drylin room linear robot for mobile 3D printer in XXL format

About the XXL printer:
More and more buildings are being built using the modern 3D printing process for XXL components. The façade of the Dutch "Europe Building" in Amsterdam's Marine district was partly built in this way. Constructed by the architectural firm "DUS". The method offers many advantages for building construction. The load-bearing structures of the buildings can be made from sustainable recycled plastic. Added to this is the high level of flexibility during construction and simplification of logistics. This is because the elements are printed on site, placed in situ and filled with concrete. It also allows a great deal of design freedom.
In order to realise the designed ideas, DUS founded the company Actual for 3D printing. In collaboration with igus®, a mobile 3D printer was designed that can easily print the XXL components with high precision and printing speed.

The aim of Actual is to enable the client to design or customise building elements on a digital platform, which are then produced on site using XXL 3D printers. This process is very popular in the Dutch media under the term "Kamermaker 2.0".
In collaboration with Actual, igus had already helped® as a partner to optimise the design of a mobile 3D printer. The first generation of the printer still had a separate room for the control system and could therefore "only" produce parts up to a size of 2.00 x 2.00 x 3.00 metres. There was therefore a need for optimisation, both in terms of precision and printing speed.

Based on experience from its own 3D printing production and cooperation with several manufacturers of conventional 3D printers, igus® was able to provide very good support in the design of the printer. Many of the igus® customers in the 3D printing sector like to use igus® linear axes because they are particularly durable, maintenance-free and lubrication-free.
The engineers developed new axes on which the print head travels. The axes form a spatial gantry robot in which the x- and y-axes were realised with drylin® timing belt units and the z-axis with drylin® spindle/lead screw nut systems. This allows the print head to move with high loads on the room linear robot, even at high speeds.