Build Magazine 48 Software & Technology Gizmo 3D Printers Pty Ltd is a Brisbane-based start-up firm that manufactures state-of-the-art resin 3D printers, designed to save users significant amounts of time and money, whilst producing their dream 3D prints. Their success in this area is so profound that they are recognised in BUILD as the 3D Printing Firm of the Year. LA DLP 3D printing is a 3D printing technology that is highly sought after, due to its high resolution capability. However, it was never thought to have been capable of producing results as fast or as affordable as the way that Gizmo manages it. The Gizmo 3D Printers are the fastest of its kind in the world, based around a line of top-down SLA DLP 3D printers. Unlike most 3D printers, which print only a section of each layer of an object at a time, Gizmo’s SLA DLP printers can print full layers of numerous objects on a build plate simultaneously, at a breakthrough speed of three millimetres a minute, or seven inches per hour. “We always take the time to discuss our customers’ project needs, to make the best recommendation for them as to what Gizmo 3D printer, add-ons and resins will suit their needs,” says Michelle du Toit, co-founder of Gizmo. “We don’t manufacture our own resin – instead, we have tested a vast range of resins from resin manufacturers that we can recommend for specific customer needs, including porcelain, flexible, jewellery and others. We also believe in maintaining our very transparent approach in any marketing communications, even if it means losing a customer; we would rather have customers that are 100 per cent happy with their purchase.” With larger build volumes and expandability made to grow with the customer’s budget, Michelle and her partner Kobus, who both founded Gizmo together, prides themselves on their ability to provide unbeatable cost-saving benefits to users. Cutting out on replacement parts, for instance, eliminates unnecessary costs that some clients might not want. The pair’s other achievements include eliminating PDMS or teflon layers, attaining extremely low failure rates alongside consistent print results, and remote repeatability. Having only one moving part during the printing process, which is a stainless-steel build plate, makes for a wholly simple system, more focussed around providing quality parts with a guarantee of high reliability. “The XY resolution of our machines are between 36 and 208 micron,” explains Michelle. “The calculated Z resolution for a Gizmo 3D printer is 0.07 micron; considering the vast amount of benefits these machines offer to users, many of our clients are surprised at its affordability - the prices of the Gizmo 3D Printers currently start at only US $3950. Resin prices start at only US $65 per litre.” A Vision in Three Dimensions S With their sales beginning to pick up as the market realises the true value of these printers, the duo behind Gizmo are now starting to plan to open their first retail store in their hometown in Australia, where future customers will be able to come and look at the machines, as well as undergo proper training in the use of 3D printing machines before they settle on a purchase. “We are also working on printing generic sample packs that customers will be able to purchase to see what the printers can do,” Michelle adds. “Our future aspirations in a nutshell is to become bigger and better. One of our biggest dreams is to be able to get to the point where a car can be printed on one of our machines in less than 24 hours.” This vision may not be quite so distant as it might initially appear. The prospects of 3D printing have truly captured the hearts and minds of industry professionals from all sorts of disciplines around the world. Already, medical practitioners are starting to use 3D printers more often for studies, and in the near future, Michelle anticipates that they will be employed in the healthcare industry as new resins become available that mimic human organs and tissues. Relating these prospects back to Gizmo’s future endeavours, Michelle points out that as 3D printers increase in size and speed, a lot more car printers are expected to emerge on the market. “It looks like our 3D printers will become much more widely-adopted for mini-mass manufacturing runs, which it is perfectly suited for, as the Gizmo 3D Printers can handle the same number of prints in one week that most other 3D printers will take a month to produce. Not only that, but customers can buy five of our super-fast machines for the price of what one quality printer can cost some industries – ours will dramatically decrease their production costs and the time that these companies will need to spend in order to participate in the exciting and evolving world of 3D printing. “We are now developing a skin for our printer so it will be adopted by even more industries that require a skin and a ventilation system,” Michelle adds. “We are busy talking to customers about what they need for the machines to suit their health and safety regulations, so that we can start selling to bigger companies.” Gizmo’s mission is to connect the global 3D printing community with innovative, high-quality 3D printers and accessories, allowing them to pursue their passion at a price they can afford while saving them a lot of time and money in doing so. Michelle and Kobus are working hard to grow the company, aiming to reach more markets and see their products distributed globally. “We just keep following the method that got us to where we are today,” Michelle concludes. “We are always looking for ways to improve the printing experience for our customers, and their feedback plays a large role in that. Being entrepreneurs, we are also always identifying problems in the industry that we could potentially solve.” Company: Gizmo 3D Printers Pty Ltd Name: Kobus & Michelle du Toit Email:
[email protected] Web Address: www.gizmo3Dprinters.com GIZMO 3D PRINTERS