There’s a very curious 3D print Kickstarter running now, FlyingBear APS.
What is it? It’s a “Platform auto-replacer” for 3D printers.
The problem being solved is one of human labor: when a job finishes on a 3D printer, a human must remove the plate, clean it, and replace it before the next job can commence. This usually means printers sit idle for a time while waiting for that to take place — inefficient.
The solution proposed by FlyingBear is to have an automatic method of swapping print plates. Completed plates are removed and stored for humans to pull off the parts, while a new empty place is inserted into the printer for the next job to start immediately.
“APS” stands for “Automated Production Platform”, and it is composed of two units: a plate inserter/storage system, and a plate receiver. The storage unit is set up on the right hand side of a FFF desktop 3D printer, and it pushes a plate towards the printer. This somehow pushes the existing plate off to the left, where it lands on the receiver unit. Multiple receiver units can be placed end to end, allowing for many plates to be stored after completion.
Does this work on any 3D printer? Absolutely not, as it seems the APS hardware is designed to work with the company’s Ghost 7 FFF 3D printer.
The Ghost 7 appears to be a standard FFF open-gantry style bedslinger, with typical features. They say that you cannot buy the APS separately, and must buy it with a Ghost 7. You can buy the Ghost 7 without the APS, although I wonder why anyone would.
Why so? It’s because there are so many outstanding 3D printers on the market today that are available at rock-bottom prices. Going for a brand new 3D printer from an unknown producer is a questionable move when there are so many good options. The Ghost 7, which is hardly described at all in the Kickstarter campaign, does not appear to have any stand out features that would compel you to buy it over any other current 3D printer.
In fact, most of the leading desktop 3D printers these days are of a more modern enclosed, CoreXY design. The bedslinger system of the Ghost 7 is more or less being retired by most of the major equipment providers at this point.
The early bird price for the Ghost 7 with APS is about US$389, said to be 40% off retail. That means the retail price would be about US$650. That seems a bit high for a FFF 3D printer of this style, even with a plate management system.
Now here is the most interesting part of this campaign: as of this writing, the number of backers is … ZERO. Not a single item has been ordered. The campaign ends today, so it is possible there might be a couple of sales.
What can we learn from this? I have several ideas:
- Continuous manufacturing is not a compelling feature for makers
- Continuous manufacturing might be seen more positively if marketed by a known player
- Interest in bedslinger style systems is dropping even faster than I expected
- It is now virtually impossible to launch a new brand of 3D printers on Kickstarter unless you are a big player
- Operators may want plate swapping technology, but only for their existing machines or for equipment brands they understand
- Do not try to sell new 3D printers based on an accessory
There are plenty of ways to perform continuous 3D printing these days, ranging from belt 3D printers to plate cycling accessories. But for most people, the way to get more prints done is to simply buy another machine.
Via Kickstarter
