We had a look at a new large-format FFF 3D printer, the F9 from Aura3D.
You almost certainly have not heard of Aura3D before, and that’s because they are a very, very new company. The Florida-based company founded only at the end of 2024, and their domain name was registered this January.
That said, they somehow are producing and marketing not just the F9 described in this story, but also a smaller F6, a much larger F12, three resin 3D printers, and several high-temperature variants.
The F9, a “midrange” device for Aura3D, has an enormous build volume of 910 x 860 x 1000 mm, enabling the production of large polymer parts. The larger F12’s build volume is 1200 x 1200 x 1200 mm, and we were told that Aura3D can build custom-sized 3D printers if requested. For example, you could ask for a 2400 x 2400 x 2400 mm device.
The build plate, shown here, can be a removable PEI-coated plate, much like those on desktop 3D printers. However, the F9 can also accommodate aluminum or tempered glass build plates. The plate can be heated up to 120C.
The standard toolhead maximum temperature for the F9 is a healthy 350C, with an option to raise it to 450C. There is, in fact, an “HT” variant of the F9 that can handle high-temperature materials.
As you might guess, the F9 can handle a variety of nozzle diameters. In addition to the sub-2mm range, they can go up to 0.8mm for faster printing of large, coarse prints.
The F9 can be configured in either FFF or FGF mode. For FFF, it can handle either 1.75 or 2.85 mm filament, and the FGF pellet hopper can hold up to 5kg of material.
We’re told that the machines are now on sale in the USA and Europe, and that the cost of the F9 is about US$20,000. That’s a pretty decent price for such a large 3D printer.
Via Aura3D
