The Stratasys service bureau is more than just a 3D printing service provider. With 8 facilities across North America, Stratasys Direct Manufacturing tailors services to fit production needs - from the smallest rapid prototyping project to high-volume injection molding orders.
You might be aware that Stratasys offers on-demand FDM and PolyJet 3D printing through Stratasys Direct, but did you know the service provider has one of the widest gamuts of technology and material options in the industry?
There’s more than meets the eye at Stratasys Direct, so I’ve broken down five key things you may not know about the service bureau.
Stratasys Direct has produced 20 million parts to date
This is not your average 3D printing service provider producing one-off plastic trinkets. Stratasys Direct Manufacturing is at the forefront of production and serialized manufacturing. We offer six industrial 3D printing technologies and three conventional manufacturing technologies to ensure there’s a turn-key solution for every engineering challenge.
To keep up with major industries’ demand for accuracy and traceability, Stratasys Direct’s mature quality management ecosystem includes integrated digital traceability of workmanship, inspection and materials. They adhere to more than 45 process and material specifications for additive manufacturing and continuously improve processes to develop the industrialization of additive to meet conventional standards.
Stratasys Direct has applied 1.7 million hours of engineering time on projects
Industrial 3D printing at this scale requires unique expertise. Every project at Stratasys Direct is supervised by our project engineering team dedicated to the success of your order. Process and manufacturing engineers have an intimate knowledge of each technology and work together to find inventive uses of the process methods to manufacture challenging designs and high-requirement components. They frequently invent new ways of manufacturing with 3D printing, conventional manufacturing or a combination of methods to produce impossible geometries and serve specialized applications.
Stratasys Direct holds a patent for a special metals design feature
One example of our engineers inventing a manufacturing solution is a patented design feature developed in 2016 for self-supporting internal passageways for powder metal additive manufacturing.
The patent is for a 3D printing build method that can produce metal 3D printed parts from a powder-based selective laser process (such as Direct Metal Laser Melting) where the 3D parts can have self-supporting internal passageways. This is accomplished by adjusting design files and orienting the design in a particular way in the build chamber.
Stratasys Direct helped develop and test the Stratasys V650 Flex 3D Stereolithography printer with more than 75,000 hours collective run time and 150,000 parts produced
Before it was offered by Stratasys as a new industrial 3D printer, Stratasys Direct improved the Stereolithography process by enhancing the machine’s accuracy and speed. Over the years, Stratasys Direct produced more than 150,000 parts including concept models for top companies to investment casting patterns for the foundries across the US.
Stratasys Direct celebrated 5 years of operations in 2019
In 2014, Stratasys purchased Solid Concepts and Harvest Technologies to merge with their previous service provider Redeye. The goal was to offer an expansive service bureau – more than just FDM and PolyJet 3D printers, but a full-fledged contract manufacturer able to deliver production solutions. The three merged companies brought 30 years of combined experience and dedicated expertise to 3D printing and advanced manufacturing.
Under the Stratasys banner, the Stratasys Direct service bureau has thrived with the latest tech at its fingertips - and the dedication to push additive manufacturing into the 2020s as a legitimate production solution for every company.
Take the Next Step
If you need a service that complements your in-house capability, someone to take the pressure off a rush job, or a multi-year serialized production program, make Stratasys Direct your partner.
