XEOS 3D is one of the first desktop 3D-printers that actually fits on a desk. Designed for users that need to verify form geometries fast and easy, it is made for consultancies, design departments and even your home office. XEOS features a completely new invented robotic printing arm that makes its small desktop form factor possible. The two-window-design creates a new archetype for a 3D printer and useful features like WIFI, the integrated fisheye camera and the thoroughgoing easy and intuitive controls – in its software and at the device – elevate XEOS to a whole new printer category.

To reduce the volume of a 3D printer while keeping its printing speed and accuracy was one of the biggest challenges of this project. All current commercially available printers are almost the size of a fridge and do not fit really well into the office environments of design studios. Shrinking the overall size of the printer always resulted in shrinking the size of the built envelope so far. It was important to determine the optimal printable part size the target group needs and then try to built up the printer from the inside out around it – as small as possible. In addition to that the printer needed to have an affordable price point to be competitive while keeping its print quality as high as possible to ensure commercial usability.

I chose this topic "Desktop 3D-printing" as my bachelor thesis because I could see the big potential of this technology in the future. After operating several different 3D-printers in the University's workshop and in consultancies I realized that there is so much that still needed to be improved on current 3D-printers to become really successful – compared to inkjet/laser printers 10 years ago. For me all to that day available commercially useable 3D-printers were way to big, had a poor material/design finish and were hard to operate. In addition to that, the usage of 3D-printers was hard and overwhelming to beginners – on the hardware side at the machine and on the software side at the PC/Mac. There was a need to make the printing process as easy as possible, almost as easy as printing on a sheet of paper.

During the intense research phase of this project I visited all the major 3D-printing brands, did user tests, in-use field test, questionnaires, online research and operated most of the available printers by myself. The first important result of that research is that people are fascinated by the 3D-printing process. A part is created out of nothing, and built up layer by layer. Even people who know the process stand in front of the printer and watch it for a while doing its work. This fact led me to the two-sided window design, that highlights the internal printing process and allows a placement of the machine anywhere in the room, without an ugly backside. The next major key-factor was its size. To be really useful the printer needed to be as small as possible, while keeping the printable part size by 5x5x5in, a size that still covers 80% of all print jobs made in design bureaus and consultancies. To reduce the volume of XEOS 3D about 66% compared to the smallest available commercial 3D printer (2012, Stratasys Mojo) I researched different movement methods for the printing head and developed a completely new robotic printing arm, that has proven its accuracy and stability for many years in wafer robots for handling wafers. Only with this technology it was possible to dramatically reduce its overall size and the internal technical clutter of wires, rods and electrical components that current 3D-printers have and that makes them look complicated and hard to use.

XEOS 3D is the first 3D printer that can be placed on your desk next to you and used as a normal personal printer. With the decreased volume by 66% this printer is the first true commercial desktop 3D-printer that is allowed to be called a "desktop printer". Opening of the device with its easy uplifting door gives the user extended access to remove the printed part or change the material- / support cartridge. Its wireless operation and the big progress bar on the front that helps to see the printing progress instantly from further away, allow an placement anywhere in the room – even in bigger offices or workgroups. The integrated fisheye camera allows taking a quick look into the device in situations when the printer is not right next to you, from your desk with the XEOS App or even from home at night with any iOS or Android tablet, to make sure that everything is ok and the printed parts are ready the next morning when you come back. These features combined with a fresh but clean design bring the 3D-printing technology to a much broader audience and make printing of a three dimensional parts almost as easy as printing on a piece of paper.