Realism, productivity, throughput.
As the only true full-color, multimaterial 3D printer, the Stratasys J850 addresses the need for the highest degree of realism achievable from a 3D printing process. The printer’s speed and capacity gives designers more time to iterate and provide more realistic models earlier in the design process, improving communication and decision-making. That ultimately results in better products.
Doctors and medical engineers have the means to create hyper-realistic, patient-specific medical models for surgical planning, improving patient outcomes. Researchers, like those at MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab, have the ability to program different material properties into a part’s geometry, bringing 4D printing closer to reality.
Incredible part realism.
A hallmark of the Stratasys J850 is its full-color capability. The ability to 3D print with various colors is not new, but previous offerings forced users to sacrifice either color range or part quality. The Stratasys J850 changes this by producing smooth parts with over 500,000 colors.
This color range is made possible because the J850 operates with all of the colors in the CMYK color process plus white, enabling a virtually endless palette of shades to choose from. What’s more, J850 printers are PANTONE Validated™, making the PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM® available for the first time in a 3D printing solution. Choosing a Pantone color is a simple one-click operation, giving designers a valuable tool when communicating with color in the design process.
Color textures and gradients are also possible. Color texture capability means rigid opaque parts can be 3D printed with a variety of realistic patterns like wood grain, woven composites or even photographs and illustrations. Gradients allow a transition zone between colors that blend one into the other.
Models produced on the J850 can combine color with a variety of other material characteristics. VeroClear™ and VeroUltraClear™ materials provide a range of transparencies, from slightly translucent to completely clear. Rubber-like Agilus30™ material imparts flexible characteristics in different durometers.
In practical terms that means being able to produce a medical model with hard and soft materials in multiple colors and gradients. Or it could mean being able to produce more CMF models earlier in the design process, enabling better designs and faster product development.
One of the drawbacks of existing color 3D printing processes is the relatively rough surface finish that results. In contrast, the Stratasys J850 achieves very fine layer thicknesses, as low as 14 microns in High Quality print mode, enabling models and parts with high surface quality and very fine, delicate details.
Unparalleled capability.
The J850’s robust material capacity accomodates input of up to seven base resins. And because PolyJet™ technology creates composite materials through a mix of base resins right on the build tray, the number of material options is far greater than the number of input materials. In the J850, those seven base resins yield hundreds of thousands of colors, translucencies and durometers.
Before the Stratasys J850, no single 3D printer could deliver full color, smooth surfaces and multiple materials. A shop that wanted to achieve all of these qualities would have had to adopt multiple 3D printing technologies and still resort to extensive postprocessing, such as sanding, painting and bonding.
Serving many needs with one system enables businesses to:
- Reduce the amount of rapid prototyping equipment onsite, and its associated overhead and points of failure
- Increase expertise and maximize use through familiarization with a single technology
- Protect investments against changing business needs, both cyclical and unpredictable
Print size is also generous, with a build area of 49 x 39 x 20 cm (19.3 x 15.35 x 7.9 in). This lets you create ample-sized parts or many smaller parts in one job.
Fast, efficient workflow and ease of use.
Using the printer is easy, starting with GrabCAD Print™ software, which lets you import native CAD files directly so there’s no need to spend time converting them into STL files. Simply finish your model, open GrabCAD Print and drag the file in. Then select “print” to start the build. The software lets you easily check printer availability, queues and status, all from one window. And with the mobile app, you can check print status remotely on your mobile device. GrabCAD Print even fixes file problems like open meshes, so you can focus on more productive tasks.
The J850’s seven-material capacity is a considerable time and material saver. Multimaterial printers with less capacity need material changes for different colors or material types. This results in printer downtime and wasted material, made necessary to purge the system of the previous material. The J850’s larger material capacity lets an operator load their most-used materials and drastically reduce or even eliminate material changes, saving time and resources.
Productivity and design freedom is enhanced with the use of soluble support material. Soluble support can be removed by soaking the models in a cleaning solution, making it a hands-free operation. It also enables the the creation of models with small, intricate passageways and channels because the immersion process easily accesses these areas, which isn’t possible with water jet hand cleaning.
Multiple print modes give you optimal print flexibility. High Speed mode creates models quickly using several different materials. Super High Speed mode goes even further, letting you print concept models in a single material for the fastest production possible. High Quality mode provides the most options for using multiple materials, colors and high resolution, for models with the most realism.
For rapid prototyping programs, this versatility is an opportunity to meet the diverse demands of your operation without the inefficiencies associated with material changes or the need to invest in, operate and maintain a variety of technologies. You can print realistic prototypes, presentation models, jigs, fixtures, educational and promotional pieces, production parts – or all of the above, with one system.
Material versatility also plays a significant role. Digital Materials offer functionality for prototyping and tooling applications. VeroUltraClear™ material replicates glass and acrylic, perfect for prototyping eyewear and lighting. Digital ABS Plus™ simulates durable engineering-grade ABS plastic and is used for prototypes that require a rigid, durable material. Agilus30 is an enhanced flexible material for simulated rubber applications. Superior tear resistance makes it appropriate for tubing and other fluid-flow applications, as well as prototypes involving living hinges and other use cases that need rubber-like characteristics.
Grabcad Voxel Print.
GrabCAD Voxel Print™ utility enhances the value of 3D printing as a powerful platform for experimentation, discovery and innovation. Voxel Print is a print utility available on the J850 that lets users control the attributes of their models and parts down to the individual voxel* level, within the complete 3D volume of the part. With GrabCAD Voxel Print, users can create their own model layer slicer or use existing third-party slicers and send that information directly to the 3D printer.
In simple terms, Voxel Print lets J850 users dictate precise color and gradient management, for unparalleled control of a model’s appearance. It gives users the capability to control a 3D printed part’s internal material properties, something that’s not possible with CAD modeling. It enables the development of advanced structures and digital materials.
In total, the combination of the J850 and GrabCAD Voxel Print gives artists, engineers and researchers unprecedented, voxel-by-voxel control over their 3D printed output.
A 3D printer with this capability is a powerful tool, enabling creative solutions for diverse challenges that impact the medical, educational and consumer product industries. Regardless of what field you’re in, consider the following questions:
- Would your organization benefit from a shorter product development cycle, and better designs through more effective communication?
- Could your caregivers achieve better patient outcomes by using accurate, realistic surgical planning and training models?
- Would your university benefit by attracting the best and brightest students and leading researchers through access to state-of-the art technology?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, the J850 3D printer can help you achieve these benefits.
Contact Stratasys when it’s time to start the conversation about how this technology can solve your business and educational challenges.