Originally a 2D inkjet printer company, Mimaki have moved on to the world of additive manufacturing, quite like HP have done so previously. The company recently unveiled its first full-color 3D printer, the Mimaki 3DUJ-553. The 3D printer is capable of processing objects from acrylic using UV-LED technology in over 10 million colors.
The company has stated that they used their proficiency in 2D inkjet printers as the base for this full-color 3D printing technology. Consequently, the 3D printer uses CMYK for coloring (along with white, clear and support materials). These allow the 3D printer to capture its impressive range of shades. The support material is water soluble, making it really easy to remove.
The 3D printer operates on UV ink, which it deposits from its 8 cylinders. Then, it passes a UV light over each layer before piling the next one. In terms of performance, it seems to have some very impressive stats as well. The 3DUJ-553 has 3 speed settings: High-speed, Standard and High-definition. At high-speed it can print a 600 x 300 x 600 mm fully colored object in about 14 hours.
On its website, the company proposes two primary markets that they wish to aim this product towards. While it is a versatile 3D printer, they have stated that it is especially suitable for the sign and graphics market and industrial prototyping goods production (modeling and display products).
Even though the product is quite new, Mimaki have debuted it at exhibitions. So far, It looks to be a fine addition to the full-color printing market.
Images videos and data courtesy of Mimaki’s website.