3D printing has been around for more than 30 years and is growing exponentially. In fact, it is expected to grow 20% year over year. Top industries including aerospace and defense, automotive and medical are jumping at the chance to incorporate additive technologies into their design workflow. With as many 3D printing solutions as Stratasys offers, it can be challenging for new adopters to know which machine is the best match for their field or application. In this blog, we identify which technology and level 3D printer can help your company get started.
Stratasys 3D Printer Series
Stratasys has three different series of 3D printers which include the Idea Series, Design Series and Production Series. Depending on the technology you are using, FDM or PolyJet, there are number of printers that can help with your prototyping, concept modeling, tooling or production needs. Here is a high-level breakdown of the Stratasys line up:
Idea Series
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The Idea Series delivers 3D printing abilities in a reasonable, desktop platform for both professional users and makers. Printers like the uPrint SE Plus and the Mojo are great for producing functional prototypes that are accurate and durable. The MakerBot is also known for printing fast, reliable parts and professional quality FDM models.
Design Series
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Production Series
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Lastly, the Production Series offers printers that are ideal for the manufacturing environment and lends itself to meet the industry demands in a variety of ways. For FDM, the Fortus 450 allows you to build accurate parts faster than ever on a greater build tray than other printers in the Idea or Design series can offer. For Polyjet, the Objet500 is a product powerhouse with two large build trey sizes and triple jetting technology that enables you to print with 1,000+ materials.
Key Takeaways
Because Stratasys provides such a wide variety of 3D printer solutions, we strongly recommend contacting us for advice on which machine best applies to your industry and application. Or download our Entry-Level 3D Printer Guide below to see the top 3D printers in their class as well as the benefits that go along with owning a 3D printer.
