12-Nozzle 3D printer unveiled — MOVA AtomForm Unveils Palette 300

MOVA AtomForm officially unveiled its fledgling 3D printer at a Silicon Valley media event that felt more like a crash course on 3D printing for lifestyle content creators than a deep dive into the machine’s capabilities for those of us familiar with 3D printing.

The Palette 300 is a helmet-class Core XY machine with massive potential to rock Bambu Lab’s Benchy with a 12-nozzle system that promises to reduce waste while increasing speed. So far, this is all on paper, as the two machines on display were obviously prototypes, with only one printer reluctantly running a three-color print.

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AtomForm still has time, though, as no release date has been announced beyond “second quarter.” The company is taking reservations online, and for only $50, you can reserve a launch day price on the Palette 300 for $999, more than half off the expected $2199 retail price tag.

Despite this hefty price tag, the Palette 300 was presented as a beginner-friendly machine that can handle up to 36 spools of filament. Each RFD-6 can store and feed six spools while doubling as a filament drier. The machine comes with one RFD-6 by default, but can use up to four. However, running more than 12 colors would result in filament waste like any other multicolor machine.

AtomForm has dubbed the nozzle-swapping device the “OmniElement Automatic Nozzle Swapping System.” It is an extremely complex-looking system, with 12 nozzles held on a carousel with the tips pointing up. The carousel can be accessed at the bottom of the machine, and is given a cool blue “arc reactor” lighting effect. However, the positioning means the machine needs to reach down, grab a nozzle, flip it right side up, and then screw it into the tool head. It did not appear to have a magnetic attachment like Bambu Lab’s H2C. While the system wasn’t explained during the program, I joined several printer reviewers who gathered around one machine to surreptitiously poke at it.

Like the H2C, the Palette 300 can avoid the need to clean its nozzles between color swaps, which greatly reduces purge waste. The printer has a pair of Bowden tubes connecting it to the RFD-6 for what they call a “ReadyPrint” feeding system. This allows one color to be at bat, while another is on deck.

The machine will use AtomForm Studio, which is based on Orca Slicer. This is good news as the open source software has already proven itself able to handle several brands of multicolor 3D printers. Orca Slicer is itself a fork of Bambu Studio.

Along with the printer’s unveiling, MOVA AtomForm presented a lively discussion on the past, present, and future of 3D printing from a panel of experts ranging from a Stanford professor to a TikTok creator young enough to be his student. Moderated by presenter Isabelle Du, the panel featured 3D printing TikTok creator Robbie Burch (@robbiedoesthingz), retired Stanford adj. professor Barry Katz, and YouTubers Joel Telling (@3dprintingnerd) and Jerry Gomes (@theprinthouse).

Telling, a prominent 3D printing educator and advocate, joined Gomes in providing a veteran’s perspective on hardware, while Katz, a fellow at IDEO and author of Make it New: A History of Silicon Valley Design, stole the show with his insights on the history of design, the dangers of copyright regulations and ponderings on whether we should fear or embrace AI in 3D printing.

The presentation also lightly touched on AtomWorld, a website that may be like Prusa’s Printables or Bambu’s MakerWorld to host model files. Though they did not go into great detail, it was mentioned that 3D designers would be compensated in cash for their efforts.

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