Designfax weekly eMagazine

Subscribe Today!

Archives

View Archives

Partners

Manufacturing Center
Product Spotlight

Modern Applications News
Metalworking Ideas For
Today's Job Shops

Tooling and Production
Strategies for large
metalworking plants

What's the latest from 3D Systems? Innovations for different industries, processes

The Figure 4 135 is a high-speed, high-precision, scalable 3D-printing solution designed to supplement or replace injection mold tooling in plastic manufacturing processes. [Credit: All images courtesy of 3D Systems]

 

 

 

 

3D Systems unveiled several new solutions at the RAPID+TCT 2025 show in April designed to change the way industries innovate. From new 3D printers and materials for high-mix, low-volume applications to marked improvements in how investment casting can be done, learn what is the state of the art from the original inventors of 3D printing.

High-throughput, precision manufacturing solution for plastics parts
The increasing need for specialized industrial components and the adoption of flexible manufacturing technologies are driving the growth of high-mix, low-volume (HMLV) production. Traditional manufacturing methods, while effective for high-volume production, face significant challenges when applied to HMLV manufacturing, such as high costs and long lead times.

High-temperature applications, including those that require a UL94 V0 flame-retardancy rating like this wire harness clip, are ideally suited for the Figure 4 High Temperature 150C FR Black resin.

 

 

 

 

To address HMLV manufacturing needs, 3D Systems has introduced the Figure 4 135 system. Blending advanced material development with the power of its projector-based technology, this 3D printer provides the necessary agility and flexibility to efficiently meet the diverse and fluctuating demands of HMLV manufacturing environments. By using this solution, manufacturers can eliminate tooling and inventory management and reduce costs by multiple orders of magnitude.

With extremely high out-of-the-box precision and very high stability, the Figure 4 135 solution is ideal for manufacturing industries where a process capability index (CpK) of at least 1.33 or above (depending on part geometry and feature size) is required for critical processes. The Figure 4 135 significantly exceeds these standards, making it highly reliable for precision applications where a manufacturer is replacing or supplementing injection mold tooling -- including furniture components such as custom assemblies that require special design considerations -- for low-volume furniture production, medical components requiring biocompatible material, and precision and low-volume consumer electronics requiring accuracy and repeatability.

This momentary socket connector was printed using Figure 4 Tough 75C FR Black, which can, uniquely, print feature thicknesses of 0.4 mm and achieve flammability and RTI ratings.

 

 

 

 

Electrical connectors are a great example of traditionally manufactured plastic parts using injection molding that require tooling and long lead times. Conversely, additive manufacturing enables direct 3D-printed, production-grade precision connectors with high fidelity, high thermal stress resistance, and cost efficiency at high volumes. When applying the Figure 4 135 solution to this application, manufacturers can potentially save millions of dollars when designing and manufacturing hundreds to thousands of connector SKUs per year.

As part of this particular solution, 3D Systems has introduced Figure 4 Tough 75C FR Black. This rugged, flame-retardant material is recognized by UL with a UL94 V0 rating at thin wall thickness (i.e., 0.4 mm) and a Relative Thermal Index (RTI) for long-term electrical of 150° C and mechanical use of 130° C. This makes it ideally suited for applications such as appliances, consumer electronics, and automotive that require accuracy, heat resistance, durability, flexibility, and electrical safety.

The Figure 4 135 solution (both the printer and material) is available for immediate ordering.

Novel solution drives significant improvements in process efficiency
3D Systems' EXT Titan Pellet systems are proven for production applications including patterns, molds, tooling, jigs, fixtures, end-use parts, and full-scale prototypes for industries such as foundry, automotive, aerospace and defense, and consumer products. Now, the company has released a new module that is patent-pending scanning technology available for 3D Systems' EXT 1070 Titan Pellet and EXT 1270 Titan Pellet printers. It delivers greatly improved process efficiency for users, including:

• Part solidity optimization: This new module optimizes the extrusion flow rate in real time, reducing the opportunity for voids to form. The improved solidity reduces post-processing time in machined printed parts by up to 50%.
• Print bed mapping: Print bed leveling can be a critical step to avoid print failure when printing large-format parts. This module scans the print bed in under 60 seconds and provides a numeric height map from which operators can determine if leveling is necessary to make precise adjustments where needed. This can reduce time spent on a single leveling operation by up to 60% as compared to the previous method of mapping and leveling. For manufacturers who run their printers in production environments, this capability can greatly reduce the amount of manual intervention required, thus mitigating potential risk of error.

This new module will be standard on new EXT Titan Pellet systems equipped with the optional milling spindle toolhead, and the hardware can be field installed on existing machines, integrating seamlessly with EXT Titan control software. The module is planned to be available in the third quarter of 2025.

Produce investment casting patterns faster, with higher yield and lower cost
Investment casting, a technique integral to the manufacturing of complex, high-reliability components such as aircraft turbine blades, involves pouring molten metal into ceramic molds formed from sacrificial patterns. However, traditional pattern creation is a lengthy and expensive process, often taking weeks and costing tens of thousands of dollars. In the mid-1990s, 3D Systems revolutionized casting pattern production with QuickCast, a 3D-printing innovation that set the industry standard for high-precision patterns, driving efficiency and cost reduction for manufacturers.

The PSLA 270 with 3D Sprint's QuickCast Diamond build style and Figure 4 EGGSHELL-AMB 10 accelerates the turnaround time of the master pattern for this motorsports part.

 

 

 

 

Now, the company is enhancing the performance of QuickCast, making the QuickCast Diamond build style available with 3D Systems' PSLA 270. This projector-based stereolithography (SLA) printer combines high-speed production with exceptional part quality and mechanical stability, rapidly delivering accurate mid-size components. It merges the precision of traditional SLA with the speed and material versatility of Figure 4 technology. When using the QuickCast Diamond build style in 3D Systems' 3D Sprint additive manufacturing software, manufacturers can rapidly design and create structured copies of parts to produce a tree. Employing the QuickCast Diamond build style on the PSLA 270 enables foundries to reliably deliver large, high-precision investment casting at a fraction of the time and cost of traditional tooling and with no limitation on geometric complexity.

3D Systems says the QuickCast Diamond build style is immediately available for its PSLA 270.

"Innovation is in our DNA," said Dr. Jeffrey Graves, president & CEO, 3D Systems. "Our historic R&D surge in 2024 yielded dozens of polymer and metal products, all driven by a rising demand to address an increasing number of applications using additive manufacturing. ... I'm looking forward to seeing the positive impact that these newest additions to our portfolio will have on our customers' businesses."

Source: 3D Systems

Published May 2025

Rate this article