Colour digital materials for 3D printed product realism

Paul Boughton

Stratasys Ltd, the provider of 3D printing and additive manufacturing solutions, has released a previously announced extension to its range of flexible and rigid material options for the Objet500 Connex3 Color Multi-material 3D Printer.

Hundreds of new rubber-like colour materials and many rigid ones combined with existing options, allow virtually unlimited combinations of flexible, rigid, and translucent-to-opaque colours in a single print run. 

The new colour options are suitablel for creating medical, automotive and consumer product components in popular grey along with vibrant colour components that offer true-to-life aesthetics. This allows the production of complete products without manual assembly. And it allows product designers to validate designs and make decisions further in advance of tooling to improve designs and reduce tooling costs, reduce development cycle and time-to-market.

“The Objet500 Connex3 is the only 3D printer that combines colours with multi-material 3D printing. The ability to mix rigid, flexible, transparent and opaque colors offers users unprecedented versatility to design and perfect products faster,” says Stratasys Director of Materials & Applications Fred Fischer. “By extending the range of material options available, users can improve workflow speeds and enhance efficiency.”

Ranging from transparent to opaque and spanning a wide selection of Shore A values, the new flexible colour options comprise six rubber material palettes. These consist of:

* Three flexible 72-colour palettes, composed of rubber-like (TangoPlus) and combinations of rigid opaque (VeroCyan, VeroMagenta and VeroYellow) materials.

* Three flexible 68-colour palettes, built with rubber-like (TangoBlackPlus) and combinations of the same rigid opaque (Vero) colours.

Further strengthening its rigid colour range, Stratasys also increased the number of grey and subtle colour options with:

* Three 45-colour rigid grey palettes, each of which combines rigid VeroWhite and VeroBlack with colours. 

* One 45-hue grey palette, with varying levels of translucency, and which includes a reflective lustre for the production of sleek, high-quality parts for products such as consumer electronics.

The new flexible colour options are available immediately to Objet500 Connex3 Color Multi-material 3D Printer owners through a free software update.

video: 

Breakthrough in 3D Printed Product Reality - Flexible Colors

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