ZMorph is among the few manufacturers with a 3D printer capable of not just 3D printing, but performing other forms of manufacturing as well. The ZMorph system goes far beyond other hybrid machines, which are usually limited to CNC milling, laser cutting and 3D scanning. This is the only desktop machine on the market that has 10 different toolheads, making it one of the most versatile fabrication devices out there. And their flagship product just got a big upgrade with the release of the ZMorph 2.0 SX multitool 3D printer.
What distinguishes the ZMorph 3D printer from other hybrid fabrication devices is the sheer number of tool heads available for use with the system. For 3D printing, this includes 1.75- and 3.0-mm single extruders, as well as one dual extruder for 3D printing two filaments and another capable of blending two colors or even two materials with a single nozzle. The CNC Pro head allows for milling and engraving in a variety of semisoft materials, while a laser tool head enables laser cutting and engraving. ZMorph’s thick-paste extruder can be used for 3D printing with viscous materials like clay, silicone or even food, such as cookie dough or chocolate. The company seems to be downplaying their other tools, which include a lighter CNC router, a somewhat weaker paste tool head and a 3D scanner. Perhaps this is because all of the aforementioned accessories are the most capable of the bunch, and with the release of the ZMorph 2.0 SX, the company only wants the most outstanding features of the system to take the stage.
The 2.0 SX brings some pretty important features to their unique platform, most of which seem engineered to increase the overall quality of the machine. For instance, an LCD touch screen makes it possible to use the device without hooking it up to a computer. Also, ZMorph has replaced a number of plastic parts with machined metal for greater precision, stability and longevity. Additionally, the new 2.0 SX is backwards compatible, so that all previously made tool heads can be used with it, but ZMorph also says that it will be able to take advantage of future releases from the company. So far, these include experimental tool heads, a filament detector for determining if material has run out and an extender for the x-axis to increase the work area.
Most importantly, ZMorph has added closed-loop control to the 2.0 SX, a feature not only absent from their previous printer, but from 3D printers in general. According to the company, the printer monitors—via an attached encoder—the position of its motors and tool head during a fabrication job. As a result, it can perform recalculations in the case of any interruptions.
When reached for comment, a developer for ZMorph gave the following description of how the process works: “We are using stepper motors [with] magnetic encoders [that use] 14-bit precision [to track] the rotation of the motor shaft (14bit is 16,384 positions per rotation). A special algorithm [calculates] the difference between the anticipated position and the real [measured] one. If that threshold is crossed, the software corrects the position by a certain number of steps. This happens in real-time, and is, of course, slightly more complex than described.”
This means that, if the machine is bumped and the extruder shifted off course, the printer will instantly return to the task at hand and continue as if nothing happened. As far as I'm aware, there are no other desktop 3D printers with this function on the market.