3D Printing Materials Page 1

Do you need the ability to create highly accurate full color parts with multiple shore values and nearly invisible layer lines? A PolyJet 3D printer might be the solution. PolyJet machines have a wide selection of available materials including vibrant colors, ultra clears, flexible, and biocompatibility. Materials can also be mixed into digital materials. Digital materials are a mixture or blend of two or more base materials to create a material with its own unique properties. If you want to learn more about printing in full color, you can check out this blog post: Printing Colors: PolyJet.

Additive manufacturing has made exceptional mechanical developments in the last few years, and now the current focus seems to have shifted to improvement in software and materials. With the demand for performance grade materials rising, it is important to gain an understanding of what it means for parts to be considered “strong.”

It is no secret that the world is experiencing supply chain issues at every level. From raw materials shortages, bottlenecked shipping ports and even labor shortages. To overcome these challenges, a lot of organizations began looking toward additive manufacturing to supplement or complement their workflows, depending on the severity of their situations.

The 3D printing market is always on the prowl for high performance materials. Materials that are strong, chemical resistant, heat resistant, bio-compatible, or even food safe. Thanks to Stratasys, the search can come to an end. ULTEM 1010 CG, available on the Fortus 450 and F900, this certified grade thermoplastic boasts a ton of highly desirable physical and mechanical properties that make it a homerun across many different industry verticals.

Whether you’re looking to purchase a new Stratasys 3D printer from TriMech or just ordered one, you may be wondering, what happens now? Do I have to do anything on my end to make sure that this printer arrives safely? What kind of information do I need to provide to TriMech to facilitate this delivery? When will the machine be installed? Maybe something else? Today, we’re going to tackle that very topic!

This week Stratasys announced an all-new composite series of 3D printers. These printers include the F190CR and F370CR and are equipped with hardened components to operate with composite materials.  

Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) 3D printing is probably the most common and highly adopted form of 3D printing. When you picture 3D printing or additive manufacturing, FDM is likely the technology that first comes to mind. FDM is extrusion based, which means plastic is heated until is becomes semi-liquid and is extruded along computer-controlled tool paths to build objects layer-by-layer.

Additive manufacturing is widely used among many different industries with companies taking advantage of its many benefits. There are several additive manufacturing technologies including Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), Stereolithography (SL), PolyJet, Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS), Powder Bed Fusion, Programmable PhotoPolymerization (P3™), Selective Absorption Fusion (SAF) and more, each with advantages and disadvantages depending on the application. 

DMLS is a powder-bed fusion system utilizing the laser power as the heat source to melt a layer of evenly distributed metal powder. The laser is directed by a mirror to selectively scan over a path defined by the CAD file. The powder layer thickness can be adjusted and usually is set as 30, 60 or 90 microns. Once a layer is finished, the roller dispenses a fresh layer of powder and this cycle repeats until the part is fully printed.

It is no secret that additive manufacturing is becoming a quintessential practice amongst manufacturers, engineers and designers alike, especially as the fragility of supply chains becomes so abundantly clear.