Spectrom - Turn Any 3D printer In Multi Color Printer

[Larry]

Wow, this is a pretty awesome device if it does what they claim it will. The Spectrom device was invented by 2 college kids. It costs about $100 and can be installed on basically any 3d printer out there. The computer send code to Spectrmm and that tell the device when to switch colors. This could certainly be a nice step towards cheaper multi-color 3d printers.



Here more details about the Spectrom device: http://gigaom.com/2014/03/06/two-col...less-than-100/

[WildZBill]

Actually, it is fairly easy to change colors per layer on any machine. You just pause it and change filament. We do it every day. If you want to be more exact, you can edit the Gcode so that it pauses after a Z motor increment.
A dual head allows you to print different colors in the same layer. Or even different materials.

[Jeremia_Munchkins]

Yeah, changing colors isn't too bad. I've done it before. I guess this kinda just allows you to let a print run though without you having to wait around to switch colors. Could be a pretty cool little device that will allow us to walk away from our printers rather than waiting around to change colors.

[Brian_Krassenstein]

Spectrom 3D was one of the most exciting finds at this year's CES. The young company has developed a proprietary system that can dye a single filament strand for a custom color pattern in a 3D print job, all using sophisticated algorithms. Founder Taylor Fahey told the 3DPrint.com team about further goals, as Spectrom hopes in the future to refine the algorithms and technology to print a single layer in multiple colors, ultimately increasing the resolution to allow for individually colorized voxels -- as small as 0.1 x 0.1 mm. Check out more details about Spectrom's system in the full article: http://3dprint.com/36211/spectrom-3d/


Below is a photo of a multicolored print made using Spectrom's system:

[Feign]

Pretty impressive. Between this and Mosaic Manufacturing's SEEM box, the 3D printer accessories business looks pretty interesting.

Mosaic's method seems to have much richer color, with much more limited variety.

Perhaps the two systems could be used together, SEEM to splice together say, stiff and flexible materials both in white or natural color, and Spectrom to dye the filament as needed after splicing...

[curious aardvark]

Nice.
They'll Probably have this done before I get dual extrusion working properly :-)

[Kingoddball]

thats brilliant. Cant wait to get hold of one.

[jimmydave]

what i'm seeing here is a color inkjet print head rigged to dye the filament as it comes through based on some custom g-code. i guess this is similar to mosaic's idea, but taking a different approach.

if someone can make some thing like nicholas lewis's inkshield (http://nicholasclewis.com/projects/inkshield/) except with the ability to control color printheads, than this is totaly open sourceable.

[Spectrom3D]

If anyone has any further questions, please feel free to contact me personally at twaite@spectrom3d.com!

[curious aardvark]

well apart from the obvious: when will it be available, how much will it cost and which ink cartridges does it use, how do you attach it to your printer, will it be compatible with makerbots/flashforge/wanhao etc.
And how much will it cost :-)

Can't think of any questions at all ;-)