3D Printers set the trend

The demands on schools and education are constantly changing. New technologies are changing the world of teachers and learners - but they also offer countless new possibilities. Fabmaker brings this new world directly into the classroom. In today's information society, schools should make students media-competent and enable them to use innovative technologies with confidence and responsibility. 3D printing makes it possible to print digital data and make it comprehensible - from the own idea to design and production to the own product. This results in countless interdisciplinary applications across different classes and subjects.

Fabmaker's secure and easy-to-use 3D printer was developed specifically for the needs of the education and training sector. A high level of operational safety is ensured by the closed print room, the safety glass and the lockable door. The 3D printer also has an innovative filter system for emission reduction. With its plug-and-play principle and optional network connection, the 3D Printer enables simple, fast and autonomous printing. Due to its use in the educational sector, it must function reliably and be maintenance-free. Since the target group has very different levels of technical training, the printer must be able to forgive operating errors. After all, the 3D printer is essentially a teaching tool that must be available at all times and must function fail-safe for many years.

In addition, the low-maintenance device has a special focus on ease of use. The large installation space and the possible variety of materials as well as the exchangeable print head system and the automatic print bed alignment make printing child's play. Two print heads are required to process filaments in two colors or two different materials. One of the main criteria is the precise, vibration-free positioning of the two print heads. Through the heads' nozzles flow the filaments, heated to 250 °C, in order to create the desired contours in the melt layer process. The requirement is "not as accurate as possible", but "as accurate as necessary". The prerequisite for this is a high-precision linear room portal on which the print heads are moved in x, y and z direction. This guide should not only be precise, but also lubricant-free and as maintenance-free as possible. At temperatures above two hundred degrees, no lubricant such as oil or grease may escape and contaminate the object to be printed or the working area. Despite all the requirements, the price for such a linear guide should remain within reasonable limits.

In the selection of the components, Fabmaker relied on proven industry solutions, as the cooperation between Fabmaker and igus shows. The following requirements had to be taken into account: durable, forgiving of operating errors and cost effective. This was possible with the linear guides and gantry systems from igus consisting of lubricant-free iglidur high-performance polymers. Moreover, a whisper-quiet and smooth operation is ensured. The gantries are of modular design. This allows the dimensions to be adapted to the requirements.

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