Mcor Technologies have ambitious plans. In August, during the company’s 10-year anniversary celebration, Mcor founder and CEO Dr. Conor MacCormack laid out his vision for the company. “To be a billion dollar company,” was one of the ambitions he listed.
Well today, at CES Las Vegas 2016, Mcor took a giant step towards that dream, with the launch of the Mcor ARKe, the world’s first full-colour desktop 3D printer.
Announcing the printer in a blog post on the company’s website, Dr. Conor MacCormack said: “I am proud to announce the launch of Mcor Arke the first full-colour desktop 3D printer. With Mcor Arke, we are fulfilling the needs of a massive and, as yet, largely untapped audience who think, feel and create in living colour but can’t spend tens of thousands of dollars for a 3D printer.” He added, “If you’re always looking to change things up, make designs better, improve processes and create innovative new things. Mcor Arke will empower you to realise your creative vision.”
Introducing the Mcor ARKe
Make no mistake, the ARKe is a game-changer. It’s the world’s first full-colour desktop 3D printer. Up until now, people have been limited by single-colour filaments. Nay, people have become accustomed to 3D printers that create, at best, monochromatic objects. The ARKe, as Mcor so eloquently say, is a 3D printer that frees you to realise your creative vision; it’s a printer that offers photorealistic colour, to bring your dreams to life.
It’s a printer that encapsulates Mcor’s vision for the future, perfectly.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Mcor ARKe:
Full-colour 3D printing – using just paper
The Mcor ARKe, as we have discussed, is the world’s first full-colour desktop 3D printer. In technical terms, that means it prints at 4800 x 2400 DPI in X, Y and 254 in Z, or up to 508 in Z with 50GSM paper. It has the ICC (International Colour Consortium) colour map. Those specifications produce photorealistic and high-definition colours; and that’s achieved using just paper as the build material. Keen eagles will note that this is on par with the Mcor IRIS HD, an industrial-grade 3D printer that prints 1+ million colours and 5760 x 1440 x 508 DPI. The ARKe is an amazing piece of kit when you consider that.
Highly accurate and reliable
The ARKe doesn’t just print in full-colour; it does so accurately. Your designs will be realised just as they were supposed to be. The official layer resolution is 0.1 mm (0.0039 in) in X, Y, Z; any less than that would pointless, really. The ARKe has also been designed with reliability – and simplicity – in mind. Mcor cites “never-fail feed reliability” and a plug-and-play process as some of the key features of their latest printer. To that end, user-friendly features include a high-resolution touch screen with a snazzy LED progress bar. The ARKe is also future-proof, being Internet of Things ready.
Safe in use and eco-friendly
The ARKe has been designed to be safe and eco-friendly. There are no toxic chemicals or environmentally-unfriendly materials used to manufacture the printer, there are no harmful emissions generated by the printer in use, and it requires the desktop standard 350W, 240v 50Hz or 120v 60Hz power supply to operate. The printing process uses recyclable materials (paper), and Mcor’s Adaptive Build technology minimises the amount of material used.
Low purchase cost and low running costs
Perhaps the most amazing thing about the Mcor ARKe is its price. In his blog post, Dr. Conor MacCormack said the ARKe costs just $5,995. That’s a ludicrously low price for a printer that is so far ahead of the game. UK pricing is yet to be announced; but we’ll update our blog when it becomes available. And of course because you are using regular paper as the build material, running costs are extremely low; lower than the most efficient FFF or FDM 3D printers on the market. So even though there are cheaper desktop printers out there (none of which print in full-colour by the way), you will earn your money back over time.
Unlimited possibilities
It goes without saying that the potential applications for the Mcor ARKe are unlimited. Educational environments can have access to a low cost, safe, reliable full-colour 3D printer that revolutionises lesson plans and allows students to unleash their creative potential. Professionals will have the ability to print consistent, high-definition, photorealistic designs. Engineers will be able to print part prototypes and keep development costs low. Home users will be able to print toys for their cats; or more usefully, 3D objects that symbolise their experiences. In a world full of colour, the ARKe fits in perfectly.
The Mcor ARKe will be stocked and sold by ourselves in the very near future. We will update this post when that time comes. In the meantime, full specifications can be found below.
– Resolution: X, Y and Z axis: 0.1 mm (0.0039 in)
– Colour: 4800 x 2400 DPI in X, Y and 254 in Z, (up to 508 in Z with 50GSM paper)
– Build Size: 240 mm x 205 mm x 125 mm (9.5 in x 8 in x 4.9 in)
– Dimensions: 880 mm x 593 mm x 633 mm (34.6 in wide x 23.3 in high x 24.9 in deep)
– Connectivity: Ethernet, USB or WiFi
– Power requirements: 350W, 240v 50Hz or 120v 60Hz
– Hardware requirements: 8GB memory and 100GB hard drive, 1GB graphics card
– File support: STL, OBJ, VRML, DAE, 3MF.
Update: Video
Mcor Technologies have posted the following video on their YouTube channel:
Update: Now Available For Pre-Order
We are now taking pre-orders for the Mcor ARKe on the GoPrint3D website. Place your order today and secure your place in the queue for one of the first people to receive this groundbreaking new 3D printer. Visit the Mcor ARKe page for more details.