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SAF 3D Printing Service | Stratasys Direct

SAF® 3D Printing Service

SAF® Parts in as few as 3 days!

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Engineer opening SAF 3D Printer at Stratasys Direct

Your Trusted Partner for SAF® Printing Services

For more than three decades, Stratasys Direct has been at the forefront of powder bed fusion (PBF) additive manufacturing. Our wealth of experience, combined with a dedicated team of engineers and prestigious certifications, positions us as the partner of choice for additive manufacturing solutions – from design to production. Whether your needs lean towards batch or serialized production, our Selective Absorption Fusion (SAF) printing services redefine the landscape by delivering consistently repeatable parts at a lower per-part cost. 

SAF presents a significant advancement in plastic part production, offering a solution to address limitations commonly encountered in traditional manufacturing, such as high tool-up costs, restricted build capacity, and supply chain constraints. This revolutionary technology opens new avenues for both rapid prototyping and volume production. Discover the power of SAF powder bed fusion and let Stratasys Direct guide you toward a more efficient and cost-effective approach to plastic part manufacturing.

SAF Material Sample

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SAF® Printing Materials Offer Consistent Quality & Lower Costs

Stratasys Direct offers two robust powder bed fusion (PBF) thermoplastics that provide the essential properties for high-performance volume production, including impact resistance, durability, and thermal stability.

 

Key Features
  • Complex structures
  • 3D Nesting
  • 100% bio-based material
  • Best-in-class surface resolution/feature details with powder bed fusion technology
  • Fully dense and nearly isotropic mechanical properties
  • Excellent chemical resistance to oils, greases, and other hydrocarbons
Applications
  • Strong, functional parts
  • Impact-resistant parts
  • Smooth, end-use products
  • Low unit cost for batches of smaller parts

 

Selective Absorption Fusion (SAF®) currently offers Stratasys High Yield PA11 material for production. This rugged high-performance polymer is a 100% bio-based material derived from sustainably produced castor oil. Stratasys High Yield PA11 is well suited for higher volume production, and it provides high ductility and impact strength along with excellent surface finish.
Data Sheet & Additional Resources

Download High Yield PA11 Data Sheet

SAF® Design Guide

Key Features
  • Rugged and stiff - perfect for applications where rigidity is a key requirement
  • Excellent feature resolution and details among PBF technologies
  • Chemical resistant to oils and grease
  • Exceptional dimensional accuracy, build after build
  • Ideal for higher tolerance requirements
  • High nesting densities to produce more parts per build
Applications
  • Electronic housings, guides, enclosures, connectors, and clips
  • Mounting hardware
  • Manufacturing aids
  • Functional protoypes
  • Containers for fuel, oil housings
  • Low volume complex end-use parts
  • Strong, durable parts without tooling
  • Low unit cost for low batches of small parts
Nylon PA12 for SAF® is a versatile high-performance polymer ideal for mid-to-high volume production at a low cost per part. This chemically resistant material produces the highest level of accuracy among powder bed fusion materials. Tight thermal controls improve part consistency, and allows for more parts per build, resulting in lower costs per part. Nylon PA12 produces rigid components with fine feature resolution, higher tolerances, and exceptional dimensional accuracy.
Data Sheet & Additional Resources

Download Nylon PA12 Data Sheet

SAF® Design Guide

Key Features

  • 40% glass bead by weight 
  • High stiffness 
  • High heat deflection temperature 
  • Lower warpage & shrinkage than standard PA12 material

Applications

  • Functional prototyping: low shrinkage and warpage have improved dimensional accuracy 
  • Structural components: ideal for parts that require high stiffness & durability 
  • Automotive Components – backets, clips, & housings even in elevated temperature environments 
Nylon 12 Glass Filled is a durable material with enhanced stiffness and heat resistance, thanks to 40% glass bead content. It is ideal for functional prototypes and offers excellent wear resistance and stability under elevated temperatures with SAF technology.
Data Sheet & Additional Resources

Download Nylon PA12 GF Data Sheet

SAF® Design Guide

Key Features
  • Exceptional chemical resistance & airtight capabilities
  • SAF PP can be welded to other polypropylene components, enhancing its use in modular assemblies.
  • Superior aesthetics with uniform surface finishes and consistent quality through fine feature resolution and reliable results across large builds
Applications
  • Medical - Orthotics
  • Automotive Components - Housing, Ducting & Under-hood
  • Packaging - Custom Packaging, Prototype, Protective Packaging
The first true Polypropylene (PP) solution in SAF powder bed fusion (PBF) delivers superior aesthetics, exceptional accuracy, chemical resistance, and is ideal for fluid and airtight applications.
Data Sheet & Additional Resources

Dowload Polypropylene Data Sheet

SAF® Design Guide

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Streamlined Ordering & Expert Support

Ordering SAF parts through our online platform is fast and easy. Upload your files with a click and get instant quotes 24/7/365. What's more, our SAF powder bed fusion (PBF) printing service is backed by industry experts who are available to provide engineering and DFAM assistance to enhance your parts' design and functionality. 

Enter NEW30 at checkout for 30% off your online order! Restrictions apply. 

Women visually inspecting SAF 3D printed parts Stratasys Direct

Elevate Your Parts with Finishing and Assembly

Elevate the aesthetics and performance of your SAF parts with the expertise of Stratasys Direct's finishing and assembly team. Our expert finishing team enhances part surface quality and performance through a range of secondary processing applications, including precision sanding, plating, painting, inserts, and more. From the initial concept to the completion, we artfully transform SAF components into masterpieces, surpassing expectations with every detail. Trust us to redefine the excellence of your SAF parts through our comprehensive finishing and assembly services.

Accuracy spot check prior to inspection of SAF 3d printed part Stratasys Direct

Uncompromising Quality for Reliable SAF Parts

At Stratasys Direct, our commitment to surpassing industry benchmarks is evident in our meticulous adherence to rigorous quality standards for Selective Absorption Fusion (SAF) manufacturing. Stratasys Direct maintains the highest quality standards throughout the SAF process, ensuring consistent material handling, recycling, machine maintenance, and adherence to strict process control. Our comprehensive quality systems ensure material traceability, mechanical property verification, and dimensional checks, underscoring our dedication to unwavering excellence. Our proven success with SAF part production is a clear example of how Stratasys Direct is providing additive solutions in real-world use cases.

SAF 3D Printing Design Guide | Stratasys Direct

SAF® Design Guide

This guide offers comprehensive assistance for designers utilizing Stratasys' SAF 3D printing technology, catering to both novice and seasoned users. It covers optimization techniques for enhancing design features, strength, and durability of printed parts, along with best practices for additive manufacturing, leveraging SAF's unique capabilities, while minimizing costs and post-processing challenges.

Unlocking the Potential of SAF Applications

SAF is a robust additive manufacturing technology capable of producing prototypes, manufacturing aids, and higher-volume, end-use parts with ease.

3d printed gaming controller using SAF powder bed fusion (PBF) technology

Quickly turn ideas into reality with high-precision prototypes using our SAF 3D printing service.

SAF 3d printed end of arm robot gripper Stratasys Direct

Optimize your production processes with durable SAF parts on demand that meet complex specifications.

SAF PROD

Leverage the proven success of SAF plastic for end-use components that deliver on performance and aesthetics.

3d printed gaming controller using SAF powder bed fusion (PBF) technology

Quickly turn ideas into reality with high-precision prototypes using our SAF 3D printing service.

SAF 3d printed end of arm robot gripper Stratasys Direct

Optimize your production processes with durable SAF parts on demand that meet complex specifications.

SAF PROD

Leverage the proven success of SAF plastic for end-use components that deliver on performance and aesthetics.

SAF 3D Printing Technology | Stratasys Direct

Revolutionizing 3D Printing with SAF Technology​

 ​Stratasys SAF technology transforms 3D printing with innovative powder bed fusion, creating high-quality, durable plastic parts in any quantity. By using industrial-grade print heads and infrared lamps for precise fusing, SAF enables efficient, cost-effective manufacturing of complex shapes. It ensures uniform surface finishes, fine feature resolution, and consistent part quality across large builds. SAF's low energy consumption and ability to reuse up to 100% of the powder make it an industry leader in sustainability.​

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What is Selective Absorption Fusion?

SAF technology powers a new plastic powder bed fusion (PBF) process to achieve higher volume manufacturing of end-use production parts. This technology enables comprehensive control of the printing process to deliver accurate, consistent, and repeatable parts with engineering-grade thermoplastic materials, allowing the capability to replace injection molding. 

SAF technology produces small to medium functional plastic parts with tighter tolerances than SLS with an improved surface finish perfect for end-use components.

Built from the ground up with production-level printing in mind, SAF delivers exactly what you need – production quantities and competitive prices, all backed by the industry-leading production capabilities of Stratasys Direct.

How SAF 3D Printing Helps Lower Production Costs?

Selective Absorption fusion is a great option for building higher quantities of a single production part design or leveraging batching to build several types of production parts all at once while maximizing cost-effective production.

Primary cost drivers are material consumption and build height, so you can make your parts as intricate as you would like or consolidate assemblies with ease. Complexity is free with SAF® technology. Nesting your parts will further maximize your budget by reducing the manufacturing cycle time for each build.

How does Selective Absorption Fusion (SAF) Work?

Selective Absorption Fusion (SAF) 3d printing is a polymer powder bed fusion process that uses industrial-grade piezo-electric printheads that jet high absorption fluid (HAF) onto a powder bed to define the area in which to form the 3d-printed object. 

The powder bed is then exposed to infrared (IR) energy. The parts of the bed that have HAF have a higher emissivity, which allows it to absorb more IR energy than the surrounding powder. This selectively fuses the parts in a layer-by-layer process.

Made for the manufacturing industry, the entire SAF platform is built around repeatability and reliability. The powder is added to each layer through a proprietary Big Wave process. This ensures that each layer reliably has enough powder regardless of how much is printed on that layer. SAF also uses an advanced thermal control system that guarantees part repeatability with every build. 

SAF has a unidirectional print process, meaning that every layer takes the same amount of time between fluid deposition, energy application, and powder recoating regardless of each part’s location in the bed or its complexity. 

The unidirectional print process and advanced thermal control allow for an industry-best nesting density (the total volume of parts divided by the available building space). This enables the manufacturing team to maximize space and put multiple types of geometries together in a build. This makes SAF cost-effective when manufacturing hundreds or thousands of 3D-printed end-use parts.

The parts are supported during the printing process by the powder itself, and once the parts have finished building, they must cool to room temperature. The parts are then removed by hand from the powder and cleaned off with compressed air and media blast, and unfused powder is able to be recycled into the next build which helps lower costs. 

SAF® Resources

Battle of the technologies SAF SLS and MJF

Battle of the Technologies: SAF, SLS and MJF

In this webinar, we pit SAF, MJF, and SLS technologies against each other to discover; What each technology brings to the table that the others don’t

View more
SAF 3D Printing Design Guide | Stratasys Direct

Selective Absorption Fusion (SAF®) Design Guide | SAF 3D Printing

The SAF design guidelines provide instructions for design considerations, including file exporting procedures & color selection for SAF parts.

View more
Cemera Mount Ford Roush Stratasys Direct

Roush Saves 35% in Costs and Meets Delivery Schedule with 3D Printing from Stratasys Direct

Roush Saves 35% in Costs and Meets Delivery Schedule with Help from Stratasys Direct on the Ford F150

View more
Battle of the technologies SAF SLS and MJF

In this webinar, we pit SAF, MJF, and SLS technologies against each other to discover; What each technology brings to the table that the others don’t

SAF 3D Printing Design Guide | Stratasys Direct

The SAF design guidelines provide instructions for design considerations, including file exporting procedures & color selection for SAF parts.

Cemera Mount Ford Roush Stratasys Direct

Roush Saves 35% in Costs and Meets Delivery Schedule with Help from Stratasys Direct on the Ford F150

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