It's a good start for Nick Wilderink and Stein de Haan, founders of the Gelderland startup Nectar. They not only won the RapidPro Startup Award with their 3D plastic printer Nectar One but also secured an investment of more than a million euros.
That Nectar recently won the Startup Award at the RapidPro trade fair was actually already a sign of things to come: they have created a promising product. The guys therefore had a major goal in mind when they set to work on developing a new 3D printer, the Nectar One. It had to be one that was easy to use and maintain, and thus usable for many target groups and in many industries.
Modular 3D printer
To achieve that ease of use, the printer needed to be modular. The two worked on that with a volunteer team. They received grants from various agencies to do so and that helped lead to the production of Nectar One. The printer should fill the gap between large industrial printers and desktop printers. It could be used in industries such as automotive, medical and aerospace.
The Nectar One is built using eight core modules:
1. A linear self-setting drive system with fibre-reinforced toothed belts
2. A touch logo at the top to open the door with. Furthermore, its operation is wireless.
3. RFID unit for material recognition. For now, only proprietary filament (such as PLA, ABS, HIPS and PET-G) is recognised.
4. Automatic door opening system
5. A circular activated carbon and HEPA filter to keep fine dust particles and chemical odours out of the user's lungs
6. Material supply by integrated sensors
7. Heated print bed with four individually adjustable temperature zones
8. Printhead
Each module can be disassembled and replaced within minutes using only a screwdriver. The individual modules should start to ensure that in the future, it will be clear in advance where maintenance is needed. This is to minimise downtime of the machine for use.
Unlike many other 3D printers, the Nectar One is powered by a delta drive instead of cartesian drive. An advantage of this is that the delta drive works with the same drive for all axes, while for cartesian each axis has its own drive. This allows the Nectar One, in combination with the right equipment, to be much faster.
Investment
According to Wilderink and De Haan, the software module of the 3D printer is at least as important as the hardware, by the way. NectaWare, as the software is called, was developed in close connection with the printer itself. In the software, the guys have also incorporated a virtual helpdesk and video tutorials.
That the Nectar One has stood out in the market is clear. Dutch company Teijn Aramid, for example, has commissioned the Nectar One for 3D printing jigs & fixtures for use in their machinery. Participatiemaatschappij Oost Nederland (PPM Oost) and TIIN Capital (The Informal Investors Network) recently announced to jointly invest over 1 million euros in Nectar One. This will give Nectar the opportunity to scale up production of its 3D printer and invest more in such areas as marketing and a distribution network. The two founders will also look for companies and schools that want to "push the boundaries of technology" with them.
By: Kelly Bakker
Source photos: Nectar
