Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Replicator 2
the color of the interior LED lighting to suit
your mood. The build area of the Replicator
2 is now inhabited by a quick-release, frosted
acrylic bed specifically made for use with PLA
(polylactic acid) plastic.
Without the need to wait for a heated bed,
the Replicator 2's warmup time to start a
print is much shorter than MakerBot's previ-
ous ABS-printing models.
Bed leveling is easier, thanks to the new
three-point bed leveling system. Instead of
one adjustment screw in each of the four
corners, three screws are arranged in a trian-
gular shape, widening the center point; a
twist of two screws can quickly level the bed.
The upgraded features on the machine are
complemented by brand-new software.
MakerBot's new MakerWare replaces Repli-
catorG, with a cleaner and more intuitive
user interface that lets you scale, rotate, and
arrange multiple models on the build plat-
form. Slicing is now performed by the
Miracle-Grue engine within MakerWare,
which is significantly faster than Skeinforge.
http://makerbot.com
Tested by Emmanuel Mota and Eric
Weinhoffer
Written by Emmanuel Mota
Faster, quieter, and with a paper-thin 100-
micron minimum layer height, the Replica-
tor 2 is worthy of its 2.0 badge. It sports a new
steel frame, oil-impregnated bronze linear
bearings, and a 37% larger build volume, and
it's optimized for PLA.
The Replicator 2's initial setup, out-of-box to
first print, was simple and quick—it took us
less than 15 minutes, including attaching the
extruder and loading the filament.
The Replicator 2 has a sleek modern look
with an all-black powder-coated steel frame
and has kept the same overall footprint and
basic design while enlarging the build vol-
ume. A larger, more responsive LCD panel
with a keypad on the front-right corner al-
lows for easy control and monitoring of the
machine.
A highlight is the new Cold Pause feature
that pauses the print, cools the extruder, and
waits for you to resume where you left off,
which can come in handy.
Another fun, though perhaps less useful,
function of the keypad is the ability to select
 
Search WWH ::




Custom Search