ROCK HILL, S.C., May 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- At RAPID+TCT 2019,
3D Systems (NYSE: DDD) announced June
2019 general availability of Figure 4® Modular as
well as five new materials that will roll out over the coming
months and will extend the company's production workflows.
3D Systems is the only digital manufacturing solutions company
that can provide the depth of expertise, and breadth of technology
leadership to address any application -- enabling businesses to
reduce costs, increase revenue and remain ahead of the competition
like never before. Through collaboration with its customers, 3D
Systems continues to innovate, and rethink manufacturing, and the
release of Figure 4 Modular and new materials will enable even more
applications.
The Figure 4 platform is a flexible production system with
configurations designed to allow customers to grow as their needs
and businesses require. Figure 4 Modular is a digital light
printing (DLP) production solution capable of producing parts with
high surface quality and fidelity. The Figure 4 platform
helps accelerate time-to-market with ultra-fast production (up to
100 mm/hr) and six sigma accuracy and repeatability – enabling
manufacturers to quickly iterate designs or produce end-use parts
without regard to a minimum order quantity. It is the
industry's first, truly scalable solution, and meets the needs of
various production environments, from standalone units to automated
factory solutions. The Figure 4 platform includes three models:
- Figure 4 Standalone is an affordable,
industrial-grade single engine solution for low-volume production
and rapid same-day prototyping. Ideal for small design shops and
OEMs, it provides industry-leading durability economical print
volume at the lowest cost compared to other printers in its
class.
- Figure 4 Modular provides customers with an
upgradable and cost effective direct 3D production solution which
can include automated materials-handling and centralized
post-processing. Manufacturers can scale Figure 4 Modular, as
their production needs expand - including up to 24 print engines.
Powered by 3D Sprint® software, each engine can run
different materials and jobs simultaneously as part of a single,
high-throughput line. With a low cost of entry (starting at
$49,900 - including controller and
single printer engine), and automation options that include
job management and queuing, material delivery, and centralized
post-processing, manufacturers can reduce demand on manufacturing
resources and lower total cost of operation. Additionally, it is 3D
Connect™-capable, allowing remote services via 3D Connect Service -
automatically notifying 3D Systems' service team when an alert
condition occurs. Figure 4 Modular is planned for general
availability in June 2019.
- Figure 4 Production is a completely customizable
and automated tool-less manufacturing solution that packages the
design flexibility of additive manufacturing in configurable,
in-line production modules. Automated material delivery and
integrated post-processing reduce labor requirements -- increasing
productivity and lowering total cost of operation.
Figure 4 Modular Enabling Scale for Digital
Manufacturers
Customers are already realizing the benefits
of Figure 4 Modular. Decathalon (a global sporting goods
manufacturer based in France),
Midwest Prototyping (a Wisconsin-based service bureau), and D&K
Engineering (a product design and contract manufacturer based in
San Diego, CA) have experienced
great success with the printer.
- "At Decathlon, we're proud to design and produce innovative
sporting goods for our customers globally in order to make sports
accessible," said Julien Guillen, AM
leader, Decathlon. "By incorporating the Figure 4 Modular into our
design and development cycle, we have the potential for much higher
productivity with a wider variety of material choices. For example,
using an existing desktop SLA solution, it would take 29 hours to
produce our tensile test for material validation. With the Figure 4
Modular using the Figure 4 TOUGH-GRY 10 material, we were able to
print the same quantity in 90 minutes – more than 19X faster. With
features like automated material feed and job management, we are
able to improve productivity and reduce costs associated with
labor."
- "The combination of Figure 4 Modular and the Figure 4 TOUGH-GRY
15 material allows us to produce very accurate, high fidelity parts
in a matter of hours as compared to overnight with traditional
processes," said Steve Grundahl,
president and CEO, Midwest Prototyping. "With its automated
material feed and job management, Figure 4 Modular is very easy to
use, and one of the fastest technologies we have in-house. We can
now build high fidelity parts with superior surface quality, and
offer same-day delivery of parts with different materials. Our
customers have been very happy with the part quality we
delivered."
- "The quality of the final parts we are able to produce using
the Figure 4 Modular is excellent," said Chris Nicoll, prototype lab manager, D&K
Engineering. "Many of our engineers have commented 'this looks as
good as a molded part' due to the excellent model conformity,
surface finish, and physical properties. We can instantaneously
create prototype parts, and small quantities of production parts,
with injection-molded quality. The Figure 4 Modular is replacing
other traditional technologies we currently use, decreasing our
development cycle, shortening time-to-market, and dramatically
increasing our productivity to better serve our customers."
New Materials Pave the Way for New Applications
Today,
3D Systems is also announcing new DLP and SLS materials to continue
the expansion of its robust plastic 3D printing solution portfolio
– enabling new production workflows.
The company is announcing immediate availability of Figure 4
FLEX-BLK 10, a flexible material for the production of
exceptionally durable propylene-like black parts. This material is
ideal for functional assemblies and prototypes, master patterns for
RTV/silicone molding, short-run production, and concept and
marketing models. Figure 4 FLEX-BLK 10 joins the portfolio of
currently available Figure 4 materials which includes Figure 4
TOUGH-GRY 10, Figure 4 TOUGH-GRY 15, Figure 4 ELAST-BLK 10,
and Figure 4 JCAST-GRN 10.
3D Systems is also announcing the planned release of additional
Figure 4 materials to add to its range of applications:
- Figure 4 TOUGH-BLK 20 (anticipated availability Q3
2019) – an ABS-like black material with industry-leading UV
stability and high accuracy for production applications.
- Figure 4 MED-AMB 10 and Figure 4 MED-WHT 10
(anticipated availability Q3 2019) – a transparent amber and a
white biocompatible material that is sterilizable and capable of
meeting ISO 10993-5 and ISO 10993-10, suitable for use in general
medical applications requiring translucency, sterilization, and/or
thermal resistance, as well as consumer high temperature
applications where rigid function are desirable with transparency
or white color properties.
- Figure 4 HI-TEMP-AMB 250 (anticipated availability
Q4 2019) – a very high thermal-resistant material (HDT > 250C)
for design verification testing, motor enclosures, and low pressure
molding/tooling with transparency for flow visualization.
"The newest additions to our plastic 3D printing portfolio
demonstrate our commitment to driving the adoption of digital
manufacturing," said Vyomesh Joshi,
president and CEO, 3D Systems. "With the industry's first, truly
scalable plastic production platform and our robust selection of
materials, 3D Systems enables customers to rethink manufacturing
and realize improved agility, reduced complexity, and lower overall
total cost of operation."
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made in
this release that are not statements of historical or current facts
are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors that may cause the actual results, performance or
achievements of the company to be materially different from
historical results or from any future results or projections
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In many
cases, forward looking statements can be identified by terms such
as "believes," "belief," "expects," "may," "will," "estimates,"
"intends," "anticipates" or "plans" or the negative of these terms
or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements
are based upon management's beliefs, assumptions and current
expectations and may include comments as to the company's beliefs
and expectations as to future events and trends affecting its
business and are necessarily subject to uncertainties, many of
which are outside the control of the company. The factors
described under the headings "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk
Factors" in the company's periodic filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, as well as other factors, could cause actual
results to differ materially from those reflected or predicted in
forward-looking statements. Although management believes that the
expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are
reasonable, forward-looking statements are not, and should not be
relied upon as a guarantee of future performance or results, nor
will they necessarily prove to be accurate indications of the times
at which such performance or results will be achieved. The
forward-looking statements included are made only as the date of
the statement. 3D Systems undertakes no obligation to update or
review any forward-looking statements made by management or on its
behalf, whether as a result of future developments, subsequent
events or circumstances or otherwise.
About 3D Systems
More than 30 years ago, 3D Systems
brought the innovation of 3D printing to the manufacturing
industry. Today, as the leading additive manufacturing solutions
company, it empowers manufacturers to create products and business
models never before possible through transformed workflows. This is
achieved with the Company's best-of-breed digital manufacturing
ecosystem - comprised of plastic and metal 3D printers, print
materials, on demand manufacturing services and a portfolio of
end-to-end manufacturing software. Each solution is powered by the
expertise of the company's application engineers who collaborate
with customers to transform manufacturing environments. 3D Systems'
solutions address a variety of advanced applications for
prototyping through production in markets such as aerospace,
automotive, medical, dental and consumer goods. More information on
the company is available at www.3dsystems.com.
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