Airwolf 3D

Airwolf 3D is a Costa Mesa, California-based company that produces 3D printers.

This article is about the 3D Printing Company. For the television show, see Airwolf.

Airwolf 3D

Type	Privately Held
Industry	3D printing
Founded	May 2012
Founder	Erick Wolf and Eva Wolf
Headquarters	Costa Mesa, California , United States
Key people	Erick Wolf, Chairman and Mark Mathews, President
Products	3D printers
Number of employees	25-30
Website	www.airwolf3d.com

History

Airwolf was founded in May 2012 by Erick Wolf, a patent attorney with a mechanical engineering degree, and his wife Eva. The inspiration for the company reportedly came from a 3D printer that Erick, also a garage mechanic, bought just before Christmas 2011.[1] After encountering difficulty with his goal of getting the printer to print replacement parts for itself, he spent several days working on the printer before determining that it wasn't able to complete the task. The printer was eventually scrapped for parts, and Erick instead began building his own printer, which was named the Airwolf 3D.

The original Airwolf printer (v.4) was derived from the Prusa Mendel and Mecano Air designs, hence the name "Airwolf."[2]

The company started shipping fully assembled 3D printers in June 2012 from their garage in Newport Beach, California. The first printer was sold to Lars Brubaker and Kevin Pope of MatterHackers. MatterHackers went on to develop MatterControl, 3D printing software that works with many 3D printers and is offered in a customized version for Airwolf 3D.[3]

Airwolf's technicians use 3D printers to replicate more 3D printers nearly 24/7 at the company's headquarters in Costa Mesa, California.[4]

Airwolf's customer base includes Boeing, John Deere, Raytheon,[5] Saleen Automotive[6] and Honeywell — as well as schools and home hobbyists.

Products

AW3D 5.5

AW3D v.4; Forerunner to the 5.5 and XL

The 5.5 was introduced in late 2012 and superseded the v.4 and v.5.

AW3D XL

The AW3d XL was introduced in January 2013. The maximum printing surface is approximately 12"x 8"x 7". It operates on a RAMBo board made by Ultimachine which offers options for expandability, such as a dual extruder, multiple fans, and several other features including direct heatbed control.[7] The XL 3D printer plays an integral part in “STEAM” academic curricula in Orange Unified School District.[8]

AW3D HD

The Airwolf 3D model HD was a 3D printer equipped with a single print head which was capable of layer-to-layer resolutions as fine as .06mm (.002").

The HD was introduced in November 2013 at the 3D Print Show in Paris, France. It featured a print area of approximately 12"x8"x12."[9] The AW3D HD featured a print volume of 12" x 8" x 12" (1150in³) and had a layer-to-layer resolution of .06mm (.002"). The HD was equipped with a single print head that came standard with a .5mm nozzle or a .35mm nozzle as an option.[10]

AW3D HDL

Airwolf 3D model HDL. This 3d printer was offered with an unheated print bed and a single print nozzle capable of a .08mm layer-to-layer print resolution.

The AW3D HDL was the Airwolf 3D base model 3D printer which could be upgraded depending on the user's needs. It was equipped with an un-heated print bed and a single print head capable of sustained temperatures of 260 °C (500 °F). The AW3D had a print resolution of .08mm with a maximum print speed of 150mm/s. The AW3D had a build volume of 12" x 8" x 11" (1056in³) and came standard with .5mm print nozzle or a .35mm nozzle optional.[11]

AW3D HDx

The Airwolf 3D model Hdx. This 3d printer included a proprietary JRX print head capable of sustained temperatures of approximately 315°C (599°F).

The HDx was introduced in May 2014. It is a 3D printer can build prototypes out of engineering-grade materials like polycarbonate, bridge nylon and nylon 645. The HDx uses the company's JRx hot end and can continuously hold temperatures of up to 599 °F, which allows 3D printing in more durable materials. The HDx was selected as Editor's Pick of the Week by Desktop Engineering.[12] The HDX had a print volume of 12" x 8" x 12" (1150in³) and had a layer-to-layer resolution of .06mm (.002"). The HDX came was equipped with the proprietary JRx high-temperature print head and came standard with a .5mm nozzle or an optional .35mm nozzle.[13]

AW3D HD2x

Airwolf 3D model HD2X 3d printer. The AW3D HD2x featured a high temperature dual print-head, with a print volume of 11" x 8" x 12" (1056in³) and a layer-to-layer resolution of .06mm (.002")

The HD2x was a dual-head 3D printer that was introduced in 2014. The HD2x featured a dual print head capable of sustained temperatures of 315 °C(599 °F). The original HD2x was designed for traditional hard-wired printing and slicing functionality; however, wireless capability was later provided by Airwolf 3D's Wolfbox™ wireless controller. The HD2x was capable of printing in two different colors or two different materials simultaneously provided that the two materials had similar extruding temperatures. The HD2x had a print volume of 11" X 8" x 12" (1056in³) and offered a layer-to-layer resolution as fine as .06mm (.002").[14]

AW3D HD-R

The Airwolf 3D Model HD-R. The AW3D HD-R was introduced at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show and featured a dual print-head, integrated WiFi and wireless slicing and printing capability.

The HD-R was introduced at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show.[15] The HD-R was the first Airwolf 3D model to offer integrated WiFi and cloud based slicing, file storage, and file management based on the AstroPrint® platform by 3DaGoGo®.[16] The HD-R could be interfaced via a traditional PC connection or a mobile device. By default an 8” tablet was supplied with the each unit for wireless interface. The HD-R came equipped with dual print heads each capable of sustained temperatures of 315 °C (599 °F). The dual print head configuration allowed the user to print with two different colors or two different types of filament provided that the filaments had similar extruding temperatures. The HD-R was built with an improved aluminum backbone for rigidity[15] and had a maximum build envelope of 11”x 8”x 12” (1056 in³).[17] The HD-R had a print resolution of .06mm (.002") and came standard with a .5mm nozzle or an optional .35mm nozzle.[17]

AXIOM

The AXIOM is designed to be a professional-grade machine with all of the modern features that make a 3D printer easy to use, while producing quality results, including: auto-leveling, an “easy feed” filament system, an enclosed build area, and what the company describes as an “end-user replaceable cassette system (ERC)”. While the first features are meant to ensure repeatability and trouble-free printing, the ERC system allows users to upgrade or change extruders. With the ERC, the extruder and its accompanying components are contained within a cassette-like structure that can be removed and replaced with ease.

The first in the AXIOM line is made from extruded aluminum and injection molded polycarbonate parts. It has a large build volume of 12.5”x8”x10”, can print layers as fine as 40 microns, and its heated bed, along with the company's proprietary hot end, allow the AXIOM to print in a wide variety of materials, from PLA to Nylon and polycarbonate. And, with the integration of cloud printer management system AstroPrint, the AXIOM can be controlled via the web, as well as USB, micro SD card, or Ethernet.

Wolfbite

Wolfbite is a 3D printing adhesive to facilitate the bonding and removal of nylon and nylon blend prints from glass and ceramic build plates. The product was formulated to solve the problems of warping and adhesion that are inherent when 3D printing with nylon.[18]

Specifications

Many components are fabricated using acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), a common thermoplastic.

See also

• List of 3D printer manufacturers

References

1. Hamilton, Ian (July 11, 2013). "3D printing builds on itself". Orange County Register. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
2. Knight, Terry (August 13, 2012). "3D Additive Manufacturing at Airwolf 3D Printers - NI Week 2012". Engineering TV. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
3. Casacchia, Chris (March 17, 2014). "The New Fine Print". Orange County Business Journal. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
4. Zint, Bradley (February 18, 2014). "Desktop 3D printer compatible with 12 materials". Design World. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
5. Langnau, Leslie (June 1, 2014). "Rohrabacher tours 3-D printing plant". Daily Pilot. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
6. Halterman, Todd (April 1, 2014). "Saleen Automotive Uses 3D Printing to Prototype Their Brand of Automotive Madness". 3D Printer World. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
7. van West, Anja (April 6, 2013). "Airwolf releases affordable large-scale 3D printer". www.3ders.org. Archived from the original on June 5, 2014. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
8. Petzold, Darin (April 9, 2014). "Not Your Daddy's Printer". Edtech Digest. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
9. Horsey, Julian (November 23, 2013). "Airwolf 3D AW3D HD New Larger Desktop 3D Printer Unveiled". Geeky Gadgets. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
10. http://airwolf3d.com/aw3d-hd-specs/
11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-02-21. Retrieved 2015-02-21.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
12. Lockwood, Anthony J. (May 28, 2014). "Editor's Pick: Personal 3D Printer Uses Engineering-Grade Materials". Desktop Engineering. Archived from the original on May 31, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
13. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-12-03. Retrieved 2015-02-21.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
14. "Airwolf 3D AW3D HD2x". airwolf3d.com. Airwolf 3D. Archived from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
15. http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/197134-3d-printing-takes-another-huge-step-forward-at-ces-2014
16. http://airwolf3d.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Airwolf-3D-news-release-HD-R-PR-CES.pdf
17. http://airwolf3d.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/HDR-1.pdf
18. "Airwolf 3D launches Wolfbite NITRO 3D printing nylon adhesive". TCT Magazine. 2016-02-04. Retrieved 2018-05-18.