3D Printer Maker Stratasys Expands Automated Support-Removal Process for Polycarbonate Material
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3D Printer Maker Stratasys Expands Automated Support-Removal Process for Polycarbonate Material

Low-labor process speeds up prototyping and production of polycarbonate parts

MINNEAPOLIS — (BUSINESS WIRE) — November 28, 2011 — (NASDAQ: SSYS) Stratasys says it will expand its WaterWorks soluble support material to be compatible with its polycarbonate build material (PC-10) for Fortus 3D Production Systems.

This shaver is shown before and after soluble support material was dissolved. (Photo: Stratasys)

This shaver is shown before and after soluble support material was dissolved. (Photo: Stratasys)

Previously, WaterWorks soluble support material was available exclusively for the company’s ABS-based material formulations.

The soluble support material – SR-100 – allows automated, hands-free removal, resulting in more efficient prototype and part production. SR-100 soluble support material will also enable a finer layer thickness. By combining PC-10 build material with SR-100, users can now produce parts in 0.005 in. (0.127mm) layers, for finer feature detail and smoother surface finish. This layer thickness setting was previously unavailable for PC-10.

Beta test user Joe Gibbs Racing previously used PC-ABS because it was the strongest material that could be coupled with soluble supports. Combining the SR-100 soluble support structure with polycarbonate build material allows JGR to use the more robust polycarbonate. This enables JGR to use its Fortus machine for more applications, giving it a faster return on investment.

JGR Design Engineer Brian Levy says he likes the superior mechanical properties of polycarbonate. The team makes a polycarbonate filter component with the FDM process, using the PC-100 soluble supports.

“The soluble material is more efficient to remove than the old break-away supports, so we’re now using polycarbonate regularly,” Levy says. “All of our cars have the PC filter component, and they use them every week.”

The soluble support material eliminates the process of manual removal with hand tools. The dissolved support material is washed away in a solution of heated-water and cleaning agent. It can take as little as 30-120 minutes to dissolve an SR-100 support structure in an agitation or ultrasonic tank.

The SR-100 soluble support material will be available for the Fortus 360mc, Fortus 400mc, Fortus 900mc, Fortus eV and Fortus eT systems. SR-100 is expected to ship in Q1 2012.

Stratasys Inc., Minneapolis, is a maker of additive-manufacturing machines for prototyping and producing plastic parts. The company markets under the brands uPrint and Dimension 3D Printers and Fortus Production 3D Printers. The company also operates RedEye On Demand, a digital-manufacturing service for prototypes and production parts. Stratasys manufactures 3D printers for Hewlett Packard, which it sells under the brand Designjet3D. In 2011 Stratasys acquired 3D printer maker Solidscape Inc. According to Wohlers Report 2011, Stratasys had a 41 percent market share in 2010, and has been the unit market leader for the ninth consecutive year. Stratasys patented and owns the Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM®) process. The process creates functional prototypes and manufactured goods directly from any 3D CAD program, using high-performance industrial thermoplastics. The company holds more than 285 granted or pending additive-manufacturing patents globally. Stratasys products are used in the aerospace, defense, automotive, medical, business and industrial equipment, education, architecture, and consumer-product industries. Online at: www.stratasys.com

Fortus, Dimension, FDM and Stratasys are registered trademarks of Stratasys Inc.

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Forward Looking Statements

All statements herein that are not historical facts or that include such words as "expects," "anticipates," "projects," "estimates," "vision," "could," "potential," "planning", "intends", "desires", "assume" or "believes" or similar words constitute forward-looking statements covered by the safe harbor protection of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Except for the historical information herein, the matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These include statements regarding projected revenue and income in future quarters; the size of the 3D printing market; our objectives for the marketing and sale of our Dimension(R) and uPrint(R) 3D Printers; our support removal systems; and our Fortus(R) 3D Production Systems, particularly for use in direct digital manufacturing (DDM); the demand for our proprietary consumables; the expansion of our paid parts service; and our beliefs with respect to the growth in the demand for our products. Other risks and uncertainties that may affect our business include our ability to penetrate the 3D printing market; the success of our distribution agreement with HP; our ability to achieve the growth rates experienced in preceding quarters; our ability to introduce, produce and market consumable materials, and the market acceptance of these materials; the impact of competitive products and pricing; our timely development of new products and materials and market acceptance of those products and materials; the success of our recent R&D initiative to expand the DDM capabilities of our core FDM technology; and the success of our RedEyeOnDemandTM and other paid parts services. They also include statements about future financial and operating results of our company after the acquisition of Solidscape and anticipated benefits of the acquisition. Actual results may differ from those expressed or implied in our forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, which may cause our actual results to differ materially from those discussed in a forward-looking statement. Such risk factors include our ability to successfully integrate and market Solidscape products, our ability to retain management and our ability to protect and defend intellectual property. These statements represent beliefs and expectations only as of the date they were made. We may elect to update forward-looking statements, but we expressly disclaim any obligation to do so, even if our beliefs and expectations change. In addition to the statements described above, such forward-looking statements are subject to the risks and uncertainties described more fully in our current report on Form 8-K filed in connection with the completion of our acquisition of Solidscape and in our reports filed or to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.

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