Japanese company Lunavast, part of a-z-ia.net Ltd., has announced the CrafteHbot full-colour 3D printer DIY kit after two years of development.
The currently patent pending technology, called “Direct to Object”, uses a hacked inkjet 2D printing system to apply colour to the surface of the object after it is 3D printed. Therefore, the 3D printed object is rotated in order for the system to colour it from different angels.
As the kit doesn’t include the inkjet printer, users will have to purchase it separately in Lunavast’s online store and then hack it to be mounted on the 3D printer. This is probably a project for more tech-savvy DIYers. The developers also explain that the system will not work with more complicated 3D printed shapes, as the ink spraying distance is just 10 mm. 
To work around the problem, users will have to divide the object into several pieces for them to be coloured and then reassembled.
The CrafteHbot features a rigid aluminum frame and is able to 3D print single colour objects with a maximum size of 200 x 200 x 200 mm, while full-colour printing is limited to 150 x 150 x 150 mm. Equipped with two Bondtech QR extruders and E3D V6 hot ends, the device can build more comples objects, using one of the extruders for support material.
Check out the video below to get an idea how the colouring process works:
The Lunavast CrafteHbot 3D printer DIY kit will be available from February 25th, 2016 and sell for the price of $ 2,499.
Technical specifications:
- Technology: Fused deposition manufacturing (FDM)
- Painting method: Direct to Object
- Build size: Single color output 200 x 200 x 200 mm
- Full color painting: 150 x 150 x 150 mm
- Layer height 0.1 – 0.3 mm
- Materials: PLA/PETG/ABS etc.
- Filament diameter: 1.75 mm
- Nozzle diameter: 0.4 mm
- Printing speed: 50-150 mm/s
- Extruder: Bondtech QR Double drive gear（Dual extruders）
- Hot end: E3D V6
- Electronics RADDS + Arduino Due (32bit ARM Coretex M3)
- Firmware: aprinter
- Inkjet printer: EPSON R230 (Required separately)
- Host software: Repetier-Host + Inkjet control plugin
- Color model processing software: Blender
- Operation system: Windows 7
- Weight: 30kg
- Dimensions: 130cm x 70cm x 70cm
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