It seems like the 3D printing market is throwing out curveballs lately when it comes to technology innovations and price points.
The latest pitch I came across is from Mcor Technologies, a company based in Ireland that bills itself as the only maker of a printer that uses ordinary (A4/letter-size) printer paper, instead of the powdery plastic or resin substances employed by most competitors, to make 3D objects.
You read that right. I said ordinary paper. Before you get too skeptical, check out some of the Mcor Technologies YouTube channel videos. They show that the Matrix 300 3D's water-based printing process can churn out some
pretty impressive-looking prototypes that don’t look or sound like they were produced using paper.
The Mcor Matrix 300 uses ordinary new or used A4 paper to make 3D objects. The setup greatly reduces operating costs.
Mcor is pitching its paper-based technology as a cost-effective alternative to the traditional cadre of 3D printers. Pricing on commercial 3D printers (even those at the higher end) has come down significantly over the last few years. Nevertheless, Deirdre MacCormack, Mcor’s chief marketing officer, told us that the cost of running the machines -- everything from regular maintenance fees to stocking the materials -- often makes the value proposition hard for many companies to justify, especially smaller ones.
“The big inhibiting factor in this market is the high cost of running these machines,” MacCormack said. “While the commercial printers are all coming down in price, the cost to run them remains exceptionally high. It’s the same model with a 2D printer -- you can now get the printer for cheap, but purchasing the cartridges for the printers can get expensive.”
I could see ths being used in the auto industry for tight packaging applications under the hood. It's one thing to see such applications on screen, it's another to be able to hold it in your hand and slide it down under the jumble of wires and other components.
I can see this 3D printer turning up on one of those cable TV crime channels (Investigation Discovery) as being used in attempted counterfeiting. Must be very tempting to someone out there. (On the lighter side, I can see paper-based 3D printing taking origami into heretofore uncharted territory.)
I like your point about the recycling aspects of the printer, Jon. I'm not sure about exactly how the process works and there is little technical information on the site. Based on my conversations with the company, they say the printer can and is being used overseas for rapid prototyping of parts--in particular, they mentioned a medical device company using it for vaccum forming and some companies using it to prototype packaging. I'm not sure I see it in use for part prototyping that requires precise tolerances, however.
When you finish, the waste goes in the paper-recycle bin. The model can go in there, too, when you finish with it. A nice tool for models but I'd like more information about tolerances. Many of the prototype printers that use plastics have good tolerances that let parts fit together and "operate." Does this type of paper-based prototype let users do that? I'd also like to know more about the technology and how the moving head cuts and glues the paper. Very clever.
That's pretty amazing all right. I would imagine that this might be targeted at users who need prototypes that don't need to last long. Is that right Beth?
I felt the same, Jenn. I didn't really understand what the block had to do with the ordinary paper and what exactly that guy was doing at first. Once it become clear, it was pretty amazing. The idea of being able to produce fairly durable objects from ordinary office supplies seems pretty compelling. At least for rapid prototying applications--not so sure about using these paper-based parts, no matter how durable, for anything beyond design reviews and some modest testing.
I was a bit dumbfounded when I first saw this photo. I thought, what does this have to do with the story. Then, it dawned on me. Very cool. I'd like to see more examples of objects that the Mcor Matrix 300 created using paper.
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