Stratasys Direct Manufacturing has announced the opening of the PolyJet Design and Print Center at its location in Eden Prairie, Minn. The expanded facility is now the largest print bureau in North America dedicated to PolyJet 3D printing technology. The PolyJet Design Center focuses all of the Stratasys subsidiary’s PolyJet production capacity and expertise into a single location, with over 16 PolyJet 3D printers, including two J55 Prime machines.
“We see a growing customer demand for PolyJet 3D printing and we’re already observing strong interest in these expanded capabilities,” said Rich Garrity, Stratasys Americas president. “Whether customers use us for a single project to supplement their additive manufacturing capabilities, or they choose us to be their sole provider of 3D printed parts, Stratasys Direct has the expertise and facilities to support their needs.”
The J55 Prime, with greater color and material options. Image courtesy of Stratasys.
In addition to the new site, Stratasys Direct also showcased a new multicolor 3D printing workflow for customers. Meant to speed up the process of ordering PolyJet prints, the workflow allows customers to create multi-color, multi-part models with a single 3MF format. Rather than provide the company with individual files for every color, material, texture and geometry, clients can now submit a single 3MF file containing textures, materials, colors and mesh. Needless to say, this will save customers time with every modification and printing of the file.
Derek Rund, Lead Senior Industrial Designer for Kinetic Vision, a product design firm based in Cincinnati, Ohio, said, “Using the new simplified 3MF workflow enables us to bypass a handful of software applications allowing us to export printable files that include colorful graphics, complex textures, and multiple opacities in one step.”
Parts 3D printed with the J55 Prime. Image courtesy of Stratasys.
The introduction of a new workflow coincides with the release of the Stratasys J55 Prime as a means of making the production of full-color, multi-material parts more easily. In turn, a larger number of users should be able to use the technology for highly-detailed prototypes and models.