Hi speed FDM is here

With 3d printing evolving and making advances so fast we are truly looking at the era of Hi speed FDM. With some great companys releasing all at the same time to try to mark their place in the industry it’s making for a very high pace in progression. For the most part this is great but as always the big brand names push which often leaves alot of new or smaller brands in the shadow and overlooked. I’m in a very fortunate position were I have worked with owned or tested a very large amount of machines over the years and to date. So I thought it was time to take a view on the TWOTREES SK1.  For me this is one of the machines that has been overlooked and is one to deffinatly consider.

The sk1

So what has been missed.

The sk1 is a hi speed fdm which is very capable. It has a super steady frame that an average person can even stand on while printing. It’s strong on kipper and pretty damn fast!

Let’s look at some specs.

Print size:    256x256x256

External size: 400x400x530mm

Mac print speed:  700mm/s

Max acceleration: 20,000mm/s

Max nozzel temp: 300°c

Guide rail material: ball screw guide rails

Screen: 4.3 colour tutch

Leveling: z tilt inclined leveling

Build plate:  pei

Wifi

Led lit

Emmc capacity: 8G

OPTIONAL EXTRAS

Enclose panels

Camera

Kipper

Everything we could want in a core xy HI speed FDM

Packaging and assembly.

The sk1 comes very well packaged and twotrees have done a great job. Using a nice thick cardstock and thick packing foam they have also introduced plastic stays to eliminate movement on the railes.

https://www.facebook.com/share/8ZRZ1HXp6L2FVpes/

Assembly is very simple. Simply connect the screen remove the liner holding brackets, attach the spool holder and plug her in. From box to start up it takes around 10 minutes.

First prints

So what’s different about the sk1

So yes alot of big brands have released very good Hi speed FDM. All are very closed proproioty and little room to mod Ect. While yes they’re great from box and most print extremely well, a big part of the joy over the years has been personalising. The ability to improve if you like. This is where the TwoTrees differs.

The sk1 uses a kipper based system and is fairly open to modify, the components are fairly simple but well constructed but allowing room to mod. It shares a simular hotend to the bambu range allowing for a fairly wide range of options. Some in the community have done some great work useing bigtree products like main boards and screens. This is showing great overlooked potential on this machine. Personally I like the out of the box machine and plan to run for a while standard. I do plan to mod in the future and incorporate the WHAMBAM mutant quick change and their build plate but more on that to come.

Slicer

So twotrees have tryed to keep the sk1 as open as possible. Knowing that everyone has there own favourite slicer it comes with cura profile and mine had prusa slicer profiles. I’ve also since found it listed in orca and all seem to work very well.

Optional extras

Twotrees have released an enclosure and a camera since the sk1 was released but is it worth it?

The options come well packed as I’m finding all twotrees products to be.

Let’s start with the enclosure itself. The sides and back are perfectly cut. Well finished metal panels. Start by adding the enclosure fan system then attaching the panels to the current sk1 frame. The panels fit the frame perfectly and attach very easily following the very clear instructions.

The next stage is to add the risers for the top. These require you to remove 3 screws from a corner, add the corner section then repeat on each corner one after another. The corners are machined perfectly and fit exceptionally well. The next step is to slide the straight sections between the corners then add the locking screw(provided) to hold the straight to the corner. Once complete the raiser section is done. At this point I decided to feed the fan and camera wires down through to the main board. The instructions are very clear and well illustrated. This explains exactly which ports are used.

Next install the supplied glass Door and the lid and it’s onto the firmware update. This links are in the instructions and twotrees have also supplied how to videos and instructions.

So what’s the benefits of the enclosure. While there are only small benefits with Pla and the easier materials when it comes to abs carbons and the harder range a enclosure is key. It is one of the key features that will allow success. With the addition of the cam you can live view your print to allow you to keep an eye on the print and avoid waste on failed prints.

Over the coming months I will update this article.

Now the enclosure is fitted and the firmware is installed. I plan to do some prints and update fairly soon.I do plan some mods over time firstly the whambam build plate and then likely a mutant quick change also from whambam systems

Conclusion

For me this is definitely one of the most underrated Hi speed FDM currently. It has heaps of pros and the scope to be something very very special. Twotrees are highly known for their laser and CNC machines. The sk1 is being their first attempt at a Hi speed FDM they are definitely a company to keep an eye on! To keep on top of TWOTREES make sure to follow there FB group and their insta page.

For me the sk1 is a great machine that offers the option to modify, adapt or print out of the box where other brands can’t offer the same options and even more appealing with the option of refurbished on their store!

https://www.facebook.com/twotrees3d

https://www.instagram.com/twotrees3d.official?igsh=emJocXV5bWo4Zno3

Check out the small but growing and very knowledgeable group they’re doing some great mods and creating an active community around the sk1.

For hi speed resin printing check the article on the x1