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Mimaki opens up full 3D color printing for less than €40K with 3DUJ-2207 UV-LED 3D printer
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Mimaki Europe, a manufacturer of wide-format inkjet printers and cutters, has unveiled its newest full color UV-LED 3D printer, the 3DUJ-2207, which it believes will turn the full color 3D printing market on its head with its entry-level price point.
Announced this afternoon at Formnext Connect, the 3DUJ-2207 will be commercially available for less than €40,000, opening the door to full color 3D printing for swathes of entry-level customers for which it is currently economically unattainable.
During the press launch, general sales manager of Mimaki Europe, Ronald Van Den Broek, spoke of his excitement in bringing this ‘historic launch’ to the market.
“Every now and then there is a product that comes to the market, and you know that it is going to change something,” he said. “For the 3DUJ-2207, this is one of those products. I am very excited to start selling this product next year, and to start making people enthusiastic about using this technology. ”
Potential entrants to the 3D full color market won’t have too long to wait, as the 3DUJ-2207 is expected to be operational in January 2021 and become commercially available by April.
The new Mimaki 3DUJ-2207 UV-LED full color 3D printer. Image via Mimaki.Features of the 3DUJ-2207
The 3DUJ-2207 can be seen as the little brother to Mimaki’s existing 3DUJ-553, which became commercially available in 2018. The 3DUJ-2207 shares the same technology as its predecessor, including the same resins, support material, and software, but features a much smaller build plate area of 20x20x7.6 cm. The smaller desktop-size model is based on Mimaki’s UJF-3024 engine, and is designed to provide a flexible and scalable entry-level option for people and businesses wanting to make a start in 3D full color printing.
Mimaki’s UV-LED technology works through jetting a resin which is then ‘pinned’ by a UV light, a process which uses just enough UV to ensure the ink drop is as round as possible sticks in the same place where it lands, in order to prove the accuracy and quality of the print.
Then, a small roller smooths the layer along the print bed, which is then cured and repeated in an ongoing process.
The new printer also features Mimaki’s Colour Matching technology, ICC Profiling, which is built upon the firm’s many years of experience in color printing. ICC Profiling calibrates the colors in question in order to make sure that the printed colors match those of the design when viewed on a monitor. Some 10 million full color ICC profiles are available for printing through Mimaki’s machines, ensuring that what you see is what you get.
The 3DUJ-2207 is fitted with two newly developed high-resolution print heads with 1,200 ppi, producing prints with the same, if not better, quality as the larger 3DUJ-553. The process utilizes a water-soluble support material which is easily washed away at the end of the printing process.
The Mimaki 3DUJ-553 full color 3D printer. Image via MimakiApplications for the 3DUJ-2207
Due to its size, vibrant color offering, and high print quality, the 3DUJ-2207 can be used to facilitate numerous applications involving scaled models, prototyping, medical applications, education, and even figurines and gaming.
For scaled models, designs can be visualized faster as a result of quicker print times due to the machine’s smaller build area, while allowing flexibility in the re-editing and re-printing of models. For prototyping purposes, highly detailed models of final products can be achieved and can be printed in white, color, or clear to give a real indication as to what the final product will look like.
The printer is particularly interesting to the medical, education, and figurine and gaming sectors, as it can print sharp scanned models in color which require highly precise printed details, including those needed to replicate textures and intricate features.
Another important aspect of the 3DUJ-2207 is its scalability. Due to its affordability, individuals, educational institutions, or small businesses could scale up their production with the addition of several machines. Once familiar with full color 3D printing, and if they wish to scale up their activities further, these organizations could then look to Mimaki’s larger, industrial-scale 3DUJ-553.
Mimaki and full color printing
Since first announcing its 3DUJ-553 full color 3D printer in 2017, the Mimaki team has been busy studying the market and its competitors. After realizing there was a need for a smaller entry-level machine in the market at a more affordable price point, the company set about designing the 3DUJ-2207.
Prior to this, though, the firm brought to the market a new large scale system that uses Gel Dispensing Printing technology, called the 3DGD-1800. This 3D printer was designed as a solution for sign and display applications across a number of diverse sectors. Combining its 2D and 3D printing expertise, the company’s inkjet printers can be used to add further design choices in the form of color and decorations to 3D printed objects.
Mimaki has also previously partnered with The Smithsonian Exhibits’ (SIE) studios, in Landover, Maryland, to install a 3DUJ-553 3D printer to support the development of engaging exhibits, as well as produce 3D printed models for public programs.
Over in the gaming sector, Mimaki’s 3DUJ-553 was used to 3D print an intricate model of the winning design of a competition run by Minecraft, the popular sandbox video game created by Swedish developer Mojang.
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Featured image shows the new Mimaki 3DUJ-2207 UV-LED full color 3D printer. Image via Mimaki.
Tags 3DGD-1800 3DUJ-2207 3DUJ-553 ICC Profiling Mimaki Mimaki Europe minecraft Mojang Ronald van den Broek The Smithsonian Exhibit UJF-3024
Hayley Everett
Hayley is a Technology Journalist for 3DPI and has a background in B2B publications spanning manufacturing, tools and cycling.
Writing news and features, she holds a keen interest in emerging technologies which are impacting the world we live in.
HP Jet Fusion 580 vs. Mimaki 3DUJ-553 vs. Stratasys J750
Major changes are afoot in the color 3D printing market with multiple new technologies expected to become widely available this year. A quick rundown on everything that is happening: HP is expected to launch their new color 3D printer; the Mimaki 3DUJ-553 full-color 3D printer is expected to become more widely available; and additional software updates are expected to come to the Stratasys J750 color 3D printer that will help enhance color quality. In this post we’ll go over how each of these color 3D printers work, show sample 3D prints and discuss where each fits into the broader market compared to one another. Here is quick summary:
- Stratasys J750- It’s been on the market for a few years now and through a recent software update color accuracy has greatly improved to now be on par with the Mimaki 3DUJ-553.
That said, it is the most expensive of these three 3D printers machine and material-wise. - Mimaki 3DUJ-553- The Mimaki color 3D printer just recently became available in the U.S. Of these 3 printers, it has the best color quality, but loses to the HP Jet Fusion 580 when it comes to machine and material cost. You can read our full review here.
- HP Jet Fusion 580- The HP color 3D printer is expected to be released later this year. Details are still scant, but the printer could be quite impressive if it lives up to the hype that HP is putting around it.
Current State of Color 3D Printing
Before we dive in, let's discuss the current state of the color 3D printing market. While there are multiple full color 3D printers currently on the market, the Projet 660 has largely remained the industry standard. While there are a few nuances, the 2 main reasons it has remained on top are it’s resolution and material cost when compared with competing full-color 3D printers.
You can read more here on why the Projet 660 is specifically the most popular 3D printer for 3D printed figurines, one of the main applications for color 3D printing. Despite all of this, the Projet 660 still leaves a lot to be desired with regards to reliability, quality, consistency and material cost- all things that we hope to see this latest generation of color 3D printers improve upon.
How it works
The Stratasys J750 color 3D printer uses a polyjet 3D printing process, similar to the Mimaki color 3D printer. The polyjet printing process consists of resin that is jetted out of ink heads and then later cured by UV light to harden it. One downside of the polyjetting approach with resin is the need for support material which typically increases the cost of printing and can sometimes prove difficult to remove
Machine and Material Cost
The Stratasys is rumored to cost between $300k and $400k and has a material cost that is 60% more expensive than the Mimaki 3DUJ-553.
Specs
| Build size | 490 x 390 x 200 mm |
| Print Mode / Thickness | High Speed / 27-micron High Quality / 14-micron (X-axis: 600 dpi; Y-axis: 600 dpi; Z-axis: 1800 dpi) |
Where it fits in
While the J750 has gotten a lot better with color accuracy since it was first launched, it is still a more expensive machine and more expensive to operate than the Mimaki full-color 3D printer. From a 3D printed figurine perspective, unless you want to use one of the J750’s other qualities, such as being able to 3D print in transparent material, it probably makes sense to always print with Mimaki. See below for a sample print from the J750:
Mimaki 3DUJ-553Check out our recent blog post for a full write up on the Mimaki 3DUJ-553 full-color 3D printer.
How it works
Similar to the Stratasys J750 full-color 3D printer, the Mimaki uses a polyjetting printing process to 3D print.
The basic process is:
- Resin is fired out of inkjet print heads and cured by a UV LED light
- Once it completes a layer, a roller flattens out the layer and the UV LED light is fired again
- After a layer is complete, the build platform moves down and the process repeats
*Dissolvable support materials are used in cases where a part has an overhang
Price
The Mimaki costs ~$250k and has material costs ~4x over the 3D Systems Projet 660 color 3D printer.
Specs
| Build Size | 508 x 508 x 305 mm |
| Print Mode / Resolution / Thickness | Fast / 600 dpi / 42 micron Standard / 800 dpi / 32 micron High Quality 1270 dpi / 22 micron |
Where it fits in
Excerpt from our prior post on Mimaki:
Although, the Mimaki can produce very high quality parts, the major caveat is that the material is much more expensive compared to the material used for the Projet 660.
This makes it cost prohibitive to 3D print at the larger sizes on the Mimaki full-color 3D printer. Until material prices come down, the Mimaki 3DUJ-553 full-color 3D printer will likely be limited to 3D printing only small, high resolution parts when it comes to the 3D printed figurine market.
Below is a sample print from the Mimaki 3DUJ-553:
HP Jet Fusion 580How it works
As the name implies, the HP Jet Fusion 580 uses a multi jet fusion process to 3D print. Multi jet fusion works by first spreading a thin layer of power over a bed. Inkjet nozzles then pass over the power and release agents (to both fuse and prevent from fusing) on different parts of the powder bed. Next, a high energy IR source passes over the power to sinter the powder together. The process repeats many times until a full 3D object is created. Once complete the unsintered powder is recycled to use in another print build.
Price
We still don’t have full details on what the color version of the HP Jet Fusion 580 will cost, but past press articles have mentioned ~$100k. As for materials, it is still anyone’s guess until HP releases their new color 3D printer.
Specs
The current monochrome HP Jet Fusion 580’s specs are:
| Build Size | 332 x 190 x 248 mm |
| Layer thickness / Resolution | 80 micron / 1200 dpi |
Where it fits in
Of the 3 3D printers we’ve reviewed today, the HP Jet Fusion 580 is the most difficult to evaluate since it is still unreleased. If materials are priced similar to the HP Jet Fusion 580 monochrome 3D printer, then HP’s new color 3D printer could very well replace the Projet 660. Stay tuned. We’ll update this blog post as more details get released in the coming months.
ConclusionOnly time will tell how these full color 3D printing technologies get adopted by industry.
With this latest wave of color 3D printers, we'll likely see new applications for 3D printing made possible just as we did with 3D printed figurines in the last wave circa 2014. The main things to watch in this wave are increased resolution, stronger materials and cheaper material costs. As a company whose product is deeply connected to the capabilities of full-color 3D printers, we're very excited for what these new technologies will mean for our customers.
Want to see examples of what the current generation of color 3D printers can do?
3D printer Mimaki 3DUJ-553 - Studia3D
3D printer Mimaki 3DUJ-553
12000000.00 ₽
Available for pre-order
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Description
General information
The Mimaki 3DUJ-553 3D printer is the first in the world to use over 10 million colors with the company's professional 2D inkjet technology.
Mimaki 3DUJ-553 with its rich palette is suitable for creating final products - models of real objects or buildings.
nine0017 Mimaki 3DUJ-553 3D printer adopts inkjet printing ink UV curing method. Modeling is done with UV inks (C, M, Y, K, white, transparent) and includes printing, curing and overlay layer by layer. The color is not applied during the final processing, but is modeled using color inks, which ensures a subtle reproduction of the entire palette of colors. Color ink modeling (CMYK, white, transparent) covers 84% of the Fogra 39L color gamut and 90% of the SWOP gamut. When modeling with color ink with a high degree of transparency, external light is reflected from the surface of the white ink layer, which gives good color modeling against the background of the white layer. nine0017 With original waveform control technology and high-precision ejection technology, the placement of ink droplets in the 3D printer has achieved its goal. This high precision makes it possible to create complex modeling objects focused on detailed finishing.
A water-soluble substance is used as a support material.
The substrate is easily washed off, soaking in water. This excludes damage to the object (scratches, cracks) that can occur when cutting or tearing off the substrate from the object. nine0017 The Mimaki 3DUJ-553 3D printer uses ink curing by UV irradiation. The UV LEDs of the light source have almost no thermal effect on the object, and no start-up time is required for illumination. Long service life and energy saving can reduce operating costs.
Mimaki 3DUJ-553 is the world's first inkjet 3D printer equipped with a print head with ink circulation technology. Stable ink ejection of the print head prevents ink pigment from settling. The ink circulation system removes air bubbles that cause clogged nozzles, maintaining optimal ink spatter. nine0017 The printer is equipped with a video camera that allows the user to monitor the status of the printer and print. This eliminates the overspending of material for modeling.Characteristics:
Manufacturer: Mimaki
Type: UV
Purpose: 3D printing
Printing type: color
Printing technology: UV curing inkjet
Printing speed: 10.
8 cc/s
Number of colors: 6
Print resolution : 600 x 300 x 1270 DPI
Color scheme: C M Y K Wh Cl
Materials used: UV ink
Working area size: 508 x 508 x 305 mm
Interface: Ethernet
Electrical requirements: 100-120V/220-240V, 50/60Hz
Software: Layout software (Mimaki 3D Link)
Dimensions: 2130 x 1335 x 1320 mm
Weight: 590 kg (with ink) -
Parts
Product features
Weight 550 kg Dimensions 213 × 133.5 × 132 cm nine0055Country of origin Japan
Manufacturer Mimaki
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Mimaki Announces Ten Million Color Desktop Color 3D Printer
News
Mimaki has announced the 3DUJ-2207 color photopolymer 3D printer, which fits on a tabletop and is capable of reproducing over ten million colors.
nine0007
Mimaki is a well-known manufacturer of office equipment, but the Japanese company entered the market of additive technologies quite recently, three years ago. More precisely, she not so much entered as kicked open the door, immediately releasing a full-fledged color 3D printer 3DUJ-553 ( in the illustration below ), relying on photopolymer resin deposition technology and offering the possibility of full color reproduction in extended autotype CMYK + W with reproduction of more than ten million shades. Before Mimaki, only Stratasys Corporation could boast of such equipment with its line of 3D printers using PolyJet technology, which includes color options. nine0007
Just six months after the premiere, the heads of 3D Systems and its 3D printers turned pale at the same time when the new 3DUJ-553 pushed the gypsum additive systems of the American company into the arsenal of i.materialise, one of the leading additive online services, which appreciated the opportunity 3D prints of whistles and gnomes in higher resolution and richer colors.
But so far we've only been talking about large-scale additive systems with price tags measured in hundreds of thousands of dollars. And now Mimaki has gone ahead, announcing a conditionally desktop system (after all, 140 kilos and almost a meter in height), completely similar in capabilities to older brothers, with the exception of two factors - the size of the construction area, reduced from 508x508x305 to 203x203x76 mm, and the cost . nine0007
The 3DUJ-2207 3D printer is tentatively valued at about forty thousand euros, that is, somewhere five times cheaper than 3DUJ-553 - the amount is still considerable, but much more acceptable for small, medium-sized businesses and rich Pinocchio. In addition, a new 3D printer will not have to allocate a separate workshop or evict the mother-in-law. The closest competitor is the Stratasys J55 system, announced this spring - also quite compact, but about twice as expensive (about $ 100 thousand) and reproducing "only" half a million shades.
