Jan 9, 2018 | By David

Airwolf 3D has been one of the key innovators in the manufacturing of desktop industrial 3D printers over recent years, cornering a niche in the market for machines that are capable of printing at a commercial standard but are still relatively compact and accessible. The company annouced today that they have developed the EVO, a machine so advanced that they would rather label it an ‘Additive Manufacturing Center’.

The EVO Additive Manufacturing Center is the fifth-generation FDM machine from Airwolf 3D, which was established in California back in 2012 by Erick Wolf and his wife and business partner Eva. The EVO represents a major leap forward from the company's previous industrial desktop 3D printers, such as the AXIOM range. It features what the company says is an unprecedented level of printing performance and reliability, with many features that are a first for the industry.

Two of the most notable of these industry-first features are the PartSave and FailSafe features. PartSave is intended to address one of the most frustrating issues faced by 3D printer users, which is the failure of prints due to a power outage or an accidental unplugging of the machine. Hours can be wasted when this happens, as the whole print needs to be started from scratch. PartSave, otherwise known as Zombie Mode, allows the print to be restarted from where it was left off once the power is restored to the machine. The FailSafe feature is intended to solve a similar problem, which is the disruption of print jobs due to filament spool jams or running out of material entirely. All you have to do with FailSafe is place the print head at the height that it was last operational, and the print will be restored and completed as normal once the filament is running again.

Maintaining the correct temperatures during a print is one of the key factors that can affect the quality of the final product, and Airwolf 3D has developed a new proprietary heating system that should ensure the best possible results every time. The EVO’s Tri-Heat technology consists of two internal heaters and a high-temperature bed, which help to maintain precise temperature control and heated airflow through the machine. This will optimize the integrity of finished parts. The EVO’s Integrated Filament Drying System will further facilitate optimal printing conditions by offering the ability to dry up to 10 pounds of extrusion material at a time, so that it can be used for immediate extrusion or put in long-term storage.

Though nothing compared to some of the huge machines in the AXIOM range, the EVO has a particularly large build volume that will enable a broad range of different print jobs to be carried out. The enclosed volume of the print area is 12 x 12 x 11 inches and the build platform can support up to 50 pounds, which means that the machine is optimized for production of large, strong parts that could be used in a variety of sectors or applications.

The EVO Additive Manufacturing Center has a rugged design that is intended for maximum rigidity, and Airwolf 3D claims that it’s the strongest machine on the market. The unitized frame is made from 100 percent aluminium, which means that it can boast this level of structural integrity while remaining relatively sleek and stylish, and without being too bulky or heavy. Transporting the EVO should be relatively straightforward, and it can be stacked up to four units high for series production.

The versatility of the machine is also made possible due to its huge range of compatible materials. There will be very few designs or print jobs that the EVO is unsuited for, as it can print with over 40 different filaments, including the more exotic metallic or carbon fiber-reinforced nylon ones as well as Airwolf 3D’s own market-leading water-soluble support material, HydroFill.

Like most of the high-end desktop 3D printers on the market nowadays, the EVO has a full-color touch-screen display to enable users to monitor their print in real-time, and the machine has an auto-levelling system as well as a proprietary micro-controller. This newly-developed GENESIS board means that the EVO can apparently offer up to 3 times greater print speeds and more precision than any other desktop 3D printer currently available.

Airwolf 3D is demonstrating the EVO at CES 2018 in Las Vegas, and the machine should be ready to ship from February 2018. It will be available initially from around $6,995.

 

 

Posted in 3D Printer

 

 

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