09-18-2014: Tiertime presented the UP BOX
09-18-2014: Tiertime presented the UP BOX
3D printer that was supposed to revolutionize the desktop 3D printing sector, but ultimately passed without much notice...
On September 18, 2014, Tiertime (Beijing Tiertime Technology Co. Ltd.) introduced the UP BOX – the successor to the highly popular and innovative desktop 3D printers, the UP Plus 2 and UP Mini. At the time of its launch, it was the most stunning and promising FFF 3D printer in terms of functionality. It featured a fairly large build area, automatic calibration, a fully enclosed and heated build chamber, and a HEPA filter. In short – it was the Chinese answer to Stratasys' uPrint and Mojo but at a much lower price of $1,899.
In 2014, Chinese company Tiertime was one of the most popular 3D printer manufacturers in the world. In the desktop segment, they were known for two products: the UP Plus 2 and the UP Mini. Both devices were renowned for excellent 3D print quality, reliability, and above all, very simple and user-friendly operation. In fact, they were the first low-budget Plug&Print-class 3D printers. Unfortunately, they had only one drawback – a very small build area.
The UP BOX changed that, aiming to take desktop FFF 3D printing to a whole new level. It had a build area of 25.5 x 20.5 x 20.5 cm, could print in ABS in a heated chamber, and offered a range of features unavailable in other 3D printers of the time (e.g., filament replacement with the press of a button). In addition, it came with fantastic, proprietary Tiertime software, ease of use, and superb 3D print quality.
Unfortunately the 3D printer went pretty much unnoticed...
There were three main reasons for that:
UP BOX took a long time to arrive… Despite the announced sales in November 2014, they only became available in Europe a year after the launch! This had critical consequences because…
By that time, the Zortrax M200 was already dominating the market, offering all the features of the UP BOX except for the closed and heated chamber (which was supposed to be included in the also delayed and unsuccessful successor to the M200 – the Inventure). Zortrax also had a good design and was based on a rigid, solid metal frame instead of plastic.
The 3D printer had issues… It wasn’t as reliable as the UP Plus or Mini. The complete redesign compared to the previous printers that worked well caused more problems than benefits.
One could say that with the release of the UP BOX, Tiertime's global career started to decline. Subsequent 3D printer launches passed without much attention. On top of that, there was a patent dispute between Stratasys and Afinia (the American brand under which UP 3D printers were sold) and growing competition pressure (Zortrax, Ultimaker, MakerBot, XYZPrinting, Raise3D).
Despite the high expectations, the UP BOX did not live up to the hopes placed on it, and I’m sure many people have long since forgotten about it...
Source: www.centrumdruku3d.pl