With the introduction of the Development Document, a precise development  path has been taken. After one year we have actually completed that journey, and we would like to share the results.

The FABtotum CORE, the newest revision of the FABtotum Personal Fabricator platform is , simply put, the FABtotum Personal Fabricator in its most recent form, sold separately from optional heads and accessories.
It’s one of the most affordable and definitely the most flexible prototyping platform out there.
The meaning of “Core” is that we focused on improving the features that promote a platform-like approach to the FABtotum Personal Fabricator.
This means better plug-and-play support for heads and accessories, a better and more flexible user interface, simplified and modular procedures.

Let’s take a look at every step taken, starting from the last major FABUI release, FABUI 0.95.

FABUI 0.95
The main feature of the FABUI 0.95 is an increased transmission rate (up to 250000 baud) that doubles the data trasmission capacity of the FABtotum, especially usefull for dense meshes and generally increasing the speed of the FABUI.
The new “Make” menu has been streamlined with new features for Print, Mill and Scan.
The Settings menu has been cleaned and many functionalities have been reviewed to make it easier to configure the printer, especially when it comes to connectivity.
The Update procedure has been unified, so that future updates of both firmware and FABUI will be joined in a single, simpler operation.
Heating of the Printing Head V1 and V2 has been made significantly faster by pre-heating the nozzle and the bed to the required temps as soon as the user is starting the print procedure.
The Firmware included in this update has also changes in some procedures, to speed up cooling, and a all-new revamped emergency system that takes advantage of the new front door safety switch. Just open the door to stop any process or movement happening, taking the unit back to a clean and safe condition. This can be disabled at your own risk.

The “last” release of the FABUI is the 0.95 one, where all the basic features have been introduced and a complete (albeit not final) structure is in place.
This does not mean there won’t be any future developments on the FABUI! On the contrary: a new embedded OS will be used as a platform for the FABUI. The FABUI is essentially a software stack that depends on a spiced-up LAMP configuration.
Colibri FABUI allows that just like the good ol’ Raspbian did, but has been developed to be lightweight and failproof, even in case of hard reboot/forced power off.
Being this a new OS, Colibri-FABUI requires a fresh SD installation, meaning that upgrading to Colibri FABUI cannot be done as a regular FABUI update. But fear not. Installing Colibri will be easier, requiring only a copy-paste of a folder on a FAT32-formatted SD card, and the OS will do the rest.

After the Colibry “installation” has done his course there won’t be , from a mere user-experience point of view, any difference from an “old” FABUI.
From that point on, the FABUI will be out of Beta and starting from the 1.X release, updating as usual. New users with factory-ready SDHC cards won’t even know the difference.

The soon-to be Colibri-FABUI update is the first of this update and the last of the Development Document milestones, but it’s not the only one.

The FABtotum Core is essentially the final result of the Development document and Revision 3, and most of the other (i.e Hardware) features have already been discussed in the past, but here’s a recap.

• The feeder has been updated so it can apply more force. the feeder is now faster, allowing more faster retracts. No engaging or disengaging is necessary anymore.
  the 4th Axis is also provided without a chuck but with a more flexible mount solution, so that more customization can be done with it.
• Power trasmission revamp:
  Electronics have been reviewed and new components are used to relay power and data.
  This means that the cable arrangment, the flex cable and the carriage have all been changed to be sturdier.
• Printing Head V2: The FABtotum Core can be paired with the upgraded Printing capabilities with the Printing Head V2. The Printing Head V2 is also retrocompatibile with all FABtotum Revisions (1,2,3) out there.
• Hybrid Bed V2: just as we did with the Printing Head V2, we invested a lot of time to improve the hybrid bed even further.The Hybrid Bed V2 is stable, solid and it can heat in less time than the older V1 heated platform. It also feature an improved hi-temp , low-tolerance glass that makes it easier to obtain a stable extrusion layer even under 100 microns.

A FABtotum with the Hybrid Bed V2 and Printing head V2 3Dprinting on the full print area.

As we started distributing the Printing Head V2, the Hybrid Bed V2 and all the other changes, we had a good amount of positive feedbacks as a testimony of the work done.
There have been changes in the production as well: production of sensible parts has been moved to trusted local suppliers and many, many small parts and procedures have been changed in order to deliver a better product.

Coming soon:
We’ve been working on exciting new thing and parts. We’re now happy to announce what’s in the pipeline on top of what was already announced earlier this year:

Head Development kit
The Head Development kit has been developed to help DIY enthusiasts, makers and educators to tinker with the FABtotum without wasting too much time developing a suitable platform for their project. We realized, in fact, that most of the time people where spending time creating a suitable PCB and case for their custom heads instead of actually focusing on the head functionality itself. This obstacle was not what we wanted, and thus we started developing a custom Head Development Kit.

With the Head Development kit you’ll be able to focus on actually developing that new Pick and Place Head, that advanced Touching Probe or that 80W PEEK extruder you had in mind.
The HD Board is so flexible that FABtotum itself will start using it in the development process for the new optional heads! It’s compatible with Arduino and you can communicate with an Arduino Nano or any other IC with the I2C channel.
The HDB will be part of the Head Development kit and available on the FABtotum Store starting from late June.

Exchangeable Nozzles
The Printing head V2 features an interchangeable nozzle. New sizes are on the way, starting from the 0.6mm nozzle that will be available this May on our store.
Larger nozzle allow a faster (albeit less precise) print process due to the larger diameter.
More nozzles are coming, including the ones for special materials.

Technical filaments
The FABtotum Filaments are -objectively- the best match for the Hybrid Head and the Printing Head V2. Starting from next month many more filaments and materials will be available like Nylon.
In the meanwhile you can check out our ABS, Wood filament and the others vibrant colors available.

Production & overall Report
We acknowledge our lack of communication and certain delivery times, so it’s reasonable to have concerns and be afraid. But we also would like to reassure about what’s going on behind our radio silence.
We initially didn’t plan to raise so much concern or delay this much shipments, but the revision of the unit was a necessary evil. We’re now ready to talk about what’s next.

Our main goal since FABtotum has has been founded has been to create a great product and then sell it. It wasn’t the other way around. You may say it’s a dumb way of doing business but it makes sense when you are creating a personal fabrication platform with a larger scope and longer lifespan, it’s also the exact opposite way most of the crowdfunding campaign have been doing lately, which might be a good thing!

we never buy extra boxes unless we plan on use them 😉

After shipping thousands of units, there are currently around 150 users waiting for the upgraded FABtotum core, now priced sensibly higher than it was originally. FABtotum will ship and upgrade with no extra charge those units, bringing on the table, depending on the time of the purchase, up to an extra 500€/599USD value.
We made this choice when we decided to implement the whole Core revision a few months ago. Our confidence comes from our past experience as well as results. But it also comes from the market.

For this reason, and in the spirit of this update, we’re happy to inform everyone that FABtotum has in fact secured a strategic partnership and a meaningful financial investments to grow in the coming years. The details will be shared with a public press release when i’ts time.

The (now upgraded) FABtotum CORE units still on hold are expected to be shipped during this summer, when we’ll have more great news to share.
We’ll announce the first FABtotum “Core” units shipped when they are ready to leave the factory.

PRISM
We’ll be announcing the release plan for PRISM as soon as possibile. The project is not cancelled. On the contrary: we think we have a good card in the deck and we won’t rush the product.  A proper timeline for release and distribution at the final retail price will be shared when ready.

JOBS@ FABtotum
FABtotum has started hiring multiple profiles. Check the job page [IT] to apply for open positions and work with us.

Language-specific forum, Moderation
Language-specific subforums will be open during next month. we’ll soon open up positions for moderation.

 

Stay tuned.
FABteam