STARFORGE: Large Format Additive System
Figure 1: STARFORGE installed at NJIT’s COMET center.
Inspired by the design of the gantry system and extruder utilized in the REACT project, SpaceFactory produced the STARFORGE to create a user-friendly large format additive manufacturing system. A modular design, the STARFORGE comes in a variety of sizes, with build volumes ranging from 1 to 3 meters in any dimension. Like the ASTRA, it also comes with its own integrated material delivery system that can process many diverse thermoplastic composite pellets. However the STARFORGE features open source software making it as simple to use as any desktop 3D printer.
Below are a few projects produced on the STARFORGE out of various thermoplastic composites.
Figure 2: The 5ft drone boat printed out of basalt fiber reinforced polycarbonate.
Figure 3: The drone boat was configured with electronics, and it’s waterproofness was tested by driving it around a lake.
Figure 4: This 5ft tall wind turbine printed out of basalt fiber reinforced polycarbonate was completed in 3.5 hours and weighed a total of 3.3 lbs.
Figure 5: Office furniture constructed from 3D printed parts mixed with off the shelf hardware. The three plastic parts were printed in twelve hours out of ABS (chair) and PLA (lamp shades).