Boasting some new features not seen on other industrial-grade, high-temperature FDM 3D printers, the HSE (high speed extrusion) 280i HT from US-based Essentium is aimed at high-volume factory customers. In fact, Essentium CEO Blake Teipel told All3DP that the machine is “designed to be a true manufacturing system” with innovations that will underpin most of the company’s future growth.

Take for example the heated build chamber that heats the part, not the entire chamber, with inferred energy that’s more tune-able and accurate, plus uses less overall energy. More impressive though, is the dual independent extruders (IDEX) that are actually independent on both the Y and X axis. This technology may not only speed up support printing, but offers multi-material printing for users to blend material properties at higher print speeds. This “true” IDEX, as the company calls it, enables the printer to create different parts at once, such as two sides of a mold, multi-material printer, or base material and dissolvable support material, in its massive build chamber (695 x 495 x 600 mm). The 280i has five modes that feature the IDEX’s capabilities.

As an open-material printer, the HSE 280i HT offers application flexibility and room to grow. According to recently commissioned third-party study from Essentium, 96% of manufacturers want open ecosystems to give them more control.  The HSE 280i HT can print with materials from Essentium’s nine materials, including PEEK, TPU, and nylon, and materials from other companies.

The HSE 280i HT, which will retail between $150,000 and $200,000, targets shops that want to achieve more with multi-material printing, says Teipel, but still be easy to use. The extruders can reach a maximum nozzle temperature of 550 ºC and the print speed is around 500 mm/s.

Coinciding with the debut of the printer, Essentium also launched a new 20% carbon fiber-reinforced polypropylene filament to compliment its open ecosystem of materials.

There’s no proprietary software to learn since Essentium partners with Materialise and Simplify3D and software comes pre-installed.

Printer Specifications:

• Print Speed: 500 mm/s
• Build Volume (Single Head Mode): 695 x 495 x 600 mm
• Build Volume (Support Mode): 595 x 495 x 600 mm
• Build Volume (Multi-Process Mode): 595 x 495 x 600 mm
• Build Volume (Copy Mode): (395 x 495 x 600 mm) x2
• Build Volume (Independent Mode): Coming Winter 2021
• Envelope Dimensions: 1590 x 1350 x 2490 mm
• Nozzle: Gen 5 Hozzle Heated Nozzle
• Nozzle Temperature: 550 ºC
• Nozzle Diameters: 0.4, 0.8 mm
• Filament Diameter: 1.75 mm
• Electrical Requirements: 200–240 VAC
• Net Weight: 1000 kg
• Additional Features: 3G acceleration, all linear servo motors – no belts or pulleys, fully digital