3D Systems Announces a Molded Polycarbonate -Like Material

3D Systems Corporation a leading provider of rapid 3-D Printing, Prototyping and Manufacturing solutions, has announced the immediate availability of Accura 60 Plastic, a new stereo lithography material that simulates the look and feel of molded polycarbonate. Accura 60 plastic is designed for use on most solid-state laser SLA systems, including the Viper, SLA 5000, SLA 7000 and new Viper Pro SLA systems.

“A cornerstone of our stereo lithography materials’ strategy is the development of a range of products that simulate the look and feel of engineering plastics, “said Abe Reichental, 3D Systems’ President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our recently released Accura 25 plastic simulates polypropylene, while Accura 50 plastic simulates ABS. The launch of Accura 60, which simulates a common high-performance engineering plastic, completes our comprehensive stereo lithography materials’ portfolio.”

“Accura 60’s stiffness, durability and clarity make it ideal for diverse applications in the automotive, aerospace, electronics and medical industries. Typical applications include automotive headlamps, medical equipment components, aircraft and missile components, electrical insulators and connectors, jet pump impellers and diffusers, flow visualization models, and rugged housings for cell phones, pagers and laptop computers,” Reichental continued.

Early user feedback for Accura 60 has been excellent. Scott Turner, President of Scicon Technologies, said “Accura 60 has exceeded our customers’ expectations in every aspect. It has great physical properties including durability, reliable and consistent shrinkage behavior. Best of all, when we polish Accura 60 parts they very closely resemble molded polycarbonate.”

Ron Clemons, Director of Business Development at Harvest Technologies, added, “From a production standpoint Accura 60 is very efficient. It has very low viscosity, which makes it easy to build and easy to clean up, which ultimately results in good parts and rapid turnaround. The parts we have made so far have been impressive, with excellent accuracy, detail, rigidity, functionality and finish, and it has excellent optical clarity when clear coated.”

While Accura 60 parts can be used as functional prototypes, they are ideal for use in manufacturing applications as master patterns for molds and expendable patterns for metal investment casting. David Yarnell, Director of Rapid Prototyping at Dynacept, commented, “Accura 60 offers a great combination of durability, clarity and accuracy. Its ease of finishing, durability and silicone compatibility make it an excellent choice for master patterns for soft tooling.” Added Kendall Hemish of Carley Foundry, “At Carley Foundry, we have burned out and made castings from hundreds of QuickCast patterns. In working with Accura 60 we found that the material casts well without any concern and produces excellent metal parts.”

“We are dedicated to providing our customers with materials and systems that improve their bottom line and deliver to them the features they require. Accura 60 plastic and its wide range of applications represents yet another significant step in providing our customers with solutions that reduce their time to market and improve the quality and value proposition of their products,” Reichental concluded.