EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. & REHOVOT, Israel/November 8, 2022 — Stratasys Ltd. announced availability of 13 new Validated materials for the Fortus® 450mc 3D printer, as well as SAF™ PA12 powder from new materials partner ALM for the H350® 3D printer powered by SAF technology. The OpenAM™ software, including an open material license, is also now available for the Fortus 450mc printer, enabling printing with exploratory open materials.
“There should be no limits on what’s possible with 3D printing,” said Stratasys CEO Dr. Yoav Zeif. “The polymer materials industry is investing in additive manufacturing like they never have before, and we want our world-class customers to be able to take full advantage of those innovations in chemistry as quickly as possible. Our hybrid materials strategy does just that, because the world urgently needs to make this shift to additive manufacturing at scale.”
DI Labs is a fast-growing additive manufacturing service bureau built by product development engineers with deep technical knowledge, making it an ideal global launch partner and the first beta site for the OpenAM solution. “Our Fortus 450mc printer offers us consistent and reliable printing outcomes but until now, we’ve been limited by materials,” said DI Labs CEO Carl Douglass. “We’re proud to have engineers working directly with the Stratasys development team to fine-tune this new software platform and help optimize the process of printing with materials like PEKK, PEEK and others. The OpenAM software will allow us to unlock endless opportunities using additive for complex aerospace, medical device, heavy industrial, and automotive applications.”
13 New Validated FDM Materials
Stratasys is partnering with materials providers Covestro, Kimya, and Victrex plc to make Stratasys Validated materials available for Stratasys FDM® printers, starting with the Fortus 450mc. These materials have been validated by Stratasys with basic reliability testing to accelerate the expansion of material options available in the marketplace. The following FDM materials are now available for order, and are expected to ship by early 2023:
- VICTREX AM™ 200: Strong, semi-crystalline PAEK filament specifically formulated for end-use parts production in high-requirement industries such as oil and gas and aerospace.
- Covestro Addigy® PA6/66-GF20 FR LS: Flame-resistant, glass fiber composite material that meets EN45545 requirements for rail applications. The materials strength and stiffness is similar to Nylon 12CF.
- Kimya PC-FR: Flame-resistant polycarbonate material that meets EN45545 requirements for rail applications and is specifically designed for end use parts, including low-volume production and replacement parts.
- FDM HIPS: An affordable high impact polystyrene-based material for low requirements applications
In addition, several existing materials are now available in colors as Validated materials:
- ULTEM™ 9085 Red, Dream Gray, White, Jana White, Gunship Gray, Aircraft Gray: Providing this flame-retardant, high-performance thermoplastic in several colors opens up more end-use parts applications in which aesthetics are important, such as in aircraft or train car interiors.
- PC Red, Black: Polycarbonate filament with heat resistance and high durability for functional prototypes and tooling applications.
- PCS-ABS Red: Blend of polycarbonate and ABS polymers provides both heat resistance and flexural strength for a variety of prototyping and end-use parts applications.
Access to Third Party Open Materials for Fortus 450mc
Stratasys also continues to expand the use cases served by the Fortus 450mc 3D printer by giving customers access to third party open materials through an annual OpenAM materials license, which Stratasys provided to Origin® One customers earlier this year. The software, used in conjunction with GrabCAD Print or Insight, provides parameter controls and printer tuning capabilities for customers who wish to use open market filaments or newly developed proprietary formulas. The software can also be used to adjust parameters to meet unique customer requirements for Stratasys Preferred and Validated materials as well.
Stratasys Selects ALM to Provide PA12 Powder
Stratasys also announced that it has selected Advanced Laser Materials (ALM) as the first provider of SAF PA12 material, for the H350 3D printer. PA12, also known as nylon 12, is the single most popular material in industrial 3D printing todayi, providing geometric accuracy, chemical resistance, and stiffness for machine components, communications industry applications, and prototyping.
Powder bed additive manufacturing systems bring special requirements for materials to address production applications, and ALM specializes in the engineering, testing, and manufacturing of high-quality polymer materials. “Stratasys’ focus on production, material quality, and process repeatability are key value drivers of the H350 printer,” said Donnie Vanelli, President, ALM. “ALM shines by tailoring powders for specific applications and processes, and our collaboration with Stratasys is important to those customers scaling their AM production and who will see a compelling value in the combination of ALM PA12 and SAF technology – exceeding their quality expectations.“
Stratasys currently expects to be able to take orders for SAF PA12 before the end of the year.
All Stratasys Preferred materials and Validated materials for Stratasys systems are available for purchase through Stratasys and reseller partner channels.
