Stratasys has received a three-year equipment order valued in excess of $1 million from a major global automobile manufacturer.
The rental package comprises four rapid prototyping systems, including both technologies offered by Stratasys: FDM (fused deposition modeling) and PolyJet (polymer jetting). The auto-maker will use the equipment for validation of automobile exterior and dashboard part design.
The company chose the package of FDM and PolyJet equipment because of their complementary strengths: FDM was selected because it can build functional prototypes, and it offers high dimensional accuracy. PolyJet was chosen because the auto-maker needed a fast machine to model instrument panel components at a high resolution. The PolyJet system can attain resolutions to 0.0006 inch, which was beneficial because end products will have a Class A surface finish.
The package includes two FDM Maxums, one FDM Vantage SE, and one Eden333, as well as some materials and services. The FDM Maxum is the company's highest precision machine, and it has one of the largest build-envelopes available in the industry. The FDM Vantage SE is a mid-priced rapid prototyping system that can build models from multiple high-performance thermoplastics. The Eden333 is a PolyJet system, which builds models from photo-polymer resin. It is known for its speed, feature detail, and high resolution. Stratasys markets the two technologies in packages that it calls the best of both worlds. FDM systems are manufactured by Stratasys. PolyJet systems are manufactured by Objet Geometries, for which Stratasys is the exclusive North American distributor.
Stratasys manufactures office-based rapid prototyping systems and 3D printers.