R&D Monthly: A 3D Printing Blog Archives for April of 2015

Stratasys is pleased to partner with the Science Museum of Minnesota for its new exhibition, Space: An Out-of-Gravity Experience. The Science Museum of Minnesota, in partnership with the California Science Center, NASA and other science museums, has developed the Space exhibit to educate people about the challenges of living and working in space—and the potential of what lies ahead. Launched in mid-February, the exhibit includes a Stratasys uPrint SE Plus FDM-based 3D Printer to demonstrate its capabilities for astronauts living or traveling in space.

The Objet 1000 Plus is the next generation Polyjet, large scale 3D Printer. This printer is the flagship of the Polyjet 3D Printing line. This workhorse provides 24x7 operation, Connex multi-material technology, and best in class ease of use. With the new Objet1000 Plus, Endur (Simulated Polypropylene) has been added to the standard single shot plastics, as well as the multi-material class for digital mixing. The 3D Printer also now has an optimized printing block movement which will allow for less head movements and less printing time. This printer also has a new printing head working point which allows for an average of 13% increase in print speed and an average of 25% reduction in waste. The Objet1000 Plus is the new large format Polyjet 3D Printer.

During the months following my last article, “3D Printing and Drones,” there’s been many news events published regarding drones showing up in unexpected places. For example, a day after my first article was posted, a drone landed on the White House grounds. In March, ten drones were spotted mysteriously flying over Paris. There have been close calls between drones and commercial aircraft, reports of drug smugglers using drones along the US and Mexico border, and even reports of drones smuggling contraband over prison walls. On the other hand, you can find many examples of good uses for drones such as one Rhode Island teenager who hand-built his drone to help firefighters determine the cause of fires in buildings that are too unsafe to enter. He volunteers his time as needed to his local fire department.