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- New materials include Cast, Gold, Silver, Gray and Clear
- Expands applications for jewelry designers, dental labs, 3D artists, engineers and manufacturers
- Characteristics include improved castability, new aesthetics for presentations, and upgraded feature definition
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3DSystems announced today the expansion of its ProJet 1200 suite
with the arrival of five new materials engineered specifically for the
desktop printing capabilities of its micro-SLA 3D printer. These five
new materials join the previously introduced VisiJet FTX Green
material, expanding the capabilities of jewelers, dental labs,
manufacturers, engineers, and 3D artists in the creation of casting
patterns, small end-use parts, figurines and presentation models.
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Jewelry
Advancing the production capabilities and throughput of jewelry
designers, the ProJet 1200 now has an advanced FTX Cast material, a
wax/resin hybrid material developed specifically for compatibility with
a wide range of jewelry casting methods and materials, and FTX Gold and
FTX Silver for stunning jewelry samples and presentation models.
Jewelers can easily integrate FTX Cast, which casts much like
traditional wax, into existing workflows with the added benefits of 3D
printed parts. Combined with the precision and fantastic surface
quality of micro-SLA from the ProJet1200, FTX Cast can be used to
create exquisite, detailed pieces from rings to pendants. With
glimmering gold and silver particles embedded in the materials, FTX
Gold and FTX Silver provide the wow factor that brings customer
presentation models and counter samples to life.
Dental
Dental labs use the ProJet 1200 with FTX Green for the production of
highly accurate, casting-friendly wax-ups for a range of small dental
prosthetics. The ProJet 1200 prints in 30-micron layers at 585 dpi
resolution for the production of up to 12 high-quality wax-ups in an
hour, right on the desktop. The ProJet 1200 and FTX Green combine for
an accelerated workflow with the exceptional results of traditional
methods.
Engineering and Manufacturing
Along with the casting capabilities of FTX Cast, engineering and
manufacturing customers can take advantage of the arrival of FTX Gray,
a high-contrast gray material that’s perfect for prototypes and
accentuating fine features, and FTX Clear, a transparent clear material
that can be applied in end-use parts and components. As part of the
reimagined engineer’s desktop, the ProJet 1200 and FTX Gray and Clear
allow engineers a fast way to locally create precise design prototypes
of small assembly or components. Micro-SLA parts in FTX Gray and Clear
also combine the strength and precision necessary for end-use
applications and final one-off custom components, such as electronic
connectors, robotics components and more.
3D Artists and Designers
Many 3D artists, designers and professional model makers also require
strong, precise micro parts for toys, figurines, model aircraft, cars,
model trains and more. The expanded ProJet 1200 materials selection
provides even more opportunity for creative expression. Precision FTX
Gray parts are paintable and they accentuate the fine features for
which the ProJet 1200 is known. On top of that, beautiful, transparent
FTX Clear parts project a hint of iridescence for stunning clear parts,
perfect for a range of sculptures and model components. For artisans
creating small cast sculptures, FTX Cast provides a less work intensive
way to make accurate casting patterns in the workshop.
“The addition of these five materials represents our commitment to
revolutionizing desktop 3D printing and bringing new capabilities to
dental techs, jewelers, artists and engineers,” said Buddy Byrum, Vice
President of Product and Channel Management, 3DS. “Now a jeweler, for
instance, can design a ring, prototype it in FTX Gray, print a customer
sample ring in FTX Gold and FTX Silver, and create a final casting
pattern in FTX Cast–all from the same machine.”
The expanded VisiJet FTX material range will be available in December
2014 and will be on display at EuroMold 2014 in Frankfurt, Germany from
November 25-28, 2014, at the Messe Frankfurt in booths D69 and F90 in
hall 11, along with 3DS’ latest 3D printers, advanced material options,
cloud-sourced custom parts and digital thread of 3D capture, creation,
print and inspection tools.
