And just think, theres still something awesome that we havnt seen. Something never before done or even possible in consumer 3d printing. I cant wait to see what it is.
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How about non planar? That is something I want to see implemented within the next two years.
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This looks like one piece of fantastic engineering. But it all depends on what it means for the actuals specs and features. If the price is around the 2.5k mark this might be an insta-buy for me. But I have a bad feeling about price and even worse feeling about availabilty. We have seen so many paper launches latelyâŚ
My tech addiction needs a shotâŚ
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The positioning system on most FDM printers is âopen loopâ. The stepper motors are told to step and the printer just assumes the steppers actually get the printhead to where itâs supposed to go. But there are many sources of error in the positioning system. When those error sources are large enough, you get visible artifacts on the outer wall or in the worst case, an outright layer shift.
Servos wonât have either of those problems.
The positioning system tells the printhead to move, encoders on the mechanics provide feedback to the positioning system. So with servos, the positional repeatability is much, much better. Servos can also generally operate at higher speeds because they directly monitor and control both position and velocity of the motion system. The motors arenât steppers and that allows a much higher level of control.
There are a lot of ways to make encoders. There could be something inside the rail. All those screws suggest itâs a two-part design. But a shaft encoder in the printhead, driven by a pinion that rides on the rail might be another possibility. And they could do it with an array of alternating polarity magnets on the back of the rail, and a Hall sensor in the printhead.
Iâm just speculating, of course. But Servo control would be a significant enhancement of the motion system. The new printer appears to be about the same size as an X1C, but more expensive. Encoders and servo control costs more to implement than steppers. That and the printhead itself could account for most of the additional cost.
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Itâs obviously the green tint on the door, never seen that on a 3d printer before 
Unfortunately, I donât see anything in the photos released that suggest a closed loop feedback system for positioning. The rails look to be run-of-the-mill, and the screw holes look to be very common. I believe the servos that were being spoke about previously were the motors to swing or lift the nozzles. If there were a rack and pinion encoder, it would likely be visible in the pics. It could use a Hall sensor and magnets, but that seems like a higher expense for very little upside (if any). Donât forget, you canât hold tenths while spewing plastic out of a nozzle that is zipping around at 400mm/sec.
Iâm not saying it will not have servos instead of steppers, just saying we canât see that from the pics released. Equally, there really is no need for servo motors. Honestly, they are overkill for a 3D printer. Servos are really good at higher speeds, torque, and positioning accuracy but that comes at a substantial cost increase. Personally, I donât think a stepper motor is up against any of its limits for a 3D printer. For example, the FL Sun S1 Pro uses a closed loop stepper to achieve 1000mm/sec + travel speeds, so there is plenty of headroom for speed in the steppers. You can also get similar accuracy (or at a minimum, manage step loss) by using an encoder equipped stepper at a significant discount.
perhapse an optional laser cutting head
So poop free for support or second color. Not really interesting for single color printing customers and designing with support avoidance.
No magnetic rails is quite sure.
I donât think they switch from steppers to servos anytime soon, much more expensive. And stepper control is optimized to a point where the benefit from servos is marginal in my opinion.
In the current printers, the limitation for print speed and quality is not the motion system but the hotend. Why put money into a component that is already outperforming another component?
By the way, you can detect skipped steps with open loop steppers, e.g. Trinamic stepper drivers have had that for almost a decade now. But it is not really relevant, because a skipped step would ruin a print anyway.
Good thing the design is derived from the A1 and not the past bigger brother. The part cooling fan looks like been relocated, features quick swap nozzle, even the silicone covers. Hope they add the extruder wheel design from the A1.
Many parts indeed seem to be derived from the A1. It would be interesting if it mounted the same nozzles. Personally, I would like to see a technology aimed at avoiding the purge tower, with an immediate color change directly on the piece being printed.
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Yeah, laser engraver totally never seen before on a 3d printer⌠oh wait never mind
While thereâs no question about the authenticity of this pic, may I ask where you got this from? Just trying to see if thereâs a higher resolution version. Thanks!
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Could be at the back as those side cooking vents appears to start from there
Looks like they are going with a custom encoder and stepper (I donât believe servos use toothed rotors). But you were on to something with the idea of a closed loop system.
Yeah. There are indeed âclosed loop steppersâ that have a shaft encoder inside.
For a FDM Printer, itâd eliminate the layer shift problem completely.
Also, these steppers can improve positioning accuracy/repeatability.
Closed loop steppers can also run with higher acceleration and speeds.
Also able to detect excessive loads, allowing the machine to detect when the printhead hits something and/or the rails are getting gummed up.
What they canât do is compensate for slop/lash in the belt system. Which is why I was hoping for the printhead to have the encoders. 
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So would this eliminate the need to calibrate the dual print heads every print as well since it should know exactly how many steps to the other nozzle?
I donât think we can say anything about how the two extruders are calibrated. But Iâd bet BBLâs engineers came up with something that doesnât require âzeroingâ the tool head manually.
Closed loop steppers donât address that issue. No different from normal steppers in that regard.
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Ive only seen that the small servos have encoders. Unless we are thinking the latest photo is the extruder stepper. Translated, the ad says servo. I was thinking it was the lifting servo