MAKERBOT REPLICATOR 2
- Print technology: FDM
- Max part size: 28.5 X 15.3 X 15.5 cm / 11.2 X 6.0 X 6.1 in
- Layer resolution: 0.1mm - 0.3mm
cutting edge technology, made accessible.
3D printing itself is a revolutionary manufacturing technology, but we're pushing it to the next level. This is a new manufacturing ideology. Welcome to the smart factory.
3D PRINTING
3D printing makes physical objects by adding material together layer-by-layer. Compared to traditional subtractive, molding, or casting manufacturing methods, 3D printing has several unique advantages:
COMPLEXITY
With 3D printing, complex geometries are free. Material and machine time are the only tangible costs, so stop worrying about how something will be made, just design it! 3D printing provides a virtually infinite design space, giving you the ability to create things that are literally not possible to manufacture any other way.
CUSTOMIZATION
3D printers accept digital 3D design files and turn them into physical 3D objects. Because they don’t require any initial tooling or molds for production, every object you 3D print with us can be completely unique. Imagine your next production run where every product is made for the customer who ordered it. Now that’s game changing.
DIGITIZATION
3D printers read in digital 3D design files, convert them to machine code called toolpath, and print them out. This process makes it easy to print, test, and iterate on your designs. In our world it’s called “agile manufacturing”, meaning there is little upfront time and effort required for each new item we produce. This makes 3D printing ideal for projects with tight deadlines or designs that will change often.
FDM 3D PRINTING
There are actually many different types of 3D printing. Each has unique advantages and disadvantages such as speed, compatible materials, and part quality. We use “fused deposition modeling” (FDM). FDM 3D printing works by extruding molten plastic out of a hot nozzle and laying it down on a flat surface, one layer on top of the next. FDM parts are most similar to injection molded parts.
Design for FDM
3D printing has fewer design constraints than most manufacturing methods. When designing for FDM 3D printing, it’s important to keep the following in mind:
- Size: The part must fit within the printer’s build volume or be separated into multiple pieces. In our case, see below for acceptable part sizes.
- Material: The functionality of the end part must be within the limits of the material it’s made out of. For example, most FDM plastics cannot be used in high-temperature environments.
- Overhangs: Due to the layer-by-layer printing process, objects that have unsupported sections (i.e. nothing underneath them but air) do not print well. In most cases, supportive, scaffolding-like structures can be used, however avoiding overhangs is always the better option.
- Detail: FDM printers have minimum feature sizes that they can print. Details smaller than these minimum sizes would either come out poorly, or not at all. In our case, the recommended minimum feature size is 0.1mm and. sections smaller than 1mm in diameter will be very fragile.
OUR PRINTERS
MATERIALS
PLA
- Density 1.24 g/cc
- Melting point: 145-160 °C
- Softening point: 65 °C
- Download full material datasheet here.
PLA (polylactic acid) is an incredibly versatile thermoplastic that can be used for a variety of end applications, including mechanical and structural components, enclosures, models, toys, prototypes, and more! Its strength, surface finish, and its ability to be sanded, painted or glued makes it exceptionally easy to design for and work with.
TPU (full-flex and semi-flex)
- Density 1.2 g/cc
- Melting point: 216 °C full-flex, 168 °C semi-flex
- Softening point: 85A full-flex, 98A semi-flex
- Elongation at break: 660% full-flex, 600% semi-flex
- Download full materias datasheets here (full-flex) and here (semi-flex).
TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) is a flexible but strong material, ideal for parts that require rubber-like properties. It has great elasticity, allowing for repeated stretching, movement, and impact without wear or degradation. We offer both full-flex and semi-flex versions, perfect for applications and parts including seals, gaskets, plugs, and more generally flexible parts, components, and products.
COLORS
PLA
Full Flex TPU
Semi Flex TPU
True Black
True White
Cool Gray
Warm Gray
Translucent Natural
Peach
Khaki
Light Brown
True Brown
True Red
Translucent Red
True Orange
Neon Orange
Translucent Orange
True Yellow
Lemon Drop
Translucent Yellow
True Green
Army Green
Neon Green
Translucent Green
True Blue
Robin's Egg
Ocean Blue
Translucent Blue
True Purple
Translucent Purple
Neon Pink
POST-PROCESSING
3D printed parts can be post-processed with a variety of methods to make them stronger, give them different surface finishes, or even change their material properties. As a first step, every part that comes off one of our printers is cleaned and checked for quality. Beyond that, we offer various post-processing methods, including;
- Sanding
- Painting
- Resin hardening
- Chroming
If interested in post-processing, contact us to learn more.
THE FACTORY
Voodoo Manufacturing is made possible by the novel combination of desktop 3D printing technology and innovative software.
We are located in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY, in an 1,800 sq ft industrial space. The name of the game is fitting 130 3D printers into this space in an organized way that lets us run them efficiently, but is flexible enough for the variety of the projects we work on.
It would normally be hard to impossible to run 130 3D printers, and so that’s why we use a central software platform that allows us to continuously control and monitor our 3D printer fleet. From starting print jobs, to tracking statistics, this platform allows us to leverage human labor and run the factory as efficiently as possible.