A new 3D sand printer 1

[arunmrao]

I have seen the big and established ones for 3D sand printing to make moulds and cores, without the need for making patterns or core boxes. But they are super expensive.

Now, there is this new machine from (

https://envisiontec.com)

claiming to be 1/3 cost of the competition. They use a robotic arm from ABB and attach the print heads at the end of the arm.(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lacCTzU3wsk).

I would ask the experts here, how would you evaluate this machine. Is it risky to invest in such a machine.

Thanks for your time and attention..

"Even,if you are a minority of one, truth is the truth."

Mahatma Gandhi.

 

[rl321]

As a former foundry engineer I have had some sand cores printed in the past for trial purposes not by this particular company but someone else. I would evaluate the machine based on the layer thickness that they produce. As you could see in the you tube demo there where some stair steps on some of the parts they showed. So the first question is what is the smallest tolerance they can hold on a printed sand object. That tolerance is also related to what size and type of sand grain they are using to produce the cores or molds with. Example a 54 mesh round sand grain is approximately .013 IN. in diameter an 80 mesh produces a .008 IN. in diameter sand grain. How thin of a layer can they lay down at one time. Affects the stair steps you see in video. There are already a few companies producing sand cores and molds for the foundry industry. If you are a foundry than you have to ask yourself are you a job shop constantly doing different short run products for your customers. If so than it might be advantageous to own one. But most foundries produce production castings for their customers. And if the customer has a need for an experimental part then they will still go to the foundry to have it produced. More and more foundries are turning to this for experimental or one off castings.
Hope this helps.