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PROCESS AND MATERIALS

 

From the CAD drawing on your screen to the 3D model in your hand, the uPrint 3D Printing process can easily become part of your everyday workflow.

 

How to print with uPrint

Making 3D models with uPrint Personal 3D Printers is as easy as 1-2-3:

CAD drawing

Prepare the file. If you can create a model in CAD software, you can print it with uPrint. The Catalyst®EX software that comes with your uPrint system converts the STL output from your CAD software into precise deposition paths that guide the extrusion head, printing your model layer by layer. CatalystEX automatically slices and orients your model and creates any necessary support structures. All you have to do is click "print."

Printing the model

Print your model. The uPrint 3D Printer uses patented Stratasys FDM® (Fused Deposition Modeling) technology to print your 3D model and its support material, layer by layer, from the bottom up. uPrint printers precisely deposit layers 0.010" (0.254mm) thick.

Finished Model

Remove the support. Remove your model from the uPrint build chamber, pop it off the modeling base and remove the soluble support material. (A support removal system is highly recommended for this process.) After it's cleaned, you can put the durable ABSplus plastic model through just about any post-processing you need: drilling, tapping, machining, sanding, painting, even chrome plating.

FDM makes it all happen

uPrint is based on FDM technology from Stratasys. In fact, uPrint is the seventh generation of Dimension® 3D printers, which means it's backed by years of innovations and field experience.

FDM is a two-material process. Filaments of ABSplus modeling material and soluble support material are fed from auto-loading carriers in the material bay up to the uPrint extrusion head. There, the materials are heated to a semi-liquid state, forced through dual extrusion tips and precisely deposited onto the modeling base in extremely fine layers. The print head moves in X-Y coordinates and the modeling base moves down the Z-axis as the model and its support material is built from the bottom up, layer by layer. After the build is complete, the support material is dissolved away and the model is ready to use or finish if needed.

 

ABSplus for accuracy and durability

The ABSplus material used in uPrint 3D Printers gives your ideas the shape and durability they need, whether your models are passed around a conference table or subjected to functional testing. A true industrial thermoplastic, ABS is widely used in thousands of applications. ABSplus is tough enough to withstand some rigorous functional and field testing, such as a camera mount on an M2 Bradley tank and a spray gun operating at 60 psi.