This AI 3D Printer Can Now Design Your Parts, Too. I Have Questions.
The new Aurora 3D printer can turn a photo, a few words, or a voice command into a finished part without CAD or slicing software. I'm struggling to believe it. I'm also rather desperate to see it.
I have a complicated relationship with AI announcements. I’ve spent enough time working with the technology to have developed a healthy suspicion of what it can actually do, particularly when someone describes it as revolutionary. Yet I’m apparently incapable of ignoring a sufficiently outrageous claim.
Which brings me to BCN3D’s Aurora set to debut at the Formnext Expo on Nov. 17.
The Spanish manufacturer has announced a €19,999 industrial 3D printer that supposedly does away with CAD and slicing software altogether. Show it a photograph of a part, describe what you want, or simply tell it, and its built-in AI takes care of the design and manufacturing. From idea to finished part in two clicks, apparently.
I’m genuinely perplexed.
BCN3D says it “ushers in a new era with a disruptive system that eliminates dependence on CAD software, unlocking the adoption of 3D printing in 90% of the industrial sector.”
Generating a vaguely convincing 3D model is one thing. Generating an accurate, functional engineering part, with the correct dimensions, tolerances, and mechanical properties, from a photograph and a few instructions is something rather different. And, as far as I now, not yet achievable by any AI out there.
There are things even the most accomplished AI can’t possibly know from looking at a picture. Unless BCN3D has quietly solved the problem of missing information, I’m struggling to see how this works.
Perhaps the reality is considerably more constrained than the promise. I suspect it’s a clever parametric design system that works well for a particular narrow range of parts, like brackets or molds. That would be impressive in its own right. But it’s a rather different proposition from “making CAD obsolete.”
And yet, I can’t stop thinking about it.
BCN3D is pitching Aurora as a new category of machine, but underneath the AI claims, there’s a familiar industrial FDM printer with independent dual extruders, a heated chamber, automated material handling, and tech specs almost identical to the company’s existing Omega I60.
Is it the engineering equivalent of clickbait? Probably. Will I be at its Formnext booth anyway? Probably.
I can anticipate the disappointing reveal and my slightly foolish feeling to follow. But I still want to know.
BCN3D is promising live demonstrations at Formnext.
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