Asiga's Freeform Pico 3D printer.Source: DEMAT/EuroMold
Asiga (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) unveiled its Freeform Pico 3D printer at EuroMold 2011. The company has given the system a fitting name due to its size, resolution and price.
Freeform Pico is now available for $6,990. It weighs just 25 pounds and measures 9 x 9 x 20 inches. Pico build object by curing layers of photopolymers with an ultraviolet (UV) light source, which the company states has a 50,000-hour service life. The company also states that layer thickness is adjustable in one-micron (0.00005-inch) increments.
This system offers two operating modes. Fine mode has an XY resolution of 0.002 inch and a build envelope of 1.2 x 1.6 x 3.0 inches. Ultra-fine mode increases the resolution to 0.0015 inch and reduces the build envelope to 0.8 x 1.0 x 3.0 inches.
Asiga has its eyes on medical, dental and jewelry applications.