TAIPEI: Taiwanese 3D printer maker XYZprinting Inc plans to launch a series of small, low-cost 3D printing and scanning products before the end of this year in a bid to expand its reach in the consumer electronics market.
“The planned product launches are to make 3D printing more accessible and affordable to the public, broadening the field of applications of the technology,” Ivan Lai yesterday told the Taipei Times at an XYZprinting booth at the Computex Taipei trade show.
XYZprinting, a subsidiary of New Kinpo Group, said a pocket-sized XYZ 3D Pen, which would be available at the end of this year for US$99, enables users to create three-dimensional objects by simply holding and pressing a button of the pen to draw.
“Children or design students could use the product to turn their creative ideas into real objects,” Lai said.
XYZprinting said the firm’s first 3D scanner, the XYZ Handheld Scanner, would go on sale in the fourth quarter for US$299.
Lai said the handheld device utilizes Intel Corp’s RealSense 3D camera technology to produce accurate and full-color images, adding that users can edit and enhance the scanned image to create a better model before 3D printing the scanned images.
As part of the efforts to broaden the application of 3D printing, the company plans to launch a series of humanoid robots before the end of this year, with prices ranging from US$300 to US$600, targeting the educational and entertainment markets.
Users can print the components of the XYZ Robot with the company’s 3D printers, then assemble the product on their own, Lai said. They can also control the robot’s movements using the firm’s smart servomotor system and a remote-control unit, he said.
The company also plans to bring 3D printing technology to kitchens when it launches its first 3D food printer in September. Users would be able to print edible chocolate, cookies and pizza by putting ingredient capsules into the printer, which is to have a relatively affordable price of US$1,799 compared with rivals’ price tags of between US$3,000 and US$5,000.
XYZprinting said it is upbeat about sales of the 3D food printer in Europe and North America, citing stronger purchasing power for household appliances.
However, US 3D printing company Stratasys Ltd said the 3D technology has not matured in terms of applications and available materials.
“The most common application of 3D printing technology is in industrial and medical use, but there is still a long way to go for medical use, as the printing materials must be bio-compatible to rapidly prototype medical and dental products,” Will Tang, a Stratasys sales representative in Taiwan, told the Taipei Times.
