Stratasys H350 now in use at 3DPRINTUK

Laser Lines has sold and installed the first Stratasys H350 in the country to 3DPRINTUK, an additive manufacturing bureau that specialises in low volume production using powder bed fusion machines. 3DPRINTUK is based in London and was set up to bridge the void between the prototyping and injection moulding stages of manufacture.

Nick Allen is the founder and CEO at 3DPRINTUK and explains why he chose the H350: “We are the go-to bureau for powder-bed additive manufacturing in the UK and we want to maintain our strong position. We intend to lead the adoption of Selective Absorption Fusion (SAF) in the UK, and the Stratasys H350 does that. It also brings extra capacity to our very busy production space.”

Repeatability and green materials
Nick continues: “Repeatability is the key in low to medium volume batch production. If customers need hundreds or thousands of the same part over and over again, they want them to be exactly the same size. The repeatability of the Stratasys H350 out of the box is excellent, and we have our own specialist scaling system that will be able to offer further improvements.”

A huge draw for the Stratasys H350 is its ability to print PA11. Nick adds: “We wanted to find a machine that we can use exclusively for this material, as it is slightly more difficult to print with than the PA12 we already offer. We also wanted to offer our customers a more environmentally-friendly material, which as a plant-based rather than oil-based polymer, PA11 is perfect for.

“I have been following SAF technology for a long time and have been waiting for the moment of its release. The H350 combines the benefits of existing powder-bed technologies with the ability to print denser builds than you can with alternative machines. The packing density was a major draw for me, as it has been frustrating to see how few parts can fit into other machines.”

The Stratasys H350 is the culmination of many years of research into improving power bed fusion to ensure that true production-grade parts can be achieved. Known as SAF, the technology ensures consistency and accuracy at high part volumes, along with full traceability.

Its industrial-strength print heads do not need frequent replacement, maximising uptime and lowering running costs. You can even reuse unfused powder without compromising your next build.

Low power consumption
Nick continues: “One of the benefits of this machine to our business is its relatively low power consumption. Some of the machines we run are incredibly power-intensive, which has cost implications, but of much greater concern to us is our available energy supply. We have a limit on the energy that comes into our building, which presents some significant challenges when expanding the business with machines that use high amounts of energy. The H350 solves that problem effectively.

“Stratasys is a company we have been aware of for a very long time and we have always heard good things. But as it has only offered FDM and Polyjet machines until recently, it has been off our purchasing radar. Now it has expanded its technologies, we are expecting it will lead the way in batch production.

“Although this is our first purchase from Laser Lines, we have been talking to the team there since 2011 and they have always been helpful. They take care of customers very well and are extremely responsive. If there are any issues, they go up the chain very quickly for someone senior to manage. I look forward to dealing with them more in the future.”

Mark Tyrtania, sales director at Laser Lines says: “The Stratasys H350 is the culmination in years of research into perfecting powder bed fusion. We are delighted to have installed this production-grade machine into such a prestigious facility as the one 3DPRINTUK runs, and we look forward to supporting them for many years to come.”

If you would like to find out how low-volume production can be made faster and cheaper with the Stratasys H350, get in touch with us today by emailing [email protected] or call us on 01295 672599.