J Group Robotics launches Vector PLA 3D printer for Indian market
By Nimish Sawant / 26 Jun 2014 , 18:34
Mumbai-based J Group Robotics announced the launch of its 3D printer named Vector PLA 3D targetted at manufacturing industries across verticals such as automotive, aeronautical, engineering, defence, etc. for making prototypes of final products. Apart from prototyping for industries, the Vector PLA 3D can also be used for making everyday objects such as cellphone covers, jewellery mockup designs, gift items, 3D facial models to even prosthetic limbs. The Vector PLA 3D is expected to be selling at Rs 1,49,000 and the PLA spool will be sold at Rs 1,999 per kg.
The complete 3D printed stag-face model and another one being modelled in the Vector PLA 3D behind
The 3D printer uses fused deposition modelling technique for 3D printing the objects. It has a layer resolution of 100 microns and can build a volume of upto 190 x 190 x 210 mm. The raw material used in the Vector PLA 3D printer is polylactic acid (PLA) which is biodegradable in nature and comes in the form of a spool which is attached to the back of the Vector PLA 3D printer. A motor feeds the spool to the nozzle from which it is printed out on the fed design.
The Polylactic acid (PLA) is fed from the spool attached on the rear side of the printer
The Vector PLA 3D printer reads design from an SD card or a data cable connected to the printer. The designs with the extensions .STL / .OBJ / .DAE / .AMF are fed into the company’s 3D Printware software. It lays down successive layers of the material to build the model from a series of cross-sections. The layers corresponding to the virtual cross sections from the CAD model are joined together or automatically fused together to create the final shape. The construction time will depend on the complexity of the design and can last from a couple of hours to several days.
3D printed objects, including a human face which was modelled using a 3D scanner before being printed.
Speaking at the event, Vishal Jariwala, founder and chairman J Group Robotics, stated that users can use any popular 3D modelling software such as Autodesk or even open source utilities to make their designs. The 3D Printware software can read files from various 3D modelling utilities. “3D printing is a revolutionary technology and with the Vector PLA 3D, we are aiming to help manufacturing industries reduce the cost of prototyping. We want to expand our reach beyond Mumbai. We already have 3D printing workshops at schools and colleges where we helps students with projects involving 3D printed robots,” he said. J Group Robotics has also supplied a 3D printer to the Indian Navy which is using it for making engineering objects prototypes.
A regular prosthetic arm costs lakhs of Rupees, whereas a 3D printed one such as this can be constructed for around Rs 10,000
Apart from industrial use, the Vector PLA 3D printer can also be employed in making customised objects. Users can upload a 3D model or design to J Group Robotics’ home page and get it printed. Using 3D scanning you can even get a 3D printed facial model of yourself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gsA99VLTrbc
The video above shows the Vector PLA 3D printer in action. It was printing the stag model (seen in the first picture above) using yellow coloured PLA raw material
