3D Printing Materials (4) Page 4

We’ve all heard it before – prank, gag, joke, high jinx, whatever you call it, the day for them only comes once a year. You guessed it, April Fools' Day! Commonly celebrated on April 1^st in America, April Fools' Day is an annual custom consisting of silly jokes and funny pranks. Believed to have originated in the 12^th century, this holiday permeates cultures around the world in different ways and is constantly evolving as technology continues to advance. Since the Stratasys J Series of PolyJet 3D printers can produce hyper-realistic parts, we decided to put it to the test and prank a fellow co-worker.

Automated Fiber Placement (AFP) is the additive manufacturing process of creating 3D shapes using composite layers of heated resin, which also contains non-metallic fibers. This process can result in 3D printed parts that are two times stronger than steel at one-fifth of the weight (which is excellent); however, the technology traditionally requires million-dollar AFP systems (which is not great). Desktop Metal has recently launched its new Fiber™ platform, which utilizes a technology they call “micro” automated fiber placement (μAFP), that radically reduces the structure and cost of the typical AFP process .

PolyJet technology uses resins that are dispensed onto a build tray in very small droplets and cured between passes with ultraviolet light in order to create a 3D shape or shapes. PolyJet 3D printers use this process to create parts with a high level of detail and realism because they can print in multiple materials/colors at once and at a higher resolution than other print technology like Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF). Stratasys PolyJet machines can blend anywhere from two to six resins in order to obtain features like soft touch points and full range of color in a single printed part. This makes the technology very attractive for multiple industries when needing to create realistic prototypes and tactile end-use-parts. In this blog article, we highlight some of the most common blends of these composite or "digital" materials and how they are made.

MakerBot recently announced that it was further expanding the material capabilities of its Method platform with a new experimental MakerBot LABS print head and what they are calling the "Partner Materials Development Program." This opens up the Method platform to use a potentially unlimited number of materials as filament suppliers can now qualify their 3D printing materials for the platform in-house. Engineers and designers can discover the resulting pre-qualified materials from leading filament companies to explore new 3D printing applications.  

Antero 840CN03 (ESD) is a PEKK-based FDM thermoplastic with carbon nanotubes specifically formulated for the flexibility of FDM technology. It combines physical and mechanical qualities with the use of electrostatic dissipative (ESD) properties. The electrostatic dissipative capability makes this material a better fit for prototyping electronics, compared to Antero 800NA. The Antero ESD is chemical and wear-resistant, has ultra-low outgassing properties and is a high-performance ESD. These qualities are critical in space and industrial applications.

MakerBot Method 3D printers use production-grade thermoplastics to create functional prototypes, manufacturing tools and end-use parts that are durable, detailed and dimensionally accurate, all from a desktop sized printer. Getting industrial-grade jobs from a smaller footprint makes 3D printing real ABS much more convenient. Let's take a look at these new materials and what they mean for desktop 3D printing.

Stratasys GrabCAD Print is a sophisticated 3D printing app that allows designers and engineers to prepare, schedule and monitor 3D printing jobs. Since its release, GrabCAD has continued to make exciting updates to this software; and we will be updating you every other month on its new features – in this set of release notes we will be looking at versions 1.32, 1.33, and the just-released 1.34.