As part of Hurco’s “Mind of Metal” campaign they revealed their new 3D print head adapter for CNC machines recently at the IMTS show in Chicago. This optional spindle-powered wireless accessory will allow owners of Hurco vertical machining centers to transform their WinMax part program to a 3D printed rapid prototype directly at their CNC machine. The 3D Print Head extrudes plastic PLA filament and allows users to experience 3D printing at a whole new level.

The easy installation of this portable accessory allows customers to move it to various Hurco machining centers within their shop to take full advantage of its capabilities. There are absolutely no wires to install making set-up simple. Using Hurco’s WinMax simple but powerful conversational programming platform allows users with no solid modeling experience to still get fantastic results. The WinMax software is the most user-friendly, versatile software on the market today making it well suited for the addition of this type of accessory.

“The Hurco control’s WinMax software gives users powerful graphics tools to develop even the most complex 3D shapes quickly and efficiently with conversational programming. Once you program the part, simply select the WinMax 3D Print button to start the build process on the Hurco CNC machine. Alternately, you can send the model to a commercial 3D printer,” said Fred Gross, engineering manager at Hurco.

Brooks recognizes that their customers are innovators who need a product that can revolutionize their go-to-market process and improve prototyping without a major capital equipment investment. The 3D print head adapter will let customers take full advantage of the size of their machining center to produce major results without a major investment!