VietNamNet Bridge – Two young men, Hoang Quang Liem and Truong Ngoc Quyen, have made a 3D printing machine which scientists believe is suitable for commercial development.
Liem and Quyen began work on the 3D printing machine six months ago. They aims to make an industrial machine to be used widely in the Vietnamese market.
The 3D printing technology remains uncommon in Vietnam, while 3D printing machines are rare and very expensive. Vietnam still cannot make this machine.
All of these products available in the Vietnamese market are imports. An SLS technology machine is sold for $25,000-100,000. An engineer explained that 3D printing machines are expensive because the 3D printing technique is complicated.
In many countries, the machines are used to make prototypes that can help producers discover errors and examine aestheticism.
The first 3D printing model designed by Liem and Quyen was a normal 3D printing machine regulated with three step motors moving on three axes X, Y and Z.
However, the model did not satisfy the two engineers because it was too cumbersome and and not aesthetically pleasing.
3D Delta is the latest version of the three versions of the machine that the two men have introduced so far. The version is developed based on a parallel robot algorithm. The machine is compact and light because the three axes X, Y and Z have been designed as virtual trunks, and therefore, are believed to have higher usability.
The machine is equipped with an ATmega2560 microprocessor which allows it to receive data from nearly all the currently popular CAD design software, including Solidworks, CATIA, Inventor and AutoCAD. The material used to make the machine is PLA or ABS plastics.
The most outstanding feature of 3D Delta is that it can create convexo-concave parts with different thickness, something which cannot be done by standard machines.
As for the machine’s engine, Liem and Quyen had to use an imported product, which was very expensive, because the engine cannot be made in Vietnam.
Following the initial success, the two inventors of the Vietnam-designed 3D printing machine are considering developing other versions to satisfy specific demands in the market.
The machines would be used in different business fields, from food processing to building material production to mechanical engineering to manufacturing.
At present, they are working on a machine which can be used in making a specimen for chocolate products.
They are planning to create a 3D Delta machine, regulated by G-code-based digital program with FDM (fused deposition modeling), an additive-manufacturing technology commonly used for modeling, prototyping and production applications.
The machine is capable of creating prototypes quickly with a high fidelity of 0.05-0.2 mm.
When asked about the commercial development feasibility, Liem and Quyen said with a large production scale, a machine would have production costs of between VND10 million and VND12 million, much cheaper than imports.
Thanh Mai