Stratasys has taken the covers of what we all knew was coming — ever since Neri Oxman exhibited her “Imaginary Beings – Mythologies of the Not Yet” in Paris back in 2012 — and that is multi-colour, multi-material 3D printing in the form of the Objet 500 Connex3.
The Objet Connex platform has led the way and still dominates when it comes to multi-material 3D printing. First introduced back in 2007, the Connex is a serious 3D printer for industrial applications and has been successfully put through its paces for some staggering applications involving multi-materials, including the work of Jason Lopes at Legacy Effects and Gary Miller at IPF in the UK. Not surprisingly then, these two have been beta testing the new Objet500 Connex3 platform for Stratasys that now brings multi-colour into the mix.
Billed by Stratasys as “a game-changer for product design, engineering and manufacturing processes,” the new Objet500 Connex3 has been unveiled at SolidWorks World in San Diego this week, and features a unique triple-jetting technology that combines droplets of three base materials to produce parts with virtually unlimited combinations of rigid, flexible and transparent colour materials as well as colour digital materials – all in a single print run.
The point being stressed by Stratasys is that this printer offers the ability to achieve the characteristics of an assembled part — without any assembly or painting required. It’s a big time-saver and significantly reduces notoriously slow parts of the product development process.
On revealing the new machine, Stratasys’ CEO, David Reis emphasized Stratasys’ goal to help customers revolutionize their design and manufacturing processes.
