Technical Details of

Prototyping Equipment

Bambu X1 Carbon 3D Printers:

  • Bambu X1C is a 3D printer which uses a flexible plastic filament to do fused deposition modelling (FDM).

  • The Bambu Studio software for the X1C slices the digital file (.stl format) into a set of instructions for the printer.

  • Once the printer receives the file and you start printing the printer self calibrates before commencing printing.

  • Molten plastic is extruded through a high temperature nozzle onto a heated bed. The model is created layer by layer on the heated bed.

  • This printer can do multicolour prints. However changing colours within a print job produces lots of waste. This is why we choose to do single colour prints in our own prototyping work and in providing fabrication services. In the final design iteration we can offer multi colour printing.

  • Any 3D printing also produces waste in the printer self calibrating the flow and removing the previous filament before loading the filament for your job.

  • Youtube video of X1C operation: https://youtu.be/Eci4iFoyoS4

  • Filament guide for X1C: https://bambulab.com/en/filament/printers/x1c

    Formlabs Form4 Resin 3D Printer

  • Formlabs Form4 is a 3D printer which uses liquid resin in a bath and LED light is used to polymerise the resin layer by layer into a 3D model structure which is built on a build plate above the resin bath. The build plate is slowly extracted from the resin bath as each layer is created.

  • The PreForm is the Formlabs software for the Form4 which slices the digital file (.stl format) into a set of instructions for the printer.

  • Youtube video of Form4 operation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch1T15LZeIU

  • Formlabs Form4 tech specs: https://formlabs.com/3d-printers/resin/tech-specs/

  • Form4 resin options: https://formlabs.com/materials/?compatibilities%5B0%5D=form4

  • Additional info on design from Formlabs (refer to Form4 info): https://support.formlabs.com/s/article/Design-specifications-for-3D-models-Form-4-generation?language=en_US

Flux HEXA laser cutter and engraver

  • Flux HEXA laser cutter has a 60W Co2 laser and max engraving speed of 900mm/s

  • HEXA can cut/engrave a range of materials but is best at cutting acrylic and also thin wood

  • Thicker wood is usually better cut by CNC/hand tools to avoid charring the edges of the wood

  • Youtube video of HEXA operation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoWGf26w2ug

  • Additional technical information on HEXA: https://flux3dp.com.au/pages/hexa