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Satori Launches Kickstarter Campaign for New Large-Volume VL2800 3D Printer https://ift.tt/3vvYWaM After a long wait, it’s finally here: the Kickstarter campaign for the new large-volume, industrial-grade Satori 3D printer, the VL2800, officially launched this week, and in less than ten hours from starting had already raised more than its initial crowdfunding goal! The new Satori VL2800 MSLA system features an advanced 6K monoscreen, so artists and product designers can print large, precise models up to 27.8cm x 15.6 cm x 30 cm in size. Additionally, the London-based, female-led startup partnered up with established Chinese hobbyist-level 3D printing company Elegoo to launch its latest premium printer, the company’s second resin system following its compact ST1600.
So, let’s back up a little. When I last spoke to Satori founder and CEO Chengxi Wang, she told me that her inspiration for the new VL2800 actually came from Satori’s collaboration with industrial designer Mahdi Naim.
Naim collaborated again with Satori, this time to 3D print a medical-grade prosthetic leg for a social initiative in Africa on the new VL2800 printer. Wang said that the results were “beyond our expectations.” According to Satori’s newsletter, the goal here was “to make the 3D printing technology as approachable as possible, to empower global creatives and innovators with an affordable but powerful tool,” and in the case of Naim’s 3D printed prosthetic leg, it seems like this strategy worked.
Satori wanted to collaborate with Elegoo on the launch for this new printer in order to make the professional system more accessible. It’s actually rather fitting that Satori is partnering with a hobbyist printer company, as the startup itself was founded to fill a new need in resin printing that’s somewhere between hobby and industrial printers. For the price, hobby 3D printers generally achieve great results, but are less reliable, while industrial systems, as Satori explained, are “based on old technology and old patents.” Together, the two companies are offering this large-scale, premium industrial 3D printer that will be sold at a more affordable price so it’s more accessible to the innovators and designers wanting to print high-quality prototypes and figurines from their homes, studios, and offices.
This brought me to my next point. Satori successfully launched its ST1600 3D printer solely on its website, as opposed to using a crowdfunding campaign, so I wondered why they were going the Kickstarter route this time around.
She also reminded me that Satori wants “to push 3D printing awareness beyond the 3D printing community,” and explained that Kickstarter will allow the startup to do just that, at a more accessible price. On Kickstarter, there is a discount of 30%, or £925, off the actual MSRP of the new Satori VL2800, which is £3,075. Satori is awarding its loyal community with exclusive, much more reasonable prices on this professional resin system, with a first-come, first-serve, super early bird cost of £2,150.
Obviously, the shipping cost of the VL2800 will vary depending on the ultimate delivery destination. But, as Wang told me, the startup has “a very good delivery time with Kickstarter.” The printer’s development was validated with prototype systems, and, thanks to the support of Elegoo’s efficient manufacturing capacity, is ready to produce, so the estimated delivery time—starting in September of 2021—will be much shorter than the average crowdfunding campaign. With its 278 x 156 x 300 mm build volume, the factory-leveled printer is compact enough to fit on a desk, but big enough to print a whole bike helmet in one job, or efficiently batch produce large quantities of smaller items. A 6K mono screen allows the printer to achieve faster cure times and 51 micron pixel size across the entire build platform. Resin 3D printers are great at achieving intricate details, but it can be tough to ensure high-quality, smooth surfaces without distortions, especially with large-volume systems. Satori invested in premium components, like a steel Z-axis with a self-monitoring feature for the motor and a HIWIN KK module that uses a ball screw and closed loop stepper for better stability, to make certain that its printer could deliver the goods. Satori really listened to what its users wanted when designing the new VL2800, with a focus on designers in industries like architecture, animation, and jewelry. In addition to the previously mentioned partnership with industrial designer Mahdi Naim, Satori also worked with jewelry designer and SWAROVSKI scholar Siohban Wallace of Shhh von Studio to create a large-scale, interconnected chain necklace, which was 3D printed in all its intricate detail on the VL2800.
Satori set the original Kickstarter funding goal at a little under $71,000, which equals roughly £50,154, and in just two days they’ve already raised over $100,000 (£70,830), so it’s safe to say that the VL2800 will indeed be successfully funded, not that I really doubted it for a second. With more than 30 days to go in the campaign, there are still plenty of rewards left, such as a limited edition, structural phone stand created by Mahdi Naim and printed on the Satori VL2800 for a £50 pledge. Each of the three early bird rewards includes the new 3D printer, 1 kg of premium Grey Pro resin, and some tools to get started, like gloves, resin filters, a wide blade spatula, a silicone squeegee, and more.
Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com May 28, 2021 at 07:36AM
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