A lot has happened in the world in the last year and a half. And, a lot has happened in 3D printing in the last year and a half. Stratasys has released several new 3D printers, 3D printing technologies, and 3D printing materials.
One of the most exciting new developments for us encapsulates on all three – a new technology, a new printer, and a new material.
SAF Technology
In 2019, Stratasys entered into a joint venture with XAAR 3D and the inventor of Multi Jet Fusion (MJF). When MJF was invented, it was an improvement on SLS 3D printing. And this new technology from Stratasys is the next generation – an improvement on MJF.
The technology is called SAF, or Selective Absorption Fusion. It’s Powder Bed Fusion, reimagined.
SAF allows industrial grade 3D printing with production level throughputs for the creation of end-use parts. Stratasys invented the H350 3D printer to bring the process to life.
The H350
So how does it work? As the print heads move from left to right, they jet a high absorption fluid onto selected areas of the powder bed. On the same pass of the print heads, an infrared lamp heats the particles, causing them to fuse together and form a layer of the part. It’s a one pass, print and fuse process.
The technology, the printer, and the printed parts are incredibly reliable, consistent, and cost-effective, making the H350 ideal for printing high volumes of parts.
To learn more on the machine, check out our recent edition of 30 on 3D.
Benefits of the H350
- Few consumables, equating to a lower running cost.
- Higher percentage of reusable powder, compared to other PBF printers.
- High part quality. SAF parts are printed denser than the competition, resulting in better aesthetics and part quality. You won’t encounter the elephant skin or orange peel surfaces that are so common with MJF.
- Higher nesting density compared to other solutions. We can print more parts than the competition, giving you lower cost parts, as you amortize the machine faster over more parts.
- Fast turnaround, as you can get your first volume of parts in hand within 48 hours. With SAF, get your parts in days, not weeks.
How It Compares
I recently quoted a Purple Porcupine customer on the fabrication of 3,000 production parts. We helped this customer with an injection molding quote that included 35 working days to make a steel mold and an additional 20 – 60 days to get parts. I also gave the customer a SAF quote, which provided the first batch of parts in days. And at a lower overall cost.
If you want production quantities, consider SAF for your next project.
We are certain that SAF is going to change the way our customers view 3D printing of tooling and robust prototypes, as well as how they view mass production. If you’re interested in learning more, send us an email at [email protected] or give us a call at 949.474.9222.
Meet Geoff Varga
As a Sales Engineer for both Purple Platypus and Purple Porcupine, Geoff helps our Arizona customers find the right additive solution for their needs. Geoff’s favorite thing about working at Purple is that he gets to learn something new every day and he is able to help our clients develop innovative products that change the world.
Out of the office, Geoff enjoys volunteering in the community and spending time with his family. If you haven’t had the chance to meet Geoff, be sure to connect with him on LinkedIn!
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