Think back to when you decided to invest in additive manufacturing. What was your first consideration? Did you lean toward inexpensive 3D printing equipment to minimize risk, or did you prioritize long-term performance by favoring a more robust choice? If you’re still weighing your options, this blog post will show you why the Fortus 450mc FDM printer remains a great investment.
Since its debut in 2014, an impressive 92% of all installed Fortus 450mc printers remain in operation today. Now, proving that some things only improve with time, the new Gen III edition arrives with a refreshed design, future-ready advancements, and expanded capabilities.
Here’s the scoop on the highlights of what makes the Fortus 450mc Gen III Factory Floor Ready:
A printer like the Fortus 450mc doesn’t enter its second decade of dependable performance by standing still. Numerous updates have kept it current with manufacturing’s evolving needs and made industrial 3D printing more accessible with capabilities typically found in premium, high-priced systems.
For example, it offers a more generous build area than lower-cost introductory systems and prints a wide selection of thermoplastics, including high-temp polymers, an asset not found with low-cost 3D printers. To top things off, with the addition of OpenAM software, the Fortus 450mc becomes an open system capable of printing an even broader selection of materials, including third-party and customer-developed polymers.
Some highlights of the consistent functional enhancements over the past decade include:
“That's all well and good, you say, but how does the Fortus 450mc perform?" To answer that question, let's turn to a study conducted to determine the reliability and repeatability of Stratasys FDM technology. It evaluated several Stratasys FDM printers and characterized the performance of printed parts by analyzing mechanical properties, dimensional repeatability, and other print quality metrics. Not surprisingly, the Fortus 450mc demonstrated very high dimensional precision and print performance repeatability.
Here’s the bottom line: you'll be hard-pressed to find another FDM printer offering this degree of industrial-grade additive capabilities in a mid-level system that's priced accordingly. The Fortus 450mc can cover many additive applications while providing more time- and cost-efficient solutions than traditional manufacturing methods.
But if that’s not enough to validate the printer’s value for you, maybe the experiences of several Fortus 450mc customers will convince you.
For starters, Mecoval, a leading Spanish machining service provider, sees significant benefit from the Fortus 450mc's ability to replace some of the more time-consuming and costly operations. Antonio Enguix Lozano, Mecoval's CEO, highlights a particular advantage of the Fortus 450mc.
Those sentiments are echoed by Mike Vetter, Senior Director of Product Development at East/West Industries.
Cost-effective customization and on-demand production are two hallmark benefits of additive manufacturing, which Siemens Mobility uses to advantage with the Fortus 450mc. Michael Kuczmik, Siemens Head of Additive Manufacturing, reinforced that point.
