Atomstack Cambrian 3D printer
Atomstack Technology reached out to me with a printer they are kickstarting, or were kickstarting since it’s been funded in under 300 seconds.
Sounds like they have a good potential product, lets have a look at it!
This machine promises incredible TPU, or no I mean TPR, which is they soft rubber filament, features for the users. It sounds like cool applications but maybe not the first thing most of us look for when getting a 3D Printer.
Atomstack thought about that and are providing a 1.75mm extruder for regular FDM filament as well! So you get 2 extruders (swappable), one 1.75mm FDM extruder and one 2.85mm TPR extruder. Interesting, let’s see what they promise..
Cambrain Pro specifications
Print volume: 235x235x250mm
Layer Thickness: 0,1-0,3mm recommended
Print Speed: 100mm/s
Extrusion type: Direct extrusion
Supported materials: TPR, PLA, ABS, TPE, TPU, PA+, PETG, others
Z-axis components: Twin screw dual motor
Software: Cura and other “mainstream 3d printing software”
OS: Windows/MacOS
Connectivity: SD card or “online”
User interface: 4.3” LCD Touch screen
Features: Filament runout sensor
Warranty: 1 year (probably limited)
Cambrain MAX specifications
Print volume: 330x320x380mm
Layer Thickness: 0,1-0,3mm recommended
Print Speed: 100mm/s
Extrusion type: Direct extrusion
Supported materials: TPR, PLA, ABS, TPE, TPU, PA+, PETG, others
Z-axis components: Twin screw dual motor
Software: Cura and other “mainstream 3d printing software”
OS: Windows/MacOS
Connectivity: SD card or “online”
User interface: 4.3” LCD Touch screen
Features: Filament runout sensor
Warranty: 1 year (probably limited)
Highlighted features of Cambrain Pro 3D Printer
Swappable extruders
The whole selling point of this 3D Printer is it’s rubber TPR (Thermo Plastic Rubber) that seems to be a version of TPU that performs much better considering elasticity, meaning you have a much more rubber-fell than regular TPU. At least thats what the article describes.
Tradtionally it’s very hard to extrude soft filaments since they want to espace every opening in the machine. Its also very hard to control the movements since the material flexes, you have to know it’s material properties to create a profile that will print it as intended.
The Atomstack Cambrian tries to solve this issue by making a dedicated TPR extruder that handles soft materials in an optimal way, making it easier for you as an user.
Naturally, you don’t want to be limited to ONLY soft materials, which is why Atomstack Cambrian also comes with a 1.75mm standard FDM extruder for your normal filament, which is a great approach to the issues!
Atomstack Cambrain 3D Printer features
Although the Atomstack Cambrain 3D Printer seems to be a generic frame construction, that we see in many printers around us, it does promise some simple assembly and additional features.
For example, the LCD touch screen looks very nice and the Z-axis with dual screws/motors feels pretty important!
The bed is also a lattice glass bad that’s of course heated as well.
I do have to point out that the flat cables run on the machine are not something I trust. I’ve had a bunch of these wires break or wear out fast. The connectors also get strong loads and have to be designed well, something that is hard to see in the kickstarter pictures.
Why soft TPR filaments?
Creativity is of course the only limitation when it comes to printing soft materials. Atomstack seem to think you will print shoe designs, footwear, medical shoe implants and other products with it’s TPR filament.
I guess this is up for debate on what you’d actually print. If you have any ideas please let me know below!
One really cool thing is that Atomstack Cambrain promises great lattice 3D printing, something that the superior control of the TPR filament might actually offer.
You can see some examples of lattice 3D Printing here, but it really works best in parts of an design, like the shoe below.
Atomstack Cambrain 3D Printer on kickstarter
Overall the Atomstack Cambrain 3D Printer looks like an interesting 3D Printer. If you want the TPR and soft filament 3D printing capabilities you should consider checking out the kickstarter page and reading up on the risks of backing a kickstarter project, and then look at what type of reward you’d like to back.
