On this edition of 30 on 3D, 3D Printing Account Specialist, Madeline Moore, goes through the different processes of manufacturing orthotics and how 3D printing custom foot orthotics using the H350 can help save time and money.  There are 3 main methods of manufacturing custom foot orthotics: Manual Method – Thermoforming 1. Casting the foot 2. Setting the plaster 3. Polishing the plaster 4. Thermoforming 5. Burr cutting 6. Finishing Semidigital Method – CNC Milling 1. CAD scanning the foot 2. Foam machining 3. Burr cutting 4. Finishing Digital Method – 3D Printing (SAF) 1. CAD sca ..read more

You would think after 13 years of working at Purple Platypus, Jason Lasunowicz, one of our Field Service Technicians, would already have a favorite part in our showroom. But by the look of pure panic on his face when I asked him to choose one for Part of the Month, I guess he doesn’t. He shot straight up and started pacing the showroom floor, grabbing part after part from the shelves. Carrying about 10 parts in his arms, he dumped them onto my desk and told me he was having a hard time deciding. Jason has seen the evolution of 3D printing through the many years he has been at Purple. He h ..read more

Fore! Watch out, a new sales kit has arrived. Take a look at some of the SLA golf parts from the new Stratasys Stereolithography sales kit. It’s a hole-in-one! If you havent watched our unboxing video of this kit, watch it here.  Explore the Golf Kit Golf Ball Material: Somos EvoLVe 128 Print Time: 200 balls in 30 hrs on one build This material was selected due to its impact resistance and the outstanding sidewall quality resulting in no or minimal finishing. Golf Tees Material: Somos EvoLVe 128 The golf tees highlight detail that can be achieved when printing small p ..read more

Last month I traveled to Las Vegas to attend Sourcing at MAGIC, a trade show and convention for fashion manufacturers, suppliers, and service providers in the apparel, textile, and fashion industry. So why did I, as a 3D printing professional, attend a fashion trade show? Because Stratasys has invented 3DFashionTM, which is a 3D printing technology that allows direct-to-textile printing in full color, allowing designers to create one-of-a-kind designs and brilliant optical illusionary effects on clothing, footwear, and luxury accessories. Stratasys has developed two different ways to ..read more

The infamous Xbox controller, specifically: The ABXY buttons. Customer Profile The first thing you’d see, when entering Microsoft’s Advanced Prototyping Center (APC), is a door labeled with the periodic symbol for Carbon. The building is a 26,000 square foot prototyping facility, home to a team of highly passionate Industrial Designers and Engineers. Following the mantra of “Fail Fast,” the APC is responsible for quickly generating confidence in development decisions for Microsoft’s designers, engineers, and partners. 3D printing plays an integral part of the “Fail Fast” development proc ..read more

Play Video On this edition of 30 on 3D, Sales Engineer, Hudson Romain takes us through adding color to different sections of dental models and dentures using GrabCAD. It’s easier than you think to add color to your dental models. With a variety of different gingiva and teeth shades, you can get as specific as you need to with GrabCAD. The software allows for extremely detailed models, replicating veins and texture in the gums.  You can load and print multiple model files on the same tray and color each model differently if needed, saving cost and time. Now you’re ready to print them ..read more

For February’s Part of the Month, Post-Processing Technician, Brian Alberta, chose a part we all know and love… the large SLA Water Lily. As you may remember, this part made its debut in a video back in April of last year where we showed it rising out from the Neo450s in slow motion (with very dramatic, cinematic music). The audience went crazy. Now, it is in the spotlight again.. Brian did not choose this part because of that video. He picked it because it is one of the biggest parts we’ve printed in-house on the Neo450s so far, and he is a fan of water lilies. Its intricacy and size ..read more

On this edition of 30 on 3D, 3D Printing Account Specialist, Madeline Moore, gives a tour of the new Purple Platypus University Training Center wing! After 10 years of offering technical classes for Purple Platypus University (PPU), our team is excited to announce the expansion of our PPU Training Center! Our classroom accommodates up to 16 students, where they will learn the specific workflow for their technology of interest. The Training Center contains all new tech equipment, 3D printers, and our very own PPU Cafe where attendees can eat lunch or grab coffee. PPU offers two types of c ..read more

I had our Quoting Specialist, Roman Fanizza, pick the January Part of the Month to kick start 2024. Roman likes to design and 3D print parts in his spare time so I knew he was going to pick an awesome part. Boy, he did not disappoint.  The PA11 chainmail Roman selected. During our interview, Roman and I inserted the chainmail into a popular movie scene for fun (because we’re weird like that). Come with us on a quick adventure, if you may… Imagine you wake up and see your three dumb hobbit friends making a fire on the side of Weathertop Hill. You yell at them to put it out and then imm ..read more

On this edition of 30 on 3D, Development Engineer, Brandon Liu takes us through the steps of using the Labels feature in GrabCAD Print Pro.  The Labels feature allows you to add custom text to be embossed or debossed on the surface of your model. You can also create label templates to programatically add text such as an index number or file name.  Key Features of GrabCAD Print Pro: Accuracy Center: tools for analysis and correction of FDM parts using 3D scan data Per-Part Time Estimation: receive estimates of material usage for every part on the tray and export/copy the data t ..read more