Ultimaker Launches Industrial Material Solution for 3D Printing
The leading 3D printer manufacturer Ultimaker had initiated a global material alliance that resulted in fully optimised industrial material profiles for professional FFF 3D printing. DSM, a global science-based company in nutrition, health and sustainable living, together with Owens Corning, global developer and producer of insulation, roofing, and fiberglass composites, introduce their optimised materials for the Ultimaker S5. Moreover, Ultimakes also introduces a new print core CC Red 0.6 at the TCT Show in Birmingham that allows reliable 3D printing on the Ultimaker S5 with composite materials. DSM Novamid® ID1030 CF10, a new carbon fiber filled grade PA6/66 filament, brings the properties of 3D printed parts close to what is usually achievable only by injection molding. With 10% carbon fiber reinforcement, it produces stronger, tougher, and stiffer 3D printed parts for functional prototyping and end-use applications, at the same speeds as unreinforced plastics. Meanwhile, Owens Corning has created its own high-end 3D printing material XSTRAND™. This specific material is designed for functional prototyping and industrial applications, and has strong mechanical and thermal properties enabled by glass-fiber reinforcement. The material is very durable, with stiff mechanical properties, a very low thermal expansion coefficient, and a high working temperature. “I am extremely proud to see that our global material alliance with leading material companies such as DSM and Owens Corning so quickly open up the possibility to use very sophisticated engineering plastics on the Ultimaker S5. We were recently listed as an IDC Innovator for creating important breakthroughs that address and solve some of the challenges that end users in a number of industries have identified with. This alliance will continue to give more professionals access to high-end materials for all kinds of use cases and industries, and will give each Ultimaker S5 in the field an extra upgrade,” commented Jos Burger, CEO at Ultimaker. The new print core CC Red 0.6 will be available in November 2018. Industrial material profiles will become available in Ultimaker Cura in November 2018.
Ultimaker Launches Third-Generation 3D Printer
Netherlands-based 3D printer manufacturer Ultimaker has launched its third-generation Ultimaker 3. The new 3D printer was launched earlier this month, with shipping starting in November. It is priced at £2,795. The machine is Ultimakerâs first release since the Ultimaker 2 was launched in 2013 and is its first to have dual extrusion capabilities. Ultimaker GB director Paul Croft said it had been in development ever since the Ultimaker 2 went to market. Ultimaker GB is the UK subsidiary of Ultimaker, which has also recently opened a North American office. Croft said: Since the Ultimaker 2 came out, working towards a platform that had reliable dual-core extrusion was our main priority. Interest has already been really, really good. We launched at 4pm and one of our UK web platforms had had an order by 4.15pm, that is a barometer of where interest is at. A lot of the people at the moment capitalising on this technology are agile developers, so engineers, architects, product developers and small-batch manufacturers. Because the Ultimaker doesnât have a huge technical threshold however, I can still see it being popular with individual end-users and we have already had a lot of interest as part of the Create Education project from universities. Create Education, headed up by Croft, provides information through resources to schools and universities on the benefits of 3D printing. The Ultimaker can print a wide range of materials, including nylon, PVA and PVC. A further Ultimaker Plus range of materials is due to be brought out in the next six to 12 months. It prints at a maximum size of 215x215x300mm with single extrusion and 197x215x300mm with dual extrusion. From an agility point of view, having multiple build platforms that you can assemble parts from is actually better than having one building block, added Croft. The machine has integrated WiFi capabilities and USB and Ethernet connections. It also has a built-in camera, which is connected to Ultimakerâs open source Cura 3D print-slicing software. Ultimaker calls itself the leading open source 3D printer manufacturer. Croft said that it shares designs and software with other manufacturers and also releases certain files detailing how it manufactures its hardware. He said: Sharing with the community that we remain true to and giving people access to using it as a starting point for innovation is really part of our DNA. Itâs really a study for open source, moving into the professional sector thanks to the reliability and repeatability of the printer. Founded in 2011 in Utrecht, Ultimaker employs more than 250 staff, and has 17 in its Ultimaker GB base in Chorley, Lancashire. Elsewhere, in July, Polaroid launched a new 3D printer, the ModelSmart 250S, targeting consumers, designers and schools.