New Delhi: MakerBot owner Stratasys has unveiled the world's first 3D printer capable of multi-material, full-colour 3D printing.
The Objet500 Connex3 Color Multi-material 3D Printer is a $330,000 manufacture-level printer that's aimed at designers and manufacturers who want to speed up bringing prototypes to market.
The company believes the printer will drastically reduce the time it takes to bring prototypes to market.
The printer features a triple-jet technology that combines droplets of three base materials to produce parts with virtually unlimited combinations of rigid, flexible and transparent color materials in a single print run.
Stratasys' new printer ushers in an all-in-one technology that speeds production by combining the materials at the print head.
"A single machine will do everything. You can literally get hundreds of colors and hundreds of material formulas out of this one machine. They can mix together," Stratasys said in a statement. "You can build a part that's solid plastic and rubber and transparent and various colors all on the same build. This is like no other machine before."
At present, Trek Bicycle in Waterloo, Wisconsin is currently beta testing the Objet500 Connex3 printer for creating accessories such as bike chain stay guards and handlebar grips prior to actual production.
