After receiving a slew of press releases from Stratasys Ltd., I would say that the recent HP announcement of entering the market has not fazed Stratasys.  In addition to the new machines, the company is also showing new materials.

The introductions include:

·         Unique triple-jetting technology now available cross-platform – providing companies with varying application and budget requirements access to a variety of material combinations including flexible, rigid and color in a single part from office-compatible 3D printers to industrial-scale systems.
·         Up to 20% aster FDM production system times.
·         The new advanced ULTEM® 1010 FDM material lets customers, for the first time, create 3D tools for food processing and perform steam sterilization of medical devices. Aerospace and automotive customers can  benefit from enhanced speed, toughness and chemical resistance with the new capabilities.
·         Material versatility – customers now have 12 3D printing materials at the desktop level with the compact Objet30 Prime, providing consumer goods, electronics, medical-device and other industries with greater freedom to test design concepts to advanced working prototypes and parts.
·         Faster, more productive hands-free operation with the introduction of soluble support for the Objet Eden260VS – for companies looking to deliver high-volume, high-output prototyping without good finish and detail.

Triple-jetting technology for the office and design studio

With the launch of the Objet500 Connex3 earlier this year, Stratasys introduced its triple-jetting technology that began a new era in color multimaterial 3D printing. Stratasys announced six new PolyJet based 3D printers, making triple-jetting technology accessible cross-platform, for companies with different application and budget requirements. Triple-jetting technology enables designers and workgroups to cost-effectively produce prototypes, tools, injection molds and end-use parts featuring vivid color and product realism.

The Objet260 Connex 1, 2 and 3 series is a compact and office friendly platform, while the Objet350 Connex 1, 2 and 3 series deliver the same capabilities with larger build sizes. To increase productivity, all six 3D printers provide triple-jetting workflow advantages like hot-swap and fewer material changeovers. Further enhancing ease of use and workflow, the Objet260 and Objet350 Connex3 3D Printers (and the existing Objet500 Connex3) will support VRML-exported CAD files* in addition to the traditional STL, and deliver color, multimaterial 3D printing.

New Fortus systems with enhanced productivity and touch-screen interface

Two new Fortus 3D Production Systems: the Fortus 450mc and Fortus 380mc have a new touch-screen interface that allows users to make adjustments to their print jobs without disrupting operations and can achieve up to 20% quicker build times for complex geometries. Competitively priced, the Fortus 380mc is for prototyping and production tooling in a variety of standard and engineering thermoplastics. Featuring a larger build envelope than the 380mc, the Fortus 450mc employs the most advanced FDM thermoplastics and is ideal for mid-sized functional prototypes, production aids and end-use parts in specialized materials.

The desktop 3D printer with material versatility

The new Objet30 Prime Desktop 3D Printer offers 12 material options including rubber-like, rigid, high-temperature and bio-compatible materials, with quiet operation and an office-friendly footprint. The Objet30 Prime is for consumer goods, electronics and medical-device applications. Besides its two standard build modes, the system exclusively introduces a third print option – draft mode, which enables 36-micron layer 3D printing for faster build speeds to quickly test prototype concepts.

Soluble support technology for fine-detailed parts

The Objet Eden260VS 3D printer combines ultrafine 16-micron resolution with soluble support technology – offering lower cost-per-part for rigid material 3D printing. Combined with its reliability and footprint, the Objet Eden260VS is for service bureaus and consumer-goods designers requiring cost-effective prototyping for assembled parts with fine features, such as dental and medical applications.

ULTEM 1010 resin combines superior heat and chemical resistance with bio-compatibility

ULTEM 1010 combines superior heat resistance, tensile strength and chemical resistance and can be sterilized using steam autoclaving for medical applications. It is also bio-compatible and has the only food-contact certification of any FDM thermoplastic. These properties make the ULTEM 1010 a good choice for aerospace, automotive, food production tooling, and medical device manufacturing and functional prototyping applications.

Stratasys Ltd.
www.stratasys.com