So what if you start a print job in the evening, go to sleep, and wake up in the morning to find 15 finished parts without having to change the print plate even once.
Still annoyed by having to get up in the middle of the night to change your 3D printer's build plate? A solution that's set to change the desktop FDM printing experience is on the way. FlyingBear recently launched a crowdfunding product named the "APS" (Automatic Platform System) on Kickstarter, designed to enable truly continuous, unattended operation for your printer.
Core Function: Automatic Plate Swapping, Continuous Printing
At the heart of the APS system is a seven-plate carousel. It can automatically eject finished parts and load a brand new build plate on the new Ghost7 printer, allowing the machine to handle batch tasks non-stop. Users simply need to set up their print queue, then can confidently go to sleep or leave, waking up to a pile of finished products—completely eliminating manual intervention.
Who Does It Solve Problems For?
The system precisely targets three user groups:
Print Farm Operators: Seeking unattended batch manufacturing to boost efficiency.
Hobbyists & Creators: Wanting to start prints before work and collect the results afterward, or achieve overnight prototyping.
Small-Scale Producers: Needing automated production for high-mix, low-volume fabrication.
Current Limitations & Future Outlook
Currently, the APS is only compatible with FlyingBear's own Ghost7 printer and does not yet support cross-brand use. FlyingBear is a China-based company founded in 2016, claiming to have shipped over 500,000 printers worldwide, though the visibility of its products in mainstream overseas markets remains to be seen.
This crowdfunding campaign signals mainstream manufacturers actively entering the crucial arena of desktop-level print automation. Although multi-material printing is advancing rapidly, achieving reliable, continuous "unmanned" production is the greater challenge. The emergence of systems like APS indicates that desktop 3D printing is evolving from a "toy" into a genuine production tool.
If successful, this could become an important step in promoting the adoption of distributed manufacturing. For makers and small studios plagued by the hassle of plate swapping, a truly reliable automatic plate-changing solution is certainly something to look forward to.
