The torrid pace in which new 3D printers had been coming to market over the last year or so has somewhat died down as the consumer side of the market becomes a bit over saturated. With that said, there are still companies launching new machines which they hope differentiate themselves enough from the rest of the pack to capture market share.

One such company, based out of Zaragoza, Spain and led by CEO Oscar Asiain is Turtle 3D. As the first known Aragonese company to produce 3D printers, they had been relying on sales of their Carey 3D Printer to keep them afloat as they’ve been working on a new machine. That machine has just been unveiled, and will be on display on March 12 and 13 at the Madrid 3D Print Show.

Just like its predecessor, the Carey 3D Printer, which was named after a female, this new machine follows suit. Called Lora, this 3D printer is feature-rich and incredibly compact. In fact, it is able to fold up along the Z-axis to reduce its height by 50%. This allows for easy storage and mobility.

The Lora 3D printer will come in several different versions. There will be two different models, the Lora, and the Lora S. Each model will also be available in two different versions, one with a direct extruder, and one with a Bowden extruder. For those who are not familiar with the various types of extruders, a Bowden extruder separates the extruding motor and the hotend with a tube (usually Teflon) which transports the filament between the two extruder parts. A direct extruder combines both the motor and the nozzle and feeds the filament directly from the motor to the nozzle. Usually a Bowden extruder will allow for a larger build envelope.

Below are specifications shared by all the Lora and Lora S models:

Bowden Extruder Diagram (Image: Start3DPrint.com)

• Printer Technology: FFF
• Layer Resolution: 100 microns
• Precision X -Y- Z : 10 microns
• Filament diameter : 1.75mm
• Print Material : PLA (or any material not requiring a heated bed)
• Nozzle Diameter: 0.4mm
• Software: Open Source (Cura, Slic3r)

The main difference between the four different versions of these printers are their build volumes and size. The Lora direct extruder printer has a build envelope of 130 x 200 x 135mm, while the Lora Bowden version’s build envelope is larger at 200 x 200 x 130mm. The Lora S printers are smaller, with the direct extruder version having a build envelope of 80 x 150 x 100mm, and the Bowden version 150 x 150 x 100mm

The printers all come with many valuable features such as auto bed leveling, rapid print start times (takes under 2 minutes to turn printer on and start a print), and a strong and sturdy steel/aluminum chassis. Turtle 3D has not released pricing details as of yet, but they have notified us that the printers will begin shipping globally sometime this summer.

Let us know if you have had any experience with any Turtle 3D printer. What are your thoughts on the Lora and Lora S machines? Discuss in the Turtle 3D Lora 3D Printer forumthread on 3DPB.com.

Read more: http://3dprint.com/49533/turtle-3d-lora-printer/

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