Objet Introduces Industry’s First Multi-Material 3-D Printer

Rehovot, Israel – November 27, 2007 – Objet Geometries Ltd., the world leader in jetting ultra-thin photopolymer layers, today announced the new Connex500™. Based on Objet’s breakthrough technology, PolyJet Matrix™, the Connex500 opens a new chapter in rapid prototyping and rapid manufacturing. Connex500 offers, for the first time ever, the ability to print parts and assemblies made of multiple model materials, all in a single build. Pushing the revolution even further ahead, the Connex500 also fabricates Digital Materials™ on the fly, enabling users to create composite materials that have preset combinations of mechanical properties.

“We have never been more excited about a launch of a new system,” said Adina Shorr, CEO of Objet Geometries. “We believe that the Connex500 introduces breakthrough technology to the world of design and manufacturing. We are certain the new system and materials will meet a broad range of needs in new product development at a large number of organizations around the world.”

Versatile, efficient printing of even the most complex parts

Prior to the introduction of Connex500, Objet offered seven FullCure model materials. With the new system, it is possible to produce parts and assemblies with 21 new Digital Materials, as well as the seven original materials. The Connex500 prints parts with specific Shore A values, a scale used to indicate material hardness in soft, flexible materials. Consequently, users of the machine can match the Shore A values to those of production materials.

The new system offers virtually unlimited opportunities for emulating the look, feel and function of final products more closely than was previously possible. The machine provides compelling cost and time advantages for applications that would usually require the gluing of separate parts made of different materials and for end-products that involve double injection molding.

The Connex500 is capable of producing prototypes of products that use over-molding in the manufacturing process. The new system can print multi-material parts in a single build process that eliminates the difficulties and expense of the traditional process. What’s more, the system is capable of fabricating translucent models that can aid in medical applications by showing nerves, tumors and other areas of interest.

Printing 600 x 600 dpi in both the x and y axes, the Connex500 enables thin walls down to 0.6mm, fine details in all dimensions, and a smooth surface finish—assuring high quality for every part, regardless of geometric complexity. Precision printing, with a maximum tolerance of 0.3mm over large models, ensures accuracy and repeatability.

The Connex500 offers three printing modes. The DM mode operates at 12mm per hour in 30-micron layers and is used for Digital Materials and multiple model material printing. The HQ mode builds parts at 12mm per hour in 16-micron (0.0006 inch) layers and the HS mode runs at 20 mm per hour in 30-micron (0.001 inch) layers. The Connex500’s build volume is 500 x 400 x 200 mm (19.7 x 15.7 x 7.9 inches).

By enabling users to select materials, printing speed and resolution, with easy switching between printing modes, the Connex500 offers a versatile answer for an unlimited range of applications

Objet Studio Software for Connex500

The Connex500 comes with new Objet Studio Software that was especially designed to assign multiple materials to STL files and create files that include different material types, assemblies and model characteristics.

Objet will unveil the Connex500 and PolyJet Matrix at the EuroMold 2007 exhibition on December 5-8 in Frankfurt, Germany (Hall 8.0, Stand H-144).


Connex500

About Objet Geometries

Objet Geometries, a pioneer in the jetting of photopolymer, develops, manufactures and globally markets ultra-thin-layer, high-resolution 3-dimensional printing solutions for rapid prototyping and rapid manufacturing. The market-proven Eden line of systems is based on Objet’s patented office-friendly PolyJet™ technology. Objet’s FullCure® materials create accurate, clean, smooth and highly-detailed models and prototypes, enabling even the most complex 3-D shapes to be printed with exceptional quality, accuracy and speed. Connex500™, Objet’s latest innovation, is based on Objet’s PolyJet Matrix™ technology, which offers the simultaneous jetting of multiple model materials. PolyJet Matrix jets Digital Materials™ that create composite materials on the fly.
Objet’s solutions enable manufactures and industrial designers to reduce cost of product development cycles and dramatically shorten time-to–market of new products. Objet systems are in use by world leaders in many industries, such as automotive, electronics, toy, consumer goods and footwear industries in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Japan. Founded in 1998, Objet serves its growing worldwide customer base through offices in USA, Europe and Hong Kong, and a global network of distribution partners. Objet owns more than 50 patents and patent pending inventions.


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© 2007 Objet Geometries, Ltd. All rights reserved. Objet Geometries, PolyJet, PolyJet Matrix, Connex500, FullCure, and Eden are trademarks of Objet Geometries Ltd. and may be registered in certain jurisdictions