HARDCOTTON INTRODUCES FIRST PRESSURE-CONTROLLED, RESIN-BASED 3D PRINTER

Easy to operate and affordable 3D printer

Australian start-up Hardcotton has used Kickstarter to launch Elemental, the world’s first pressure-controlled, resin-based 3D printer. CEO and co-founder Scott Pobihun collaborated with Director and co-founder Richard Spreckley to devise the unique patent-pending pressurization system, in response to design flaws they perceived in other desktop Stereolithography (SLA) 3D printers. Objects within the Elemental are fabricated right-side up with the resin level rising as the object is printed, unlike most desktop printers, which use SLA to print an object upside down and rely on the build platform to move the object being fabricated up a level for the laser to cure subsequent resin layers. Because there is no mechanical interaction with the printing material, this new technique allows the use of a wider range of resins. No Z-axis movement also makes the process extremely quiet, and it requires no support materials as the resin surrounding the printed object provides necessary support. Elemental features a 200mm x 200mm x 200mm (7.87in x 7.87in x 7.87in)build envelope, 1 micron z-accuracy, 24-bit (variable through software) XY control resolution, 405nm laser hardware, stand-alone SD-card printing and Bluetooth functionality.

Hardcotton’s recently launched crowdfunding campaign aims to raise $250,000 AUD to begin full-scale production of the machine. The first 50 backers will be able to purchase Elemental for only $950 AUD. The machine will then be offered for $1,050 AUD to the next 200 backers and for $1,200 AUD to the following 400 before reaching the still competitive price of $1,300 AUD. The very first machines will begin shipping worldwide by July of next year, with all Kickstarter backers receiving their printers by December of next year if all goes as planned and the company manages to meet its crowdfunding goal.