GarageBot3D: Profabb’s Foldable 3D Printer Redefines Large-Scale Printing
Kerry Stevenson, witting for Fabbaloo:
"I saw the most unusual 3D printer at Formnext, the GarageBot3D."
“An affordable addition to the pellet-based market”
"Janis Grinhofs, CEO of pellet 3D printing startup Profabb, believes “there is still room for many players” in the industry. He does not anticipate a scenario where a few companies will dominate the market, due to specialized application needs and growing demand for low-cost systems.
At Formnext, Profabb unveiled its €24,000 GarageBot large-format pellet 3D printer, an affordable addition to the pellet-based market. Grinhofs likened the industry to a car showroom. Customers may walk in and be attracted to a high-end Lamborghini, but most walk out with an affordable and dependable Polo. “I think it’s largely similar here,” he added. While customers request compatibility with high-performance materials like PEEK, Grinhofs believes many applications can be served with PP, ABS and other commodity plastics at an affordable price point."
“Favorite 3D Printer at Formnext: GarageBot”
"I loved this Europellet-sized 3D printer. Made in Riga the GarageBot is a rough and ready machine tool for your local garage, garden center, workshop or school. The machine can print continuously and can be folded shut for transport or to print as a regular gantry system. I was walking around with Materialise founder Fried Vancraen, and he has been looking for 3D printers for garden centers for many years. More than an idiosyncratic obsession, this is a focus on making relevant objects close to consumers at a price and scale that they can enjoy. The GarageBot to me is a step towards that elusive goal. Parts look a bit rough still but price, throughput and size are there. Costing less than $30,000 the printer is affordable and makes things at a very low cost per part. It is able to make human scale things while printing either filament or pellets. Parts can be up to a 150 Kg and 5000mm long while productivity could be as much as 0.8 Kg/h. Regular build volume is 800 by 2000mm by 1000mm. I love the types of things this 3D printer makes possible."
3DOptimizer for ProFabb 3D printers
ProFabb will be working together with FabControl to enable our GarageBot3D™ and Anysint™ 3D printers to use FabControl's 3DOptimizer software for 3D printing process parameter development.
Collaboration on CNT-reinforced materials
ProFabb announces R&D cooperation with 3DStrongTech to develop and test 3D printing materials made from recycled commodity polymers with CNT (carbon nanotube) reinforcement. ProFabb will test the materials on it's GarageBot3D™ FGF 3D printers and contribute it's know-how of the FGF process and process parameter development to advance the printability and real-world usability of the jointly developed materials in a number of pilot applications.