Just weeks away from launch, Printrbot CEO Brook Drumm reveals some exciting details about the new Printrbot Simple V2.

In case you weren’t aware, there’s a brand new 3D printer from Printrbot looming on the horizon. It’s a second generation (or third, depending on who you ask) Printrbot Simple, dubbed the V2.

We knew about most of the new technical specs from the original announcement — an LCD screen, wi-fi connectivity, plus updated electronics board — but there’s one more surprise. The new Printrbot Simple V2 is capable of printing at a resolution of 50 microns.

The previous version of the Simple was only good for 100 microns; this is a 50% increase in print quality. As Printrbot CEO Brook Drumm explains in a blog post, the results have to be seen to be believed.

The 2016 Simple will offer higher resolution than we have ever offered before. Our “High Res” setting will print at .05mm layer height. You’re welcome. Well, don’t thank me yet, it’s a daunting goal. Not all models will cooperate equally and it’s certainly not necessary for every print. It will take 4x longer than “Fast” and 2x longer than “Standard”… But you can’t even see the layer lines!!

It’s an interesting point. That increase in resolution will definitely equate to longer printing times. And not every model will be suitable for fabrication. But it’s a great feature to have at your disposal for when projects demand it.

Three Geckos from the Printrbot Simple V2

To demonstrate the new resolutions, Drumm shared three models of a Gecko printed at 200, 100, and 50 microns respectively. As Drumm explains:

Nick, our electrical engineer, printed these geckos a couple weeks ago and my head exploded over the .05mm print. I ran over to his microscope and started to compare them. Without something to show the scale, you really can’t appreciate how crazy small those layers are. I looked at these prints for gobsmacked (look it up). Nick says, “you’re welcome.”

Sounds very exciting. When we’re testing 3D printers at ALL3DP, an object fabricated at 200 microns is “good enough” to verify whether a machine can perform basic functionality, and then we step it up to 100 microns as a baseline requirement to see whether it’s capable of higher quality prints.

Whilst an increasing number of 3D printers can offer print quality at 50 microns, it’s frequently a frustrating process because consistent results are difficult to achieve. So it’s always encouraging when a manufacturer goes ahead and touts it as a core feature.

We’re looking forward to testing out the Printrbot Simple V2 in due course. In the meantime, you can preorder one of your own directly from Printrbot for $999 dollars.