Stratasys and Materialise present joint software solution

In collaboration with Materialise, Stratasys has announced the launch of the Stratasys Neo Build Processor for Investment Casting, a solution for accelerating the production of high-quality investment casting master patterns.

3D printing of master patterns can reduce investment casting production time from weeks to days, resulting in time savings of up to 75% compared to traditional methods such as wax patterns and CNC machining. Particularly in small series production, printing complex designs that could not be realised using conventional techniques opens up new opportunities for innovation in product design.

“This new build processor advances our mission to provide faster, more efficient solutions for producing high-quality master patterns,” said Rani Hagag, Chief Health Care and Consumer Business Officer at Stratasys. “Partnering with Materialise exemplifies how Stratasys collaborates with industry leaders to drive innovation and help our customers achieve their most challenging production goals with greater speed and precision.”

The Stratasys Neo Build Processor for investment casting is particularly beneficial for manufacturers in the aerospace, automotive and industrial sectors where speed, precision and cost efficiency are critical. The combination of Somos WaterShed AF resins, Neo SLA technology and advanced Materialise software with variable layer thickness adjustment enables the creation of highly accurate 3D printed master models with minimal post-processing. This optimised process enables the production of high-quality metal castings in the shortest possible time.

“Our collaboration with Stratasys focuses on creating seamless integrations between software and hardware to make AM adoption more effortless for our customers,” said Udo Eberlein, Vice President Materialise Software. “With the NxG Build Processor for Stratasys Neo printers, we enable a broad set of applications but also unlock new possibilities for niche applications like investment casting, where the flexibility of additive manufacturing meets the reliability of metal casting processes that have been refined over thousands of years. This collaboration helps improve processing speed and print productivity, but is about more than just advancing technology; it’s about empowering industries to push the boundaries of what they can achieve with AM.”

The Materialise NxG Build Processor is a configurable software that translates large and complex 3D design files into printable instructions, optimising the 3D printing process from start to finish.