14 DAY TRIAL // 3D printing technology has been steadily getting better for many years, but actual, commercially viable and available 3D printers didn't show up all that long ago, so hearing that VAGLER International will soon be making 1,000 a month is something to make a note of.
Sure, you might say that's not such a big deal, because MakerBot and Stratasys are surely working with similar production capacities, if not bigger.
However, unlike them, VAGLER International, the first 3D printing manufacturer in Malaysia and wholly owned by Sweden-based VAGLER AB, is not a well-known company.
In fact, while it has been putting together its own collection of FFF 3D printers, it hasn't managed to make a name for itself in the past five years, not really.
Now, though, it is selling three 3D Printers called V-811, V-821 and V-822, which are fairly similar save for some differences in terms of build volume and resolution.
FFF is another term for FDM, which is the short form of Fused Deposition Modeling, a 3D printing technique whereby objects are built drop by drop.
An extruder superheats plastic and builds up whatever 3D model you're working on over a period of hours or days.
The plastic is stores in filament form on a spool commonly located on the side of the main 3D printer body.
There are other 3D printing techniques out there, but they aren't represented in VAGLER's lineup, so they're not relevant right now.
Currently, VAGLER is preparing to balance its manufacturing capability at 500 units per months, which means 6,000 a year. This will happen once it releases its 3D printers in Malaysia and Singapore.
Soon after, it will add some extra production line that will increase production to 1,000 units a month. This will happen by September.
Clearly, VAGLER expects many consumers and 3D printing service providers to place orders, starting in the near future.
The V-811 entry-level 3D printer, colored black and featuring a metal casing, is the one likeliest to ship to the common man. It has a price of $1,850 / €1,337 (no leetspeak jokes yet)and a build volume of 270 x 200 x 250 mm / 10.62 x 7.87 x 9.84 inches, plus a resolution of 50 microns. The print speed is of 30-130 mm per second.
Prospective buyers from the European and American markets should see the product, and the other two, reaching stores in their regions soon.