MINNEAPOLIS & REHOVOT, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS), a manufacturer of 3D printers and materials for personal use, prototyping, and production, today announced the launch of the ground-breaking Objet500 Connex3 Color Multi-material 3D Printer, the first and only 3D printer to combine colors with multi-material 3D printing.
A game-changer for product design, engineering and manufacturing processes, the Objet500 Connex3 Color Multi-material 3D Printer features a unique triple-jetting technology that combines droplets of three base materials to produce parts with virtually unlimited combinations of rigid, flexible, and transparent color materials as well as color digital materials – all in a single print run. This ability to achieve the characteristics of an assembled part without assembly or painting is a significant time-saver. It helps product manufacturers validate designs and make good decisions earlier before committing to manufacturing, and bring products to market faster.
“Stratasys’ goal is to help our customers revolutionize their design and manufacturing processes,” says Stratasys CEO David Reis. “I believe our new Objet500 Connex3 Color Multi-material 3D Printer will transform the way our customers design, engineer and manufacture new products. In general and with the Connex technology in particular, we will continue to push the envelope of what’s possible in a 3D world.”
Engineers at beta user Trek Bicycle in Waterloo, Wisconsin are using the Objet500 Connex3 Color Multi-material 3D Printer for assessment and testing of accessories like bike chain stay guards and handlebar grips prior to actual production. “The Objet500 Connex3 Color Multi-material 3D Printer changed the way we manufacture at Trek, augmenting our traditional, time-consuming CNC processes with fast, iterative and realistic prototyping and functional testing,” says Mike Zeigle, manager of Trek’s prototype development group.
“Now we produce bicycle parts that look and feel like production parts. We are particularly excited about 3D printing our models directly in color. This gives our designers the ability to graphically display color contact pressure map data on rider contact parts like seats and grips. We are also working on doing the same with FEA & CFD stress data on structural bike components,” adds Zeigle.
Three Primary Color Materials Combine to Create a Spectrum of Vibrant
Colors
Similar to a 2D inkjet printer, three color materials -
VeroCyan, VeroMagenta and VeroYellow - are combined to produce hundreds
of vivid colors. These color materials join Stratasys’ extensive range
of PolyJet photopolymer materials including digital materials, rigid,
rubber-like, transparent, and high temperature materials to simulate
standard and high temperature engineering plastics.
Another First: Flexible Materials in Color*
The Objet500
Connex3 Color Multi-material 3D Printer also features six
palettes for new rubber-like Tango colors, ranging from opaque to
transparent colors in various shore values to address markets such as
automotive, consumer and sporting goods and fashion.*
“Since its introduction in 2007, the Objet Connex Multi-material 3D printing platform has paved the way for the development of advanced 3D printing materials with unique mechanical and thermal properties,” says Stratasys VP of product marketing and sales operations Igal Zeitun. “The Objet500 Connex3 Color Multi-material 3D Printer produces models and parts using photopolymers in vivid colors so you can create colorful models from investigating concepts to pre-production pilot runs.
“As the first true multi-purpose 3D printer, we believe the Objet500 Connex3 Color Multi-material 3D Printer is in a league of its own, enabling you to dream up a product in the morning, and hold it in your hands by the afternoon, with the exact intended color, material properties and surface finish.”
The Objet500 Connex3 Color Multi-material 3D Printer is commercially available today and is sold through Stratasys’ extensive worldwide reseller network.
*The Flexible Materials in Color are expected to be commercially available in Q2/2014.
Additional Notes for Editors
The Technology Behind the
Innovation
The Objet500 Connex3 Color Multi-material 3D
Printer is based on proven Connex technology. Ideal for
over-molding with Digital ABS and complex multi-material parts, the Objet500
Connex3 Color Multi-material 3D Printer is designed to enable
designers, engineers and manufacturers to create models, molds and parts
that match the characteristics of production parts. It 3D prints models
and parts with the color, durability and surface finish of end products.
This includes achieving excellent mechanical properties such as tensile
strength, elongation at break, and multiple hardness shore values, which
simulate high performance thermoplastics. It also allows overmolding
using durable Digital ABS materials and introduces new Shore A values
for Digital ABS, ranging from A27 to A95, a major advantage in
manufacturing consumer products.
Featuring a large build envelope, the Objet500 Connex3 Color Multi-material 3D Printer is ideal for high capacity production. Print jobs can run with about 30kg of resin per cycle. True to the high resolutions available with PolyJet 3D printing technology, the Objet500 Connex3 Color Multi-material 3D Printer prints as fine as 16 micron layers for models with superior surface finish and ultra-fine detail.
More information about the Objet500 Connex3 Color Multi-material 3D Printer is available on the Stratasys website at: http://www.stratasys.com/Objet500Connex3.
A digital press kit for the Objet500 Connex3 Color Multi-material 3D Printer is available by visiting the Stratasys online newsroom which contains additional resources including an image gallery, a product video, customer story video, case study, white paper, brochure, color palette, and spec sheet.
Stratasys Ltd. (Nasdaq: SSYS), headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn. and Rehovot, Israel, manufactures 3D printers and materials for prototyping and production. The company’s patented FDM® and PolyJetTM 3D Printing technologies produce prototypes and manufactured goods directly from 3D CAD files or other 3D content. Systems include 3D printers for idea development, prototyping and direct digital manufacturing. Stratasys subsidiaries include MakerBot and Solidscape, and the company operates the RedEye digital-manufacturing service. Stratasys has more than 1700 employees, holds over 500 granted or pending additive manufacturing patents globally, and has received more than 20 awards for its technology and leadership. Online at: www.stratasys.com or http://blog.stratasys.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain
information included or incorporated by reference in this press may be
deemed to be “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934. Forward-looking statements are often characterized by the use
of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “expect,”
“anticipate,” “estimate,” “continue,” “believe,” “should,” “intend,”
“project” or other similar words, but are not the only way these
statements are identified. These forward-looking statements may include,
but are not limited to, statements relating to the company’s objectives,
plans and strategies, statements regarding the company’s products and
their expected performance, statements that contain projections of
results of operations or of financial condition (including, with respect
to the MakerBot merger) and all statements (other than statements of
historical facts) that address activities, events or developments that
the company intends, expects, projects, believes or anticipates will or
may occur in the future. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees
of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties. The
company has based these forward-looking statements on assumptions and
assessments made by its management in light of their experience and
their perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected
future developments and other factors they believe to be appropriate.
Important factors that could cause actual results, developments and
business decisions to differ materially from those anticipated in these
forward-looking statements include, among other things: the company’s
ability to efficiently and successfully integrate the operations of
Stratasys, Inc. and Objet Ltd. after their merger as well as the ability
to successfully integrate MakerBot into Stratasys; the overall global
economic environment; the impact of competition and new technologies;
general market, political and economic conditions in the countries in
which the company operates; projected capital expenditures and
liquidity; changes in the company’s strategy; government regulations and
approvals; changes in customers’ budgeting priorities; litigation and
regulatory proceedings; and those factors referred to under “Risk
Factors”, “Information on the Company”, “Operating and Financial Review
and Prospects”, and generally in the company’s annual report on Form
20-F for the year ended December 31, 2012 filed with the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission and in other reports that the Company has filed
with the SEC. Readers are urged to carefully review and consider the
various disclosures made in the company’s SEC reports, which are
designed to advise interested parties of the risks and factors that may
affect its business, financial condition, results of operations and
prospects. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are made
as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to
publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as
required by law.
PolyJet, Connex, and Connex3 are trademarks, and Stratasys and Objet are registered trademarks of Stratasys Ltd. and or its subsidiaries or affiliates.
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