Francois and Jean have been hard at work on the next iteration of their delta style 3D printer line at Canada’s Boots Industries. Hopefully you’ll recall my hands-on review of the Rostock BI V1. I own the printer and it’s a good one, but had I waited for the V2 I’d have gotten much more 3D printer for my money. But you were smarter than me and showed a bit of patience, so let me explain all the ways your BI will be faster, more precise, easier to use, and all around better than mine.
Firstly, my V1 can only print in PLA; technically the hot end can get hot enough to extrude ABS and the bed is heated, but the delta platform (that holds the hot end) is printed in PLA and so it softens when the hot end goes over 220. That’s been addressed for the V2 and that makes ABS printing possible. Build volume has been increased to an impressive 300 mm diameter by 300 mm height. Those that know the pain of a required constant tether with a computer during the entirety of every single print will be delighted to learn that the V2 has an sD card reader with an LCD interface, whereas my V1 does not. The triple pulley system is improved and AUTO-CALIBRATION HAS BEEN ADDED. A little probe is attached to the delta platform and it measures the height of the print bed at multiple points and then automatically adjusts accordingly. Oh, the modern luxury. It’s the auto-parallel-parking of 3D printing.
Additionally, the system is able to support triple extrusion, and double extrusion is to be added to the Kickstarter campaign as an upgrade before the campaign ends. My experience with dual extrusion has been mostly amazing so such an upgrade is appropriate. Multicolor and multi-material printing are here and they’re not limited to big engineering firms. The BI V2 can be yours for CAD699 (about $650). And all the special parts can be printed, so you could print more V2s for you and your friends by supplying the off-the-shelf parts. Jean and Francois are super nice guys and they provide great customer support. I’m glad their campaign has already reached its goal but you should definitely go help them with their stretch goals. At least I’ve got a piece of history with my V1.
