As advancements in R&D continue to expand hardware innovation in almost every industry, 3D printing is playing an increasingly larger role. For a long time, companies developed prototypes via fabrication in a machine shop or outsourced to a third party contractor. This process proved to be costly and slow. With innovations like the Stratasys F123 series, industrial-grade 3D printers, prototyping is becoming simpler, more cost-efficient, and faster. PADT is a reseller and support provider for the F123 series and has seen it used to great success in its customer’s hands.
“Our customers are finding the Stratasys F123 3D printers to be a great addition to their design floors,” said Rey Chu, co-founder and principal, PADT. “They have a very minimal learning curve, and a range of material options that provides flexibility for a wide variety of parts.”
As some of the most well-rounded 3D printers in the industry, the Stratasys F123 Series have won numerous awards. It’s easy to operate and maintain these machines, regardless of the user’s level of experience, and they are proficient at every stage of prototyping, from concept to validation, to functional performance.
The printers work with a range of materials – so users can produce complex parts with flexibility and accuracy. This includes advanced features like Fast Draft mode for truly rapid prototyping and soluble support to prevent design compromise and hands-on removal – All designed to shorten product development cycles and time to market.
All of these different characteristics allow for the F123 series to provide innovative solutions for manufacturers working with a wide variety of applications. This vast array of potential use is best seen in the assortment of companies that have purchased the Stratasys F370, the largest and most robust model in the F123 line of 3D printers; boasting a 14 x 10 x 14 in. build size, additional software integration, and access to a plethora of unique materials designed to help ensure prototyping success, all at an accessible price point. Companies that best represent the diversity of this machine include:
Juggernaut Design
PADT client Juggernaut is an authority in rugged product design, bringing innovation and expertise to products to survive in challenging environments. Employing the latest tools and technology, this team of designers and engineers is always looking for the best way to meet their client’s ever-evolving requirements. 3D printing is one such tool a design firm like Juggernaut relies on. Covering everything from the development of prototypes and form studies, to ergonomic test rigs and even functional models, the need for quick turnaround is relevant at nearly every stage of the design process. Having physical parts to show to clients also helps to improve communication, allowing them to better visualize key design elements.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) focuses on advancing the science and engineering of energy efficiency, sustainable transportation, and renewable power technologies, including marine energy. When it comes to developing the components of a wave energy device that produce power from relative motion induced by the dynamics of ocean waves for example, NREL’s research requires extensive validation before it is ready for commercialization. This process often includes generating sub-scale components for numerical model validation, prototypes for proof of concept, and other visual representations to provide clarity throughout the entire manufacturing process. It’s also important to accurately validate research projects at a more manageable and cost-effective scale before moving beyond the prototype stage.
Recently, NREL has ventured into building parts with more complex geometries, such as 3D printing hydrodynamically accurate models that are able to effectively represent the intricacies of various geometry and mass properties at scale.
Sierra Nevada Corporation
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) is a privately held, advanced technology company providing customer-focused innovative solutions in the areas of aerospace, aviation, electronics, and systems integration. SNC’s diverse technologies are used in applications including telemedicine, navigation and guidance systems, threat detection and security, commercial aviation, scientific research, and infrastructure protection, among others. SNC decided to purchase an F370 Stratasys 3D printer to help the company’s engineering team iterate faster on new application designs. This machine was specifically attractive due to the reasonable purchase and operational costs of Stratasys printers, as well as the reduced manufacturing times it provided.
These use cases provide an example of how the Stratasys F123 series is helping to replace traditional manufacturing to save costs and provide a more efficient in-house, rapid design solution. The Stratasys F123 printers, and specifically the power and size of its flagship model, the F370, are revolutionizing design team’s workflow by providing more flexibility and accessibility than ever before.
To learn more about the Stratasys F123 Series, and find the machine that is right for you, please visit PADT’s Stratasys product page here. And to talk to PADT’s sales staff about a demo, please call 1-800-293-PADT.
