Stratasys Unveils Multi-Color 3D Printer

The Stratasys Objet500 Connex3 Multi-Color Printer with Prototypes

3D printer manufacturer, Stratasys, unveiled the world’s first multi-color, multi-material 3D printer called the Objet500 Connex3. The new technology enables a fast creation of objects made from unlimited combinations of soft, rigid and transparent materials and coloring without the need for manufacturing and assembling their components.

As our researchers have closely watched the 3D printing space, we have been particularly interested in what was happening with color. Specifically the previously narrow color gamut and how that there were few possibilities one would have when prototyping products with one of these machines.

This new printing technology opens up those possibilities significantly!

Though an incredible breakthrough in capability, the current color combinations available with this new printer offer only 10 color palettes, each with 45 or 46 hues. While obviously still limited for finished goods, these devices are not production machines (yet) and so the palettes may-or-may-not be limiting for you as you prototype with them.

These ten color palettes represent the color-blending capabilities of the Objet500 Connex3.
Each side and interior cell is a specially engineered Digital Material.

For more on color and other aspects of this printer technology, download the Stratasys Multi-Color White Paper (PDF) or view their website section on the new Objet500 Connex3.

More information is in their press release below…

January 26, 2014

Stratasys Redefines Product Design
and Manufacturing with World’s First
Color Multi-material 3D Printer

The new Objet500 Connex3 is the world’s most versatile
3D printer, delivering unparalleled color product realism.

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.

Bike helmet 3D printed on the Objet500 Connex3 Color Multi-material 3D Printer in one print job using VeroCyan, VeroMagenta, and VeroYellow (Photo: Stratasys Ltd.)

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 CEODavid 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, Wisconsinare 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 Connex3Color 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 Information 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 PolyJet^TM3D 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.

For More Information

USA 1-877-489-9449
Europe/Middle East/Africa +49-7229-7772-0
Asia Pacific +852 39448888

Stratasys Unveils Multi-Color 3D Printer

Stratasys Redefines Product Design
and Manufacturing with World’s First
Color Multi-material 3D Printer

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Stratasys Redefines Product Design
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Color Multi-material 3D Printer