GOLIATH CNC
Goliath CNC concept was born at the beginning of 2014 as thesis project of Lorenzo Frangi, co-founder of Springa Srl. Goliath is the first portable and autonomous CNC machine tool; launched with a Kickstarter campaign by Springa Srl, the crowdfunding operation already reached the 200% of the goal in one day.
Usually, the work area of CNC desktop milling machines is as wide as an A4 paper sheet, on the other hand, the traditional and professional CNC machines allow manufacturing wide surfaces but they have a high footprint, are bulky, heavy and expensive. Within the landscape, Springa decided to create something in between that had the dimensions of a desktop machine, but the endless possibilities of a professional one: Goliath CNC can be positioned directly on the work surface and the user can supervise the work progress by a computer, smartphone or tablet.
The choice to use three omnidirectional wheels is a key point in how Goliath CNC works since they make the robot free to move without any constraint on the plane. The three-module wheels are custom designed and ensure that two rollers are always in contact with the panel. The portability is one of Goliath most outstanding features: its footprint is smaller than the majority of desktop CNC machines. Moreover, the robot is designed with two handles on the top and it weighs 10 kg (22 lbs), so that it is comfortable to be lifted to work either on tabletops or on the ground. The dimension and price make it much more affordable than a work centre, which makes it perfect for users like DIY lovers, artisans, designers, makers, but also schools, universities and co-working spaces.
Another challenging and very important feature is the control of position of the robot: Goliath comes with a patented sensor system, which triangulates with high accuracy its position. Thanks to radio frequency communication, the sensors continuously update the position of the CNC relative to the work area, 100 times a second. This feature ensures the target accuracy of 0.1 mm (0.004 inches).
The project has been awarded during the Italian Innovation Day 2016, and it reached also international recognition during the Maker Faire Bay Area 2017, in San Mateo (California). Until now, the team has worked full-time on Goliath CNC, focusing on research and development in order to realize different demonstrative functional prototypes.
Springa started a Kickstarter campaign to let the community of Makers around the world know the boundless possibilities that Goliath CNC offers. Goliath is available on Kickstarter from October; with a starting price of 1490 USD, worldwide shipping to backers will start in August 2018!
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