In 2014, New York City-based 3D printing service provider PrintParts Inc. officially launched with the goal of connecting ‘Makers’ and ‘Printers’ online, though it wasn’t technically founded as a company until 2016. The service bureau re-launched its website in 2019, reaffirming its mission to help customers produce on-demand 3D printed parts at an affordable cost. PrintParts offers multiple manufacturing services, including industrial design, additive consulting, prototyping, and production of industrial parts for end-use applications with a variety of materials and additive technologies, such as FFF, FDM, and SLA printing. But now it’s adding another production service to its roster: selective laser sintering (SLS) technology with the Formlabs Fuse 1 system.
“We have been using Formlabs SLA systems for over three years now and have been impressed with the ease of use, range of materials, and print quality,” Cody Burke, the Head of Partnerships at PrintParts, said in a press release. “Investing in the new Fuse 1 system was the logical next step for us in order to bring high quality, industrial-grade SLS print options to our customers in a cost-efficient way.”
The Fuse 1 SLS 3D printer is brand new, having only been released within the last week, though the company has been developing it for seven years. The bench top industrial system uses what Formlabs calls Surface Armor technology, and features a 70% powder refresh rate and a lower cost in comparison to traditional SLS systems. The patent-pending Surface Armor shields the part’s surface, while also offering a high-quality finish and high refresh rates, and the Fuse 1 also includes new Nylon 12 powder and a post-processing system called Fuse sift.
PrintParts is one of the first AM service bureaus to offer SLS parts 3D printed on the new Fuse 1, which fuses nylon powder with a laser to produce lightweight, strong parts. The 3D printer also features a higher throughput with a 165 x 165 x 320 mmm build volume, higher levels of efficiency thanks to less post-processing time stemming from supportless printing, and its removable build chamber allows for less downtime and continuous 3D printing.
“We have a great relationship with PrintParts and are excited that they’re among the very first service bureaus to receive a Fuse 1. The straightforward end-to-end SLS workflow Fuse 1 provides will enable PrintParts to deliver high-performance prototypes and end-use parts to their customers,” said Dan Recht, Business Development Lead at Formlabs.
PrintParts focuses mainly on short run production services for applications in a multitude of industries, such as robotics, defense, automotive, aerospace, and medical devices. In fact, the service bureau was in the headlines in 2020 because it expanded operations in order to support the government of New York City as one of the prime contractors for COVID-19 testing supplies; PrintParts ended up delivering more than 1.5 million 3D printed nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs.
The company had witnessed the increasing demand for 3D printed Nylon production parts, which is why the addition of the Formlabs Fuse 1 SLS printer is a good fit for PrintParts. Formlabs’ new Nylon 12 powder has special material attributes that are well-suited for mechanical, load-bearing, or structural parts, such as 50 MPa tensile strength, 171 °C / 340 °F @ 0.45 MPa heat deflection temperature, and the ability to bend and then return to its original form with 11% elongation at the break.
Barry Gottlieb, Senior Procurement Specialist of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. and PrintParts customer, said, “We’ve always enjoyed working with the team at PrintParts and we’re very excited about the expansion into SLS production parts using the Formlabs Fuse 1 system.”
PrintParts customers can now purchase nylon parts produced with SLS 3D printing on the Formlabs Fuse 1.
(Source/Images: PrintParts Inc.)
Subscribe to Our Email Newsletter
Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from the 3D printing industry and receive information and offers from third party vendors.
You May Also Like
Twikit to Bring 3D Printing Personalization to Oqton’s Manufacturing OS
While Oqton is working to fully weave a digital thread through the world of manufacturing, Twikit has made strides in design automation to introduce personalization platform to 3D printing. Now,...
What if 3D Printing Mass Customized Everything at the Voxel Level?
When we think of mass customization and 3D printing, we often think of personalizing an object’s shape. Shape alone, however, doesn’t often make a good business case. Frequently, additive manufacturing...
3D Printing News Unpeeled: Impossible Objects, Soft Tissue Bitmaps and Aerorise
Weber University’s Miller Advanced Research and Solutions Center (MARS Center) has bought an Impossible Objects Composite-Based Additive Manufacturing system the CBAM-2. It is now reportedly using the system to make upgrades to...
Mass Customization: Proof that Complexity Isn’t Free – AMS Speaker Spotlight
Mass customization is a manufacturing paradigm where custom products are produced at large volumes that are traditionally only achievable by conventional mass production. Additive manufacturing (AM), or 3D printing, has...
Print Services
Upload your 3D Models and get them printed quickly and efficiently.