One of the main features of the smartStation™ is the filament auto feeding.
With the filament auto feeding feature, the type A530 can print a large build size model, which will consume lot of material, without being interrupted.
Auto filament feeding of smartStation™
The shape and size of 3D printed outputs vary per usage and design.
Since the size and amount of spool-loaded filament is limited per machine, the printing job may be unintentionally halted if printing consumes more material than loaded.
In many entry level printers, the user must pause the printing job to manually replace the filament spool when it is exhausted, and then resume the printing job.
However, the smartStation™ of the type A530 provides an auto filament feeding system that eliminates this kind of user inconvenience and allows that the printing job to continue.
How the auto filament feeding works
In the smartStation™, a total of 4 filament boxes are stored and connected.
Filament boxes in smartStation™
The two boxes on the left side are connected to the nozzle for model printing with material like ABS and ASA, and other 2 boxes are connected to the nozzle for support material (RSA).
Once the filament loading is initiated, filament from filament box 1 (leftmost) will be fully loaded to the first nozzle through the junction unit of the type A530.
And the filament from filament from box 2 (the next one) is being half loaded up to the junction unit.
Filament from box 1 being full loaded while box 2 is half loaded
When the printing job is initiated, filament from box 1 is being consumed first, and when it is exhausted, filament from box 2 will automatically be supplied for continuous printing without interruption.
In this way, the user can proceed the printing job with 2 filaments loaded per each nozzle, a total of 4 filaments can be supplied during printing without concerns of material exhaustion.