最近，3D Systems宣布他们将放弃3D打印消费者/生产商市场。他们给出了几个原因，很少有听起来很有说服力或合理，但后来不是我的公司，所以我真的不在乎。但是，我确实发现这比具有讽刺意味的是，正如3D系统即将退出一样，即将引入一些真正的创新和创意机器。由于某种原因，这让我想起了IBM和PC2。
One such innovative company is a small printer firm that goes by the very un-Korean name of “Former’s Farm” and was founded in May 2013. For most of their history, they have operated in a manner that can only be described as “stealth mode”. To operate, they have been selling a very high quality, mostly hand-built, FDM 3D printer called the “Sprout”.
They now seem to be ready to step out of the shadows and take their place on the world stage…in a manner of speaking. First they introduced the “Sprout Mini,” designed for the dental market and just last month theyformed a partnership with Materialiseto improve their 3D printing software.
Former’s Farm is attending the upcoming CES 2016 next month, and wait until you see what they are bringing! They will introduce two new machines, and these do not look like your run-of-the-mill 3D printers, nor do they operate like them. To be quite honest, they look like they were designed by Apple… or, at the very least, deliberately designed to complement your Apple Mac.
第一个称为“ Picarv”打印机。使它有趣的是它被设计为照片岩石印刷机。它似乎是为了使岩石媒体易于为普通用户打印，就像您的家用喷墨打印机上的数码照片一样。打印机可与智能手机应用程序一起使用，该应用程序控制打印过程，并使用以下操作：首先您下载应用程序，一旦该应用程序连接到打印机，您就可以选择要打印的照片，选择蛋t（Lithophane Frame），然后选择点击“打印”。就是这样。我不知道它是否可以用于更多的“传统” 3D打印，但其大小似乎表明它可能是。
The second machine is called the “Olmo” which is designed for more serious Makers. And, while it is a very attractive machine, it is more than just pretty. Former’s Farm is one of the first 3D printer companies to use the innate advantages of 3D printers to improve 3D printers. What they have done is invented a new type of extruder nozzle unlike any other I have seen or heard about.
他们的新喷嘴同时使用两个单独的细丝，将两个塑料分开或根据用户的需求混合。虽然我们以前曾经看过多丝挤出机，即使是使用单个热台的挤出机，这种挤出机也会显得不同。据先生说。JiHuhn Kang, the company’s CTO, they have found a way of using two different filaments, melting them reliability, mixing them (or not) accurately, while eliminating the oozing and unintended cross-contamination that has plagued previous designs. Mr. Kang told me that his original idea was to be able to print both build material and support material from the same nozzle…which he can now do.
我知道我在描述它方面做得很糟糕，但是请相信我……太酷了……您必须看到它要欣赏它。轻巧，小，坚固，多才多艺。因此，如果您今年1月要去CES，请务必在以前的农场摊位上停下来看看。我相信您会像我一样留下深刻的印象。现在，他们决定进入主流市场，我敢肯定，我们将听到并从现在（现在）的小公司中看到更多。他们的网站（在韩语）是：formersfarm.com。
