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Industrial 3D printer manufacturerStratasyshas announced the acquisition of all remaining shares in inkjet printhead developerXaar PLC’sHigh Speed Sintering (HSS) subsidiaryXaar 3D Ltd。
Stratasys已经拥有45％的Xaar 3D，现在已经完全控制了一家与之合作的公司Selective Absorption Fusion(SAF) technology into its H Series machines. SAF is designed to provide adopters in the consumer, automotive and electronics sectors with high-throughput capabilities, thus Stratasys says the move will “accelerate its growth in production-scale 3D printing.”
XAAR 3D Ltd的总经理Ronen Cohen说：“我们已经能够显着改善更一致和可靠的零件的热管理，同时为客户提供所需的生产控制。3D printer development, while leveraging Stratasys’ global go-to-market infrastructure and blue-chip customer relationships.”
“We formed Xaar 3D on the premise that we could help existing powder bed technology make a major leap forward, and that’s what’s happening thanks to SAF.”
XAAR 3D的HSS技术
Xaar Plc从其在英国剑桥市的总部运营，可能是Inkjet Technologies的制造商，但它也具有HSS背景。打开了专用的3D打印枢纽in 2016, the firm appointed the inventor of HSS, Professor Neil Hopkinson, as its Director, with the aim of developing new materials for the technology and better ways of marketing it.
在此之后的两年中，该公司继续寻找工业化技术的方法，最初working with BASFin an effort to achieve this, beforeestablishing Xaar 3D Limitedalongside Stratasys. The new entity was awarded full rights to Hopkinson’s HSS approach, and although Stratasys only took an initial 15% stake in the firm, it将其份额增加到45％并在2019年获得了收购选择。
With this increased stake came closer collaboration between the companies, and Stratasys announced the development of its SAF technology in March 2021. Based on Xaar 3D’s HSS approach, SAF essentially involves selectively jetting an infrared (IR)-sensitive binder onto a polymer powder bed, before an IR lamp is used to fuse these particles together into layers.
By performing these steps in the same direction across the powder bed, SAF exposes all parts produced to the same level of thermal energy, giving them consistent qualities no matter where they’re placed. The process is also said to enable extremely high throughputs, thus Stratasys has identified it as having industrial potential, and committed to fitting it to each of its H Series 3D printers.
Stratasys的SAF为H350
As its first SAF-equipped machine, Stratasys’H350 3D printerwas launched in Q2 2021, to enable manufacturers to scale their businesses via the volume production of end-use quality parts. In particular, the company has marketed its system as a way of allowing adopters to ‘take control’ of their processes, by using its sensors to collect data, which can then be deployed to configure it to meet their needs.
由于其生产的始终定型的零件，据说H350是生产剪辑，眼镜，电子案例或耳机等消费产品的理想选择，以及更强大的承载组件，例如夹具，适配器和歧管。
目前，该机器与各种聚酰胺和弹性粉末兼容，包括Stratasys的专有耐撞击PA11，这是100％基于生物的。在快速 + TCT, the company also announced计划推出新的PA12for the H350 in 2022, which is said to be characterized by both high dimensional stability and chemical resistance, making it useful for creating industrial tooling.
Thus far, the H350 has been installed atStratasys直接制造in addition to beta sites across Europe and the U.S. With the machine expected to be made generally available later this year, Stratasys says that initial adopters are already reaping the benefits of SAF technology, while its full acquisition of Xaar 3D will allow its team to “continue leading the development of the H Series platform.”
Stratasys首席执行官Yoav Zeif博士说：“客户告诉我们，这项技术在较高量的情况下的一致性有助于他们发展业务，并为他们提供了重要的竞争优势。”“我们很高兴欢迎从Xaar 3D到Stratasys家族的杰出创新者团队。”
“We are committed to being the leading provider of production-scale polymer 3D printing for our customers as additive manufacturing continues to transform industries around the world.”
Stratasys’ HSS competitors
尽管霍普金森被认为是HSS的发明者，但XAAR 3D并不是唯一已知正在开发该技术的公司，并且Voxeljet推出了其第一个HSS系统back in 2017. At the time, the company stated that the technology was “more productive than other AM processes,” and it now markets HSS-poweredVX200andVX1000machines.
尽管其过程与HSS略有不同，但惠普的Multi Jet Fusion (MJF)technology is also inkjet-based, and is said to yield parts with similar properties and a comparable level of surface finish. As a result, MJF is deployed far and wide across the 3D printing industry, from western service providers likeProtolabs至Indian and Australian manufacturers。
Just like HSS, MJF is also the subject of continual upgrades, such as the自动化后处理系统being developed by HP alongsideAM Solutions。Announced atFormnextin 2019, the upcoming machinery is set to significantly improve the refinement and stability of parts produced using MJF 3D printers.
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Featured image shows Stratasys’ SAF-powered H350 3D printer. Photo via Stratasys.
