Electronics

Stratasys creates world's first color multi-material 3D printer

Stratasys creates world's first color multi-material 3D printer
Stratasys has launched the Objet500 Connex3
Stratasys has launched the Objet500 Connex3
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The Objet500 Connex3 is the first 3D printer that can print both in color and with multiple different materials
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The Objet500 Connex3 is the first 3D printer that can print both in color and with multiple different materials
It uses three base colors – cyan, magenta and yellow
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It uses three base colors – cyan, magenta and yellow
The printer utilizes photopolymer materials that offer different characteristics such as flexibility and rigidity
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The printer utilizes photopolymer materials that offer different characteristics such as flexibility and rigidity
Stratasys has launched the Objet500 Connex3
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Stratasys has launched the Objet500 Connex3
View gallery - 4 images

3D printer manufacturer Stratasys has launched what it says is the first 3D printer that can print both in color and with multiple materials. The Objet500 Connex3 combines droplets of three base materials to produce a variety of different material characteristics and colors.

As with a 2D inkjet printer, the Objet500 Connex3 uses three base colors, in this case cyan, magenta and yellow. The colors can be combined with photopolymer materials that offer different characteristics such as flexibility and rigidity.

The printer itself is not dissimilar in size to an office photocopier, measuring 1,400 x 1,260 x 1,100 mm (55.1 x 49.6 x 43.3 in) and weighing in at 430 kg (948 lb). Net build size is 490 × 390 × 200 mm (19.3 × 15.4 × 7.9 in) and build resolution is 600 dpi across the X and Y axes and 1600 dpi across the Z axis.

Users have the option of high speed or high quality modes, which print at 30-micron (0.001 in) or 16-micron (0.0006 in) resolution respectively, and accuracy ranges from 20-85 microns (0.0008-0.003 in) for features below 50 mm (2 in) up to 200 microns (0.008 in) for a full-size model.

Stratasys says that the main benefits of color multi-material printing are the ability to create an object without assembly or painting, thereby saving time, and the opportunity for manufacturers to review and iterate on designs more quickly, thereby bringing products to market sooner.

The Objet500 Connex3 is available now and will reportedly cost about US$330,000.

Watch the video below to find out a little more about the printer.

Source: Stratasys

Stratasys Objet500 Connex3 launch - World's First Color Multi-material 3D Printer

View gallery - 4 images
6 comments
6 comments
Derek Howe
wow, impressive. 3D printer are well on their way to change the world as we know it.
Ouya Game-console
Remarkable printer. Groundbreaking. Costs $330k though.
hungrygiraffe
Hopefully we will see a economically friendlier 3D color printer soon, this imo is still in the industrial printer realm like the 3D printers of the early 2000s and 90s. They need to, or at least the tech behind the color needs to be cheapened to at least double the cost of a normal 3D printer at that quality for it to be you know, in the 3d printing community realm.
asdf
Right now you still have geeks running around building their own printers, in the same way as geeks in the 70s were building computers. Look where we are now with computers.. Could 3d printers have the same potential?
turbolove
This is the future. Impressive and so awesome to see it evolve as quickly as it is. Stratasys is certainly one of the leaders in this exciting field.
coresnake
The difference between this and inkjet printing of yore is that the development (and thus price reduction) of 2D printing wasn't inundated with patent roadblocks. If Stratasys have their way there won't be ANYONE else making 3D printers, at least not of the same calibre. That means you won't see any formidable price drops in the near future.