Stacker S2

In the past 4 years we have seen 3D printing emerging from a hobby market to more professional uses. A lot of our users are using 3D printing to make a living or at least support their business in one way or another (as detailed here and here). One company on top of this trend is Stacker from Minneapolis, MN. A couple of years ago they succesfully launched their first 3D printer on Kickstarter. This printer was all about functionality: printing small series or big prototypes – an industrial grade printer for the workspace.

For Stacker the term “industrial grade” is not a hollow marketing term. It means their printers are designed for extra long service life, extremely low maintenance and that the printer will maintain its positional accuracy throughout its life cycle. The way “industrial grade” is achieved begins with superior engineering and high-quality components, and ends with an Stacker’s innovative new assembly method.

Before the launch of Stacker’s first printer we at colorFabb were already in touch with the Stacker team and we both had the same vision for 3D printing in that it was all about functionality. Our range of filaments, especially the co-polyester range made with Eastman Amphora™ 3D polymer, are a perfect match with Stacker’s range of printers.

Yes, a range of printers. As from yesterday, Stacker’s latest offering is available on Kickstarter. The S2 launched yesterday and was already completely funded within 4 hours after launching. Unlike other 3D printers that were not able to make the cut during the process of fulfilling their Kickstarter obligations, Stacker has already proven itself to bring a reliable printer to the market.

You can see the Kickstarter video here:

https://vimeo.com/205107978

Although the Kickstarter pledges will be delivered in May / June of this year, you can already pre-order the S2 through us, as the official Stacker distributor in the EMEA region, or Stacker itself. Delivery of the pre-order printers will be in April. Get your quote now!

We received our first S2 recently and have been printing non-stop since. One of the projects we have been working on are these prototypes for leg prosthetics:

Design: https://grabcad.com/library/prosthetic-leg

We printed these parts with nGen on the brand new Stacker S2. (And yes, these are the same prints we printed before).

colorFabb is proud partner of Stacker and official distributor for the EMEA region. At colorFabb we have been extensively testing with both the S2 and S4 in our print lab with our entire range of filaments. What makes this printer so different from the rest? First of all, it is based on the technology that has made the Stacker S4 such a success.

You can also expect the following:

  • Copy mode for printing two objects at once for 2X print speeds
  • Dual print heads can be offset to prevent the idle head from dripping on the print when not in use to achieve super clean dual material prints
  • Large build volume: 395mm (X) axis, 325mm (Y) axis, 525mm (Z) Axis
  • Built-in mobile base, essential for EDU and work groups
  • Superior print quality
  • STACKER designed and manufactured hot ends and filament drives produce a superior finish, and work with all filaments, including flexible and metal filled
  • Uses 1.75mm filament for high-speed printing.
  • Quick change nozzles in a range of sizes from .25mm to 1mm
  • Comes with a single license of Simplify3D slicing software
  • Includes a sheet of BuildTak print bed surface but will accept glass

 

As said, we test all our filaments, but we are always looking for more functionality. One of our favorite filaments for this is nGen.

This all-round filament was released a little over a year ago. It is has many advantages over, say, a PLA. The temperature resistance is over 80 degrees C and it works on most printers with a heated build plate.

nGen is a low-odor, styrene-free material uniquely suited for 3D printing enthusiasts, particularly those who need the flexibility to print within a wide processing temperature range. With nGen you will have good flow properties through the printer nozzle—even at lower temperatures than some other polymers require. These properties make nGen more workable at a wider breadth of temperatures, producing reliable results and resulting in less waste. Visual prototyping has never been better than with nGen.

nGen is available in our webshop, through Stacker and our distributor network worldwide.

You can find more about what co-polyesters are by clicking here.