3D Printing Page 0

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.

The Stratasys Origin One 3D printer utilizes Programmable Photopolymerization, or P3 Technology and has been making a lot of waves in the additive manufacturing community because of its high throughput capabilities and ability to print parts with near injection molded surface finish.

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. 

Stratasys is constantly innovating and pushing the limits of creativity to bring the fastest, best, and overall highest performance 3D printers to market. In April 2020, they introduced the J55 3D printer with a revolutionary circular build plate that took the world by storm.

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.

FDM machines utilize real thermoplastic resins, real strong, tough materials for real applications. FDM technology is a premier choice for creating complicated parts that need to stand up to repeated use, drilling, tapping and getting banged up. All the examples in the video below revolve around FDM 3D printing technologies.

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.