Looking for a 500×500×500 mm 3D printer? Good thinking – you need a large build area because the usual 250–350 mm is no longer enough. Before you choose, though, check what an extra 100 mm gives you. We build printers with a 600×600 mm build area – the Revon 600 – and explain below why it is often the more sensible choice than 500×500.
500×500 is a lot. 600×600 is 44% more
Bed area grows with the square of the side. A 500×500 mm bed has 2,500 cm², a 600×600 mm bed 3,600 cm² – 44% more space on every layer. In practice this means:
- larger parts in one piece – housings, jigs, models and moulds without splitting, gluing and sanding joints,
- more parts per print – a 600×600 bed fits about half as many series parts again as a 500×500, so the machine runs longer unattended,
- headroom for the future – today's project fits in 500 mm, the next order may not.
Height matters too
Searching for "500×500×500" you think of a cube. We build 600×600 printers in two heights – 600×600×400 and 600×600×600 mm – and for the largest parts also 1200×600×500 mm. You choose the height for what you actually print instead of paying for a Z axis you won't use.
A large printer must be stiff and warm
A larger build area is a bigger challenge: longer axes, a heavier toolhead, a bigger bed to heat and a risk of warping with engineering materials. That is why our 600×600 machines have:
- a rigid aluminium frame and proven open CoreXY designs,
- an enclosed chamber – ABS, ASA, nylon and fibre composites print without warping,
- Klipper with input shaping, so a large machine prints fast and accurately,
- wear parts available off the shelf – no expensive proprietary components.
Revo OS – something a typical 500×500 printer won't give you
Every Revon runs Revo OS, our own Klipper-based control system. It makes a large machine simple to operate:
- a screen designed from scratch – only what the operator really uses,
- a light bar visible from across the shop floor: ready, printing, needs attention,
- a nozzle check before every print – on long, large prints that saves hours and kilograms of filament,
- a browser panel with camera and a colour bed mesh – on a 600×600 bed flatness matters enormously,
- reminders to replace parts before something stops production.
When is 500×500 enough?
If your largest parts are a few dozen centimetres, you mostly print PLA and don't plan batches, a 500×500 printer may be enough. But when production, engineering materials and unattended running time count, the price difference between 500 and 600 mm is small compared with what you gain.
Comparison at a glance
| 500×500×500 | Revon 600 | |
|---|---|---|
| Bed area | 2,500 cm² | 3,600 cm² (+44%) |
| Height | 500 mm | 400 or 600 mm |
| Enclosed chamber | depends on model | yes |
| Control system | standard | Revo OS on Klipper |
| Spare parts | often proprietary | off the shelf |
| Training and support | varies | training and remote support |
Ask about your 600×600 printer
Describe what you want to print – we will advise on height, chamber and configuration. See the Revon 600 (600×600×600 and 600×600×400), the Revon 1200 or all Revon printers.