Re: Details required about Envision Perfactory

Dear all RP Users:
As I am involved with EnvisionTEC in the USA, I would like to clear up some
of the confusion you have seen from a technical standpoint on the Perfactory
MINI system from EnvisionTEC.

The purpose of this email is not to personally respond to Mr. John Kerr.

The Perfactory Mini Multi Lens system from EnvisionTEC is based on Texas
Instruments DLP technology. Simply put, a MEMS chip reflects an image off 1.5
million mirrors through an optical engine into the surface of the resin to be
cured.
The MINIMUM average life of the DLP chip is 25,000 hours.
The system uses a visible light projector bulb to cure the resin and
therefore no UV rlaser or jetting tecnologies are involved.
The Final projection lens on the perfactory can be changed like changing the
telescopic lens on you camera.
The number of rings you can build depends on the lens system you use and the
accuracy you require in X and Y besides the size of the rings.( lens
F60:79x63mm, or lens F75: 55 x 44 mm, or lens F85: 42 x 34 mm working envelope)

The rings produced require no post curing and are ready for use.

On comparing the VIPER to MINI, I note the following:
1-The list price of the Viper is $179,900.00 versus $59,900.00 for the
Perfactory.
2- The light bulb lasts an average of 850 hours and is user replaced at $1
per hour, while the laser is $4 to 6 per hour requiring technician replacement
installation ($35,000.00 for laser head and diode pack).
3- NO maintenance contract for the Perfactory is needed after the first year,
while the service contract for the viper is around $30,000.00 on the average,
and if you do not have it, you will pay $30,000.00 for the laser when it goes
down.
4- The perfactory is calibrated in 7 minutes by the operator, while the laser
beam roundness and moving the spot on the laser crystal to increase the power
at the VAT requires a 3D technician.
5- You require a minimum of 40 KG of material to fill the VAT to build your
first ring, while you require 300 grams of Material to build your first ring on
the MINI
6- Both Systems can build high quality parts, and the maximum build envelope
using the lens F=60mm is 79mm x 63mm in x and y
7- The MINI system can build slices down to 20 microns in Z, and you can
switch between materials in less than 5 minutes.

Finally, it is possible to do nesting for simple rings by simply placing
spruces on the rings base and running the spruces up to the platform, but because
of the build speed and possibility to send multiple jobs to machine, and ease
of taking old job and starting next one (2 to 3 minutes), there is no
advantage to nesting in the Z direction.

Sincerely,

Wyle Mansour
Application Engineer
EnvisionTEC , Inc
Received on Sat Jan 10 00:09:12 2004