A new Kickstarter is touting a 560 °C desktop printer capable of printing “ultra high-temperature materials” such as PEEK.
To achieve such temperatures, the Wisthink would leverage a pure copper heating block, tungsten steel nozzle, and air cooling system that would work to ensure stable, constant temperatures and prevent material clogging. A temperature control panel on the outside of the printer would allow users to change ambient, platform, and nozzle temperature mid-print.
The Wisthink also claims a top printing speed of 150 mm/s and a leveling-free design, with the build platform instead using negative pressure adsorption. Two sizes – a standard 280 x 280 x 280 mm and an “XL”, with a build volume of 450 x 350 x 580 mm – are currently listed. Users would control the machines via an LCD touchscreen.
Packages starting at $1,999 for the standard size and $2,599 for the XL would make the Wisthink a relatively affordable machine on the pro-sumer market, should it work as described. That claimed 560 °C max temperature would place it at the top of the list on our guide to PEEK printing. It’s also being positioned as the cheapest by far, with the closest “competitor” being the Intamsys Funmat HT, at an MSRP of $5,800.
Of course, this is a Kickstarter campaign, and you know what that means: be careful. That warning should take special effect here, however, as a machine claiming to be both the cheapest and hottest on the market warrants a healthy dose of skepticism. Granted, the Wisthink has already achieved its crowdfunding goal – but that goal, of just under $6,500, was a modest one indeed.
To learn more, check out the Wisthink’s Kickstarter page.
Editor's Note – This article highlights a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign. Kickstarter is not a shop; campaigns are under no legal obligation to deliver on crowdfunding promises, nor offer refunds on unfulfilled campaign rewards. For more insight, read our article 8 Things to Watch for When Backing a 3D Printing Kickstarter.
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License: The text of "This Kickstarter Wants to be an Affordable PEEK Printer" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.