Stratasys, the company behind the famous MakerBot range of 3D printers, has launched its latest and world’s first multi-material, colour 3D printer that would cost £200,000 ($330,000).
The MakerBot company has described the printer as a game changing device specifically for manufacturing and engineering industries as they will be able to reduce their prototyping time by as much as 50 percent.
The new printer works more or less in the same was as a colour inkjet printer works. Stratasys has implemented traditional 2D colour mixing techniques in its latest printer and by mixing cyan, magenta and yellow, the 3D printer is able to print multi-material objects in hundreds of colours.
It makes use of a triple-jetting technology combining droplets from three base materials – VeroCyan, VeroMagenta and VeroYellow – to produce parts that are rigid, flexible, and transparent color materials. All this happens in a single print run saving its users a great deal of time while creating prototypes.
Stratasys unveiled its latest printer at the SolidWorks World trade show. Igal Zeitun, VP at Stratasys for product marketing and sales operations, said: “The Objet500 Connex3 Color Multi-material 3D Printer produces models and parts using photopolymers in vivid colours so users can create colourful models from investigating concepts to pre-production pilot runs.”
Bruce Bradshaw, Stratasys marketing manager, told the BBC, “This will help industrial designers reduce the time it takes to bring prototypes to market by 50%.”
