SSSSS A L EEEEEEEEE
!!!
SS AA L EE
!!!
SS A A L EE
!!!
SSSS A A L EEEEEE
!!!
SS AAAAA L EE
!!!
SS A A L EE
SSSSS A A LLLLLLLLL EEEEEEEEE
!!!
Cubital 5600 MPM Serial # 1139210.
Purchased for $500,000 in February 1993
Price: $200,000.
The price includes the Automatic Dewaxing Machine (ADM) and approximately
$20,000 worth of resin, wax, and spare parts.
Cubital's representative told me that the cost to train 2 to 3 persons will
be $1000 per day for 3 weeks (15 days) , plus travel and expenses if they
send a trainer to your business. This is generally the preferred method,
of course, because they would be training on your own machine. You have
the option to send your employees to Cubital for training if you wish (also
at $1000/day).
As regards shipping, Cubital (Christine in Troy, Michigan) says that the
machine and associated equipment weigh approximately 9000 kg, and that Air
Freight would cost about $10,000 to $12,000 from Colorado to Singapore
(overseas example). Certainly shipping within the US would be less.
Cubital says they would charge $1000 per day to install the machine, which
takes 5 days.
Cubital said that the cost of the G5601 resin is $65/kg. in the US. They
said the X7501 resin is $70/kg. in the US.
Cubital's full maintenance program costs approximately $65,000/year.
Cubital has a program to recycle the "waste resin" created by the process.
We have been returning the resin at approximately a 3 : 1 rate (3 barrels
of waste shipped to them gets one barrel of brand-new resin). The amount
that Cubital credits a customer depends on the cleanliness and quality of
the resin returned for reprocessing, and may vary. All other wastes are
disposable as non-hazardous in Boulder, CO, which is a very tough
environmental location.
The latest software version for the DFE (workstation) is 2.2, and that is
installed on our machine. Cubital tells me that 4.1 is the latest on the
MPM, and ours is at 3.1.
I do not know what the difference between the versions might be. I am
reasonably certain that Cubital would upgrade as part of an installation.
All of the optional software, including FlexiVolume, is installed on our
DFE. Cubital informed me that this is, however, like a CAD license (it is
not transferable, and you will need to license it from them). The license
fees would be available from Cubital. I believe you should treat them as
"list" prices which can be discounted. Some of the software options
(Solitrim, Solibind, and Cutter) are extremely beneficial, and I would
strongly advise you acquire them. The SDRC Universal file converter only
works on Version 5, so is limited in usefulness (SDRC Master Series uses a
completely different format, and most of our users are up to that level).
The VDA-FS file converter is, I understand, useful chiefly in Europe (VDA
is a popular European CAD program). The STL output was useful to us on a
few occasions where we received a .soli or .cfl file (Cubital's formats)
and chose instead to run on our SLA's. I have never used the Widener.
The machine itself has all of the latest upgrades, including the second
light source and the running profile which reduces dewaxing time and
effort.
I spoke with Cubital about the humidity question. They currently recommend
an environment of 50% or lower relative humidity. The Cubital material
also absorbs water, like the 3D Systems' epoxies. We use plastic bags with
dessicant (Silica gel or Calcium Carbonate) to store our parts.
Regards,
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
\_ Steve Stewart phone:303-442-4604 \_
\_ protogenic, inc. fax:303-442-1368 \_
\_2820 Wilderness Place, Suite D \_
\_Boulder, CO 80301 email:stewart@protogenic.com\_
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : Tue Jun 05 2001 - 22:37:07 EEST