Ruhrbot Labs' 2K-Buddy Takes the Guesswork Out of Two-Part Polymer Mixing, Dispensing

3D printing specialist Ruhrbot Labs is preparing to launch a crowdfunding campaign for a desktop tool that aims to take the guesswork out of two-part polymer mixing: the 2K-Buddy.

"2K-Buddy [is] a compact two-component polyurethane mixing and dispensing system developed for makers, engineers, prototyping labs, and small production environments," the company explains of its creation. "No manual weighing for every pour. No sticky mixing cups. No oversized industrial installation. Just controlled, repeatable two-component processing in a format designed to fit the workshop desktop. 2K-Buddy is built for people who make real things — and want to spend less time preparing material and more time creating reliable results."

Two-part polymers are a mainstay of making, offering shelf stability combined with rapid curing once mixed. That is the key part, however: the mixing. Altering the ratio of the two parts can dramatically alter the properties of the finished material, ranging from shortening or lengthening curing times to curing too hard, too soft, or even failing to cure and remaining liquid or crumbling once hardened.

The 2K-Buddy aims to fix that by introducing reproducibility while reducing manual labor. Feedlines are placed into the two bottles to link them to the pumping and mixing system, which can then be set to mix them in the ratios required — 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 1:5, and 1:10 when selected from a dial on the top or via an optional companion app. The material is then automatically pumped, mixed, and dispensed from a nozzle ready for use in, Ruhrbot Labs claims, as little as two minutes with another two minutes required for cleanup afterwards.

The company claims that the current prototype is fully-functional, with tests demonstrating the dispensing of properly-mixed polymer at up to 400ml per minute and with dispensing errors below ±1ml. "We are currently expanding our validation process across different materials, viscosities, mixing ratios, and dispensing volumes," Ruhrbot Labs says, while promising to release final specifications ahead of hardware delivery.

Interested parties can find out more, and sign up to be notified when the crowdfunding campaign goes live, on Kickstarter; pricing starts at €299 (around $342) for "super early bird" backers, with hardware expected to begin shipping in June 2027. As with all crowdfunding campaigns, however, fulfillment is not guaranteed — and the company's heavy use of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI) for campaign imagery raises a red flag.