April 10, 2007

ZPrinter 450 May Print Your Next iPod, Car, or Printer

By Jason Sattler

DoubleSided: ZPrinter 450 Makes 3D Printing More Affordable

Did you ever wonder how Apple, Ferrari, HP, and other companies perfect their product designs prior to mass production on an assembly line? By printing them—on 3D printers.

When New England's Z Corporation, which has sold 3D printers since 2000, unveiled its ZPrinter 450, it broke the $40,000 barrier for industrial full-color 3D Printers. While nowhere near the prices of the 2D printers that we consumers and office workers use, the ZPrinter 450 can affordably produce color 3D prototypes for electronics, design, engineering, and construction firms at a price many such businesses can afford.

As demonstrated in the video below, the ZPrinter 450 uses a tri-color print head to print out models in hours not days. Plus, the active dust-control recycles unused materials, and the final product doesn't require using a razor to separate and construct your model unlike many industrial 3D printers. (Click here if you can't see the video.)

The ZPrinter 450's custom software creates models from 3D CAD files and can even convert 2D CAD designs into print-ready files without requiring any technical or specialized user training. With the ZPrinter 450, Z Corp has taken a step closer to their goal of making 3D printing as easy as printing on paper.

About DoubleSided
We all have our idiosyncrasies. So do printers as it turns out. In our DoubleSided feature, we explore the lighter side of printers as well as the esoteric and bizarre. We also peer into the future of printing. From fabbers to printing on toast, you'll find it all here.

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