“We find that Magics and the accompanying Structo Build Processor, developed by Materialise, are world-class software products. Together, they offer the most advanced features and smooth workflow to give our customers the best possible user experience in going through file fixing, support generation and pre-print processing,” said Huub van Esbroeck, Founder of Structo. “Through this partnership, we are able to deeply integrate Materialise software with our hardware and offer the best-in-class turnkey solution for ultra-rapid prototyping.”
Standard SLA processes rely on moving light sources to cure each layer of a print, meaning that as prints increase in size and complexity, it takes longer for the light to reach and cure every point in a given layer. MSLA utilizes an LED array light source and a liquid crystal film mask to control which regions of the printing plane are illuminated. This means only a single exposure is required to cure each print layer, regardless of size, complexity, or even number of objects on the build platform.
Not to be outdone, Structo’s materials division, Structomer, focuses on developing novel, proprietary printing materials specifically for use with the RapidForm printer. Currently, their materials are all acrylate based, but researchers in the lab are looking into developing epoxies, composites, biomaterials, and even food materials in the future. According to the company, they hope to expand the range of their printers’ applications beyond industrial and into other fields, such as research.
Structo’s partnership with one of the largest 3D printing software companies also indicates that the company is serious about expanding and reaching a wider range of customers. As for Materialise, Structo is just the latest, and unlikely to be the last, company to be collected into their rapidly expanding Build Processor empire. It may be a bit extreme to say that Materialise is aiming for a software monopoly, but they certainly are partnership-happy, with their reach extending to manufacturers and consumers all across the globe. Discuss this new partnership in the Materialise / Structo forum thread on 3DPB.com.