News this week from Modix: they’re now shipping their massive MAMA-1700 3D printer.
Modix is well known for their increasingly huge 3D printers. Up to now most of those devices have been using the FFF process — using filament.
This is actually not the best idea for large prints, however, as the cost of the filament required for a huge 3D print job can be substantial. Instead, Modix has been gradually switching their product lines to the FGF process, which uses pellets instead of filament.
In fact, filament is literally made of pellets, so the FGF process effectively cuts out an entire step in the material production process — and saves a considerable amount of money. Pellets tend to be 5-10X less expensive than the same material in filament.
Pellets are readily available in many different materials, including PLA, ABS, PETG, PA, PP and it’s also for resin producers to make custom materials in pellet form.
The MAMA-1700, with a gigantic build volume of 1700 x 1000 x 1000 mm, is able to print huge, furniture-sized objects — including actual furniture pieces. It has a FGF extrusion system that is capable of printing up to 2.5kg per hour. If required, you can also install a FFF toolhead on the MAMA-1700, but you’ll be able to print only 0.5kg of material per hour.
The MAMA-1700 has an optional toolhead that provides fine details if required. Normally very large prints are made with large diameter nozzles because the presence of coarse layer lines doesn’t really matter for larger objects. But if some detail is required, the MAMA-1700 can do that, too.
Modix CEO Shachar Gafni told us:
“Pellet-based printing is, in our view, the natural path from prototyping to true production at large scale. It brings a step change in speed, material flexibility, and cost efficiency that filament systems simply can’t match when parts get big. This shift opens the door for entirely new business models and applications that were previously limited by the economics and pace of traditional FFF.”
That being so, Modix is committed to producing an entire line of large format FGF devices, starting with the MAMA-1700. We’re told they are working on several other FGF devices, including:
- The MAMA-1000, a FGF device similar to the 1700, but with a smaller and more affordable build volume, which will appear by the end of this year
- The MAMA-XL3000, an enormous FGF system with a build volume of 3000 x 1000 x 1000 mm, to be released early next year
We’re also told Modix can build custom systems with build volumes up to a staggering 5000 x 2000 x 1000 mm. Need to print a full size couch? This system could likely do that.
Modix seems to have found their niche in the 3D printing industry ecosystem: large format pellet 3D printing using the FGF process.
Via Modix
