding. They pour in powdered resin and clamp 2 mold halves together. The armatures are enclosed in an oven and the assembly rotates on twin frames shown above. Parts are usually very large, hollow, wall thickness depending on resin amount. HDPE material is typical.
ThatGuy wrote at 11/26/2014 4:19:28 PM:
Is it like a rotational molding that will be hollow, or will it be solid on the inside? I'm not seeing how the plastic is injected, which I think would be the critical part.
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