Top 5 industries that use P3 3D printing technology

It is no secret that additive manufacturing is becoming a quintessential practice amongst manufacturers, engineers and designers alike, especially as the fragility of supply chains becomes so abundantly clear.

As the mainstream market adopts additive manufacturing into their workflow to support basic prototyping and/or work holding solutions, innovative companies are realizing the potential of additive in end-use/production grade parts. This transition didn’t happen overnight, in fact, years of research and development of material properties, system processes and software capabilities, have yielded systems robust enough and materials effective enough to stand up to the most demanding applications.

Stratasys Origin One 3D Printer

The Stratasys Origin One and the Stratasys Origin One Dental featuring Programmable Photopolymerization (P3) Technology can either complement or supplement current traditional workflows across a breadth of industries including: Automotive, Aerospace, Medical, Dental and Consumer Goods.

Stratasys Origin One 3D Printer

Before we jump right into how P3 technology is poised to support some of the largest industries on the planet, let’s first take a second to understand just what Programmable Photopolymerization is and what makes it so unique. The most common issues with traditional DLP systems are that parts in the green state are typically weak and break off the build tray or require an exorbitant amount of supports which may leave surface blemishes behind, therefore increasing the post-processing time required.

Stratasys set out on a mission to address the short comings of the pre-existing technology by implementing a pneumatic separation method which minimizes separation forces during the printing process. This method allows for more delicate features to resolve without fear of parts failing or fracturing. In addition to achieving minimal separation forces, Stratasys has partnered with some of the world’s leading material developers such as Henkel Loctite, Covestro and BASF to bring the highest performance and green strength resins to market. This allows operators to use less support structures resulting in lower consumable costs and faster time to part.

Automotive

Automotive manufacturing is constantly at the forefront of the technological revolution to help provide the mainstream market with high performance and efficient vehicles at a reasonable price point.

Origin One automotive part

Origin One is positioned as an ideal solution for this market as it delivers high strength, high heat resistant and even flexible materials such as IND 402 as seen in the image below.

This flexible rubber-like material is a ShoreA 70 durometer and exhibits 230% elongation at break making it ideal for medium firm rubber-like applications such as handlebar grips or even outsoles for footwear. One of the most unique advantages to additively manufactured elastomers, is the ability to implement increasingly more elaborate lattice structures to reduce overall weight while maintaining structural integrity and performance.

Learn more about biocompatible 3D printing with P3 technology >> 

Aerospace

From the first flight in 1903 reaching no more than about 7 miles per hour to the Lockheed Sr-71 Blackbird achieving speeds greater than Mach 3, it is no surprise that the aerospace industry is at the cutting edge of innovation.

F16 Aircraft Hydraulic Cable Clamp

With great speed, however, comes great responsibility and strict rules and guidelines to ensure safety. The Aerospace industry is arguably one of the most stringent when it comes to safety due to the extreme conditions that parts will encounter during operation. With supply chains being severely hindered by logistical nightmares and labor shortages, the demand for high performance 3D printing materials such as Loctite 3D 3955 HDT28- FST has never been higher. This material boasts a UL94 V-0 rating, meaning that burning stops within 10 seconds on a vertical part allowing for drops of plastic that are not on fire.

The F16 hydraulic clamps are a prime example of how additive manufacturing can support this industry. Not only is this material ideal for the application, but with advanced topology optimization with nTopology, the design achieved maximum strength and stiffness while reducing the overall weight of the assembly.

Medical

As additive manufacturing becomes increasingly more prevalent in the support of medical device manufacturing and certain end use parts, the demand for biocompatible materials shares a direct correlation. Other technologies such as FDM or SLA do offer some materials that are biocompatible per ISO 10993 standards, but with a few key aspects that make them a less than ideal fit for production level throughput and performance.

FDM as a technology is slower than P3, simply because FDM can only build one layer of one part at a time, while P3 can build one layer of several parts at once. In addition, the layer-to-layer adhesion results in anisotropic parts, which could result in premature failure.

Origin One Enventys Head printed using P3 technology

SLA can support low-mid volume production of highly intricate geometries and produces parts with nearly isotropic properties but lacks the robust mechanical properties capable with P3. Pictured below is a medical device used for delousing a person’s scalp from FloSonix. P3 technology allowed the product to be more ergonomic by reducing weight and allowed for design freedom that traditional methods simply could not offer.

The switch to additive also provides a lower cost solution because of the reduced number of assembly steps, and sterilizability of the material meaning that single use components were now an artifact of the past.

Dental

Stratasys is no stranger to the Dental industry, with previous offerings in their PolyJet line-up including the new J5 DentaJet. The announcement of the new Origin One Dental from Stratasys, made late last year, is an excellent complement to the J5 DentaJet, and allows for plenty of room to grow with its open material platform. Whether its splints, surgical guides or even dental models, the investment remains virtually future proof by allowing users to explore or even create resins to best fit their unique needs.

KeyGuide and Keyprint by KeySplint are the three verified materials on the system at launch and feature ISO 10993 compatibility and DSM 100 from BASF. These materials are incredibly accurate with fine detail for manufacturing dental models and molds, with the open materials architecture for those who require it. The high level of detail and incredible print speed with the P3 means faster time to part, lower part cost and all-around improved patient experience.

Origin One Dental

Consumer Goods

Last but not least, is the consumer goods market which makes up a sizeable percentage of manufacturing in the United States. For the last several years, major corporations such as Pepsi, L’Oreal, and even Procter and Gamble have implemented additive manufacturing to increase the speed of their product lifecycle and time to market with fit, form, and function testing using FDM technology. Now, with P3 these market leaders are looking to additive for end use parts. End use parts typically require three key ingredients: reliability, repeatability, and accuracy. With accuracy and layer heights of up to 50 μm, grey scaling capabilities and intense 4K light projector, the Origin one not only meets, but exceeds market expectations.

Origin One camera housing using P3 technology

The world around us is constantly evolving and being met with new challenges that push the limits of the current technology. This challenge is the key driver behind the innovations that shape the world around us. As demand for high performance additive manufacturing materials grows, Stratasys continues to answer the call by providing the market with well-engineered and robust systems capable of processing even the toughest materials. Planes, trains, automobiles, razer blades, shoes… doesn’t matter. Origin One can stand up to the challenge. The Greek fabulist Aesop once said, “Great things come in small packages”, and boy was he right! Not sure how Origin One can help propel your organization into the future? Feel free to reach out to your local TriMech Client Executive to learn just what Origin One can do for YOU!