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Six things you should know about 3D printers

Announcement posted by Comworth 17 Jul 2014

With the rapid consumerisation of 3D technology, affordable and high quality 3D printing is now within the reach of schools, hobbyists a3D printed modelsnd home users across New Zealand. The low cost of these devices open up new frontiers for those looking to create mock-ups and prototypes, to build models or just to experiment and explore the possibilities – and with the Da Vinci 1.0 from XYZ Printing retailing for under $900, it is no wonder that it was a CES 2014 Editors Choice Award Winner.

But just what is 3D printing? Here’s a list of six things you should know about this awesome new technology:

3D printers aren’t really printers at all.

Laser or inkjet printers put ink on paper along the X and the Y axis, a flat plane. 3D printers don’t do anything of the sort. By adding the Z axis – that’s the third dimension (3D)– things get a lot more complicated. 3D printers are in fact ‘additive manufacturers’. They create models by building successive layers of filament one on top of the other through a special heated nozzle. This nozzle or print head heats the filament to over 200c to make it ‘printable’ and then cools again as it is printed out – much like a heated glue guns used by kids for school projects.

A bit like the laser printer, the 3D printer also has the ability to print in varying thicknesses with the detail of the design and thickness of the layers depending on the size of the print head and software settings.

It’s not just plastic…

Notice how we said ‘filament’? Most 3D printers on the market, like the XYZ Printing Da Vinci 1.0 create their models using a form of plastic. There are two main types – thermoplastic called ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), which is similar to what LEGO blocks are made from; and PLA, a plant-based plastic. ABS plastic has a higher melting point, generally creating more rigid and solid objects .

But there are specialised 3D printers that print with a range of materials which are expanding almost daily  to include aluminium, concrete, food and even body cells (a kidney was printed on stage at TED in 2011). Suffice to say – the options are mind boggling!

Make almost anything.

Some of the wackier things which have been printed so far include fashion items, shoes, a car and a cloned mummy (yes, bizarre). Entry-level models won’t do all of these things – but they will open your mind to the possibilities, while also printing useful things like a floor plan for an architect, a ring sample for a jeweller, a wheel for your dishwasher or a lemon squeezer for the kitchen.

They aren’t expensive (any longer).

Like any brand new technology, 3D printing was until recently the preserve of the tech enthusiast or high-end manufacturer. But with the pace of development constantly accelerating, the price of 3D printers has dropped fast. Just one year ago – in May 2013 – an entry level machine cost around $2000. Today, you can get one for much less than half that, with the XYZ Printing Da Vinci retailing below $900.

The consumables are cheap.

From standard printing, we all expect the machine is cheap but the ink is crazily expensive. That’s not necessarily the case with 3D printers. While specialised machines print using materials like copper or gold (which are necessarily expensive, obviously), the consumables for home, school or small business 3D printers are surprisingly cheap. For example, the Da Vinci 1.0 takes a 600 gram cartridge – which is priced at around $45 and equates to under 0.09c a gram.  With the material that goes into a printed model the size of a wallet, the filament cost is around $2.

  1. They are easy to use.

None of us really wants to admit it (except those who are a bit techie), new technology always comes with the hassle factor of having to figure out how it works. But the hallmark of good products today is how easily they can be fired it up and put into action. That’s no different with 3D printing – for example, the thinking behind the XYZ Da Vinci 1.0 is to make it as simple and familiar to use as a regular printer – right down to replacing the cartridge. Supplied with software and an ever-growing cloud library of 3D model designs, you can get stuck right in without any hassle. Choose from designing your own 3D image, select ready-made models from an online library, or scan using a 3rd party scanner.


XYZ Da Vinci 1.0 3D printer3D printers are taking the world by storm and are open up new possibilities daily. The only limit, really, is your imagination.

The XYZ Da Vinci 1.0 is distributed by Comworth Technologies and is available through selected retailers and technology resellers.

View the possibilities: www.xyzprinting.co.nz