It was the faraway 2014 when DeltaWASP was taking its first steps. “Sorry? Did I hear well “faraway 2014”? It’s only 3 years ago!”. Yes it’s true but they were 3 years so full of new discovers and developments that they look like thirty!
So we were in the “faraway” 2014 and to test the good quality of our new machine 3dprintings, we thought to print the mythical Rocket Gnome from Makerbot, a symbol of that period. Since then, every time that WASP makes a new extruder or a new 3d printer, someone from Wasp’s team has suggested: “Let’s print the gnome”.
How many gnomes have been realized and seen? Thousands: Nice and well done, or ugly, failures and collapses or successful results, pla gnomes but also in abs, chocolate, pastry and clay – very little gnomes or giant one, even hacker gnomes… But none of them had astonished us like the last one.
A few days ago we had just finished our smart new DeltaWASP 3MT Industrial, it was ready for being introduced to the coming exhibition: Mecspe in Parma. A very big machine. Three hundred kilos of steel to print up to 1 cbm of stuff, in a temperate room, a 3d printer able to move an extruder with a 10 kilos material load; 3 arms for each parallel kinematics, able to absorb vibrations and weights.
Wouldn’t anybody think about printing the gnome? So: “Come on, let’s print the gnome!”. “Yes, why not a little 3 cm gnome for a 3m machine…”. “Right then, and t it costs nothing? The only thing to do it to adjust the 0,4 mm extruder and load the g-code used with the DeltaWASP 2040, and it’s done… it takes us 5 minutes”. “With such long arms and with 6 m. long belts it will result horrible. It’s better not to waste time: the fair starts tomorrow”.
But the outcome of the discussion could be only one because curiosity is an essential characteristic of Wasp’s team, so at the end: ”Let’s print the gnome with the DeltaWASP 3MT and the 0.4mm extruder. Then, at the exhibition, we will decide to print whatever comes into our mind at that moment”.
So the printing gets started. And while the object takes shape, we can’t believe to what we see. A parade takes place: “Look! Look how the 3 m. is printing!!! Everyone is knelt in front of the printer as if it were the Mecca, just to admire astonished the very little gnome. A collective euphoria makes us say: “it’s really a great printer!!!”( great!!!!)
Once the print is finished we take the printed -piece off: it’s perfect in each detail. We are wondering how it can be possible that the direction changes, the rod end bearings, the belt stretches can succeed in expressing the hundredths of millimeter ? Evidently it is possible! In conclusion the usual gnome has not finished to surprise us yet!
