Zortrax Inkspire 2 - UV LCD 3D printer

Zortrax is a Polish company founded in 2013 and focused on the development of professional 3D printing systems. Its main strength is the excellent optimisation and integration between its 3D printers, materials and software. Thanks to this, the entire printing process is greatly simplified, minimising set-up times and reducing the likelihood of failure to a minimum, making them ideal systems for professional environments.

Today, Zortrax is one of the brands with the greatest presence in major companies in sectors such as architecture, medicine, engineering and automotive.

The Inkspire 2 is a professional UV LCD printer that stands out for its high quality.

Image 1: Zortrax Inkspire 2 3D printer. Source: Zortrax

UV LCD technology

UV LCD technology consists of an ultraviolet LED matrix masked by a monochrome LCD panel. Each pixel of this panel acts as a small window, selectively blocking or allowing light from the LED matrix to pass through. This technology has many advantages over other technologies such as SLA or DLP:

• High speed: UV LCD technology is able to project each layer simultaneously which makes it much faster than SLA technology. In addition, the use of high power UV LEDs means that exposure times per layer are also shorter than DLP technology. This makes it the fastest commercial resin 3D printing technology.

• High durability and low maintenance: The extremely long lifetime of the LEDs compared to the lamps used in DLP printers, and the fact that it does not require delicate calibrations like SLA technology, make it an economical, long-term and highly reliable technology.
• Zero distortion and high accuracy: Unlike SLA and DLP technologies, projection is perpendicular across the entire layer, which avoids distortion, maintains accuracy across the entire surface and does not require complex lens systems to compensate.

The UV cover of the Inkspire 2 printer effectively protects the resins from exposure to external UV light sources and reduces the emission of vapours into the environment thanks to the safety system such as carbon and Hepa filters built into the inside of the printing chamber.

Image 2: SLA, DLP and UV LCD technologies. Source: Zortrax

Surgical precision and resolution

The Zortrax Inkspire 2 3D printer has a print volume of 192 x 120 x 280 mm and a constant resolution of 50 um in XY, as well as a minimum layer height of only 25 um.

This makes it possible to achieve even the smallest details with high precision and perfect surface finishes.

Advanced functions

The Zortrax Inkspire 2 3D printer is one of the most powerful 3D printers on the market thanks to its quadcore processor and a touch screen with an intuitive and powerful interface, which allows you to implement advanced functions such as using different exposure times for the supports and for the part or changing settings in real time during printing. It also has wifi, ethernet and usb for high connectivity.

Image 3: Zortrax Z-Suite. Source: Zortrax

Zortrax Inkspire 2 is compatible with the Z-Suite software, the same software used by Zortrax FFF printers. This makes it possible to centralise all work in a single software package if both technologies are available.

The Z-Suite software includes print profiles not only for Zortrax resins, but also for resins from Harz Labs, Bluecast, Power Resins, Druckwege, Ameralabs, Applylabwork, Dreve and Siraya. It also allows you to configure multiple parameters to optimise other resins.

High material compatibility

In addition to a standard resin, Zortrax has a number of high quality resins for the dental and jewellery sectors. Like all Zortrax materials, they are optimised to achieve the best results in combination with the manufacturer's equipment.

However, the choice of materials is not limited to the manufacturer's own materials; the Zortrax Inkspire is compatible with any light-curable resin at 405nm and optimised for DLP or LED LCD.

 In addition, Zortrax Inkspire 2 is validated by engineering resin manufacturers.

Image 4: HARZ Labs resins. Source: HARZ Labs

The resin tank is equipped with an easy removal and fixing system that makes it easy to fit together with a system that improves the performance of the FEP film.

Automatic feeding system

Thanks to the automatic resin feeding system, the Inskpire 2 can transfer more resin directly from the bottle if the amount present in the tank is not sufficient to make the print. Resin bottles can be easily attached to the pump and placed in a dedicated holder, designed to accommodate the most popular resin bottle designs.

The pump works in both directions, i.e. it is not necessary to remove the resin tank to transfer the excess resin into the bottle. The pump can do this automatically.

In addition, the Inkspire 2 printer has a resin cleaning mechanism that prevents resin settling that often occurs in more complex photopolymers during longer print runs.

Another advantage is the resin level sensor that constantly measures the amount of resin remaining in the tank. By keeping the resin level constant, the problem of oxygen inhibition that prevents photopolymers from solidifying is controlled.

Inkspire 2 also features a mass sensor in the resin bottle. The sensor complements the sensor placed in the resin tank and measures the amount of resin remaining in the bottle placed in the holder. The readings from both sensors evaluate the amount of resin available for the current print.

If the Inkspire 2 detects that there is not enough resin to finish the print, it notifies the user. If the resin runs out during printing, the process will stop automatically. Printing will automatically stop when a power failure is detected and resume from the same point when the power is turned back on, this is called the Blackout Response System.

Image 5 . Comparison chart between the functions of the Inkspire and Inkspire 2 printers: Zortrax

High precision sectors

The Zortrax Inkspire 2 is the perfect 3D printer for the dental, jewellery and precision engineering industries. Its high accuracy and resolution, high quality construction and reliability, and compatibility and optimisation of a wide range of materials from a variety of manufacturers, makes it one of the best choices. In addition, its competitive cost ensures a fast return on investment.

Inkspire 2 can be purchased separately or in combination with the Zortrax Ultrasonic Cleaner, a cleaning device designed to remove uncured resin residue from the surface of the part after printing.

Image 7: Zortrax ultrasonic cleaner. Source: Zortrax

The Zortrax Inkspire 2 is undoubtedly the best choice for professionals looking for maximum accuracy and reliability as well as incredible material compatibility and optimisation.