If you’ve never seen a MassPortal 3D printer, you should.
The Latvia-based company has been making delta-style 3D printers for some years. I first encountered them years ago in Germany where they were astoundingly 3D printing an object with the printer on its side!
And yes, the print completed successfully. I’ve never seen any other machine do this – although some may be able to do so.
However, since then the company has been gradually improving the device and now maintains a relatively sophisticated line of delta 3D printers.
They have today two models, with two flavors of each. The Pharaoh ED and XD have build volumes of 200mm diameter x 200mm height (cylindrical volume expressed for the delta-style machine). Then there’s the Grand Pharaoh ED and XC, with a massive build volume of 400 x 400mm.
What’s the difference between the ED and XD? The ED offers only the “essentials”, while the XD is a fully-loaded machine. The ED versions include a single extruder, while the XD includes two (on the Pharaoh XD), and THREE extruders (on the Grand Pharaoh)!
All machines use delta technology, implemented by MassPortal with linear guides for very smooth and quiet operation. I can attest to this by personally listening to their machine work – it’s very quiet.
The machines also offer swappable nozzles with 0.2, 0.4 and 0.8mm sizes. The 0.8mm nozzle enables you to print larger objects much faster, as it can extrude 4X as much material. Meanwhile, the 0.2mm nozzle permits finely detailed printing, much more so than the standard 0.4mm nozzle you’d find on typical desktop 3D printers.
How detailed? This detailed.
This is a #3DBenchy print, a standard test 3D model we’ve often used. But notice how SMALL this print appears. It’s not microscopic, but the smaller #3DBenchys can fit INTO the standard size version.
Here’s another example of a finely detailed object. Not bad!
The system is also designed to handle higher temperature materials: the hot end can hit 300C, and the build plate can go up to 120C.
All Pharaohs include automatic calibration to ensure each print works reliably. If you didn’t notice, the machine includes transparent walls to fully enclose the build chamber, capturing heat to also increase print reliability.
Finally, each machine comes with a licensed copy of Simplify3D, one of the best third party slicing engines for 3D printers you can find.
While these are certainly very powerful machines, they are not inexpensive. Here is a price breakdown by model:
- Pharaoh ED €2,700 (USD$2,965)
- Pharaoh XD €3,700 (USD$4,060)
- Grand Pharaoh ED €7,000 (USD$7,700)
- Grand Pharaoh XD €9,000 (USD$9,900)
If you’re looking for a very nice delta-style 3D printer, MassPortal could be what you’re looking for.
Via MassPortal
