Layer One: Makers of the Hybrid FDM & SLA 3D Printer

Our startup of the month for December is Layer One. Layer One is a company that created a hybrid 3D printer that combines FDM and SLA technologies. We have already discussed the main types of FDM 3D printer on our site. This enables it to 3D print in a variety of materials. We were so impressed that their Atom 3D printer could do this that we had to find out more. Therefore, we sat down with Layer One to get more of an insight into this new 3D printer.

3DN: Can you introduce yourself and your company? How did the idea of a hybrid printer come up?

I’m Mike Galvez and I head up Global Marketing at Layer One. It’s always been our goal to make Atom a complete desktop digital printer, so we couldn’t just stop at FDM. SLA technology lets you break through many of the barriers of FDM, like being able to print minute details. The only thing that prevented us from implementing the idea sooner was the size and shape of SLA units up until very recently. Advances in LCD technology have really moved the ball forward which lets us pack a powerful apparatus into a compact space that works with the Atom’s modular system. So the goal has always been there, but the latest technology has only just made it possible to achieve.

Interchangeable parts in Layer One’s Atom 2.5 printer.

3DN: How do you switch the technology of the printer?

Thanks to the Atom’s MagSwap system, which is getting a big upgrade in holding power for Atom 3, switching between the two modes is done with a quick swap of the end effector. The FDM Print Module is swapped for the SLA Build Module and the resin tank is affixed to the base of the machine. The firmware basically takes care of the rest.