Peopoly announced the GIGA 800 FGF 3D printer.
Peopoly is a long-time 3D printer manufacturer based in Hong Kong. They first launched an SLA device back in 2015, followed by the Phenom large format MSLA resin 3D printer in 2019. In 2023, they entered the FFF world with the Magneto X system, which features linear motors.
Now they are stepping into yet another 3D print process, FGF (pellet printing) with the huge GIGA 800 FGF system.
As you might guess, the GIGA 800 is a large format system, and no surprise, the build volume just happens to be 800 x 800 x 800 mm. That’s extremely large, approximately the same volume as 30 Bambu Lab X1C’s.
The other innovation on this device is the FGF technology. The device accepts plastic pellets of many material types, including: ABS, ABS-CF, ABS-GF, ASA, ASA-CF, ASA-GF, PLA, PLA-CF, PETG, PETG-CF, PCTG, PPA-CF, PPA-GF, PA-CF, PET-CF, PET-GF, TPU 60A-95A, TPU-GF, and PEBA. This is basically everything that isn’t a high-temperature material.
The nozzle can reach 400C, and the build plate 120C. Stray heat is captured by the insulated enclosure, which is able to passively rise to 60C, likely with a warm-up period. The chamber is not actively heated.
All of those materials are readily available from suppliers, and there is a significant cost advantage. Pellets tend to be 10X less expensive than filament, because filament is made from pellets: filament production is an added cost. Also, pellets are used in many industries beyond 3D printing, so the volumes are far higher and therefore costs are lower.
This is a critical development for a large-volume 3D printer, because material costs are that much higher. However, imagine being able to print a huge object at 10X less cost than if you had printed it with filament.
Another challenge for large-format 3D printers is speed. In the old days, a large-format device of this size would literally spend days or weeks to complete a job. But in the GIGA 800 FGF, they’ve used Klipper to ensure print speeds are high.
In addition, the extrusion capability is significant: this machine can deposit up to 3kg of material per hour — enough to eat a typical 1kg spool of filament every 20 minutes. However, that rate likely requires the use of their 3.0mm nozzle.
Pellets are loaded into the hopper, and then fed through the system to extrusion. Some pellet 3D printers require an air-powered external hopper, but here the hopper is integrated and does not require compressed air.
This is a large machine, weighing 320kg, so shipping is non-trivial. The cost of the machine, however, is a mere US$15,000, which is far less than similar large-format devices. The system is not quite yet on sale, but you can apply for early access.
Via Peopoly
