13 valid materials are launched by Stratasys for Fortus 450mc’s 3D printer

Stratasys has announced that 13 new validated materials are now available for the Fortus 450mc3D printer.

SAF PA12 powder is now available from the company along with new materials. Advanced Laser Materials (ALM), for its H350 powder-bed fusion machine.

Stratasys introduced a three-tiered Material Ecosystem last November that includes Preferred Materials (Validated Materials), Open Materials (Open Materials) and Validated Materials (Preferred Materials). The Fortus-450mc has 13 valid materials. These materials include grades from Covestro, Kimya Victrex. Each of the 13 Validated Materials has been subject to basic reliability tests by Stratasys. Shipments are expected to begin in early 2023.

The VICTREX Am 200, a semi-crystalline, strong PAEK filament, is now validated. Also, the Covestro Addigy PA6/66 GF20 FRLS, a flame resistant, glass fibre composite material that meets EN45545 standards for rail applications, and the Kimya PCFR, which is a flame resistant polycarbonate that also meets EN45545 rail application requirements, are among the recently validated products. FDM HIPS has been validated by Stratasys, a low-cost, high-impact polystyrene material suitable for low requirements. ULTEM 9085 is also available in red, dream, white, jana, gunship, and aircraft grey. Stratasys’ PC material has also been made available in red and black, while its PCS-ABS has been made available in red.

“There should be no limits on what’s possible with 3D printing,” commented Stratasys CEO Dr Yoav Zeif. “The polymer materials industry is investing in additive manufacturing like they never have before, and we want our world-class customers to be able to take full advantage of those innovations in chemistry as quickly as possible. Our hybrid materials strategy does just that, because the world urgently needs to make their shift to additive manufacturing at scale.”

In line with the Validated Materials announcements, Stratasys has also released the OpenAM software, which includes an open materials license to enable printing with ‘exploratory open materials’, for the Fortus 450mc printer. This software can be used in conjunction with GrabCAD Print and Insight, and was given to Origin One users earlier in the year. Service bureau DI Labs was selected as a Beta and global launch partner for the software’s availability on the Fortus 450mc.

OpenAM allows customers to control parameters and tune their printers for open market filaments and newly developed formulas. It can also be used to adjust parameters for unique customer requirements for Stratasys Preferred and Validated materials.

“Our Fortus 450mc printer offers us consistent and reliable printing outcomes but until now, we’ve been limited by materials,” added Carl Douglass, CEO of DI Labs. “We’re proud to have engineers working directly with the Stratasys development team to fine-tune this new software platform and help optimise the process of printing with materials like PEKK, PEEK and others. Thew OpenAM software will allow us to unlock endless opportunities using additive for complex aerospace, medical device, heavy industrial, and automotive applications.”

ALM was selected as the first provider for SAF PA12 material by Stratasys’ powder bed fusion division. This material is available for the H350 printer. Stratasys expects to be able take orders for the material by the end of this year.

“Stratasys’ focus on production, material quality and process repeatability are key value drivers of the H350 printer,” commented Donnie Vanelli, President of ALM. “ALM shines by tailoring powders for specific applications and processes, and our collaboration with Stratasys is important to those customers scaling their AM production and who will see a compelling value in the combination of ALM PA12 and SAF technology – exceeding their quality expectations.”

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