3D Systems Introduces First Material for Long-Term Use Production Parts Manufactured with Stereolithography

Rhea-AI Summary

3D Systems has introduced the Accura AMX Rigid Black, a groundbreaking production-grade resin designed for large-scale 3D printing. This material, tested for up to eight years of indoor durability and one and a half years outdoors, enables the creation of highly complex, load-bearing parts. Customers across various sectors, including automotive and motorsports, can expect significant performance and cost improvements. The product will be available from July 20, 2021, with early adopters like TOYOTA Gazoo Racing already benefiting from its innovative capabilities.

Positive

• Accura AMX Rigid Black enables the production of large, complex parts with superior performance.
• Successful testing leads to an expected lifespan of eight years indoors and 1.5 years outdoors.
• Significant cost savings of 60% and time savings of 90% reported by early users, such as TOYOTA Gazoo Racing.

Negative

• None.

• Industry-leading production-grade resin - Accura^® AMX™ Rigid Black - facilitates large, structural, load-bearing parts for a breadth of markets including automotive, consumer goods, service bureaus
  
• TOYOTA Gazoo Racing Europe using material for motorsports applications, enabling product innovation not previously possible

ROCK HILL, S.C., July 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 3D Systems [NYSE:DDD] today announced the availability of a breakthrough production-grade acrylate resin – Accura^® AMX™ Rigid Black. Designed for use with the company’s stereolithography (SLA) technology, this tough material is the first to produce large-scale additively manufactured parts with exceptional resolution, accuracy, and surface quality capable of withstanding the rigors of long-term mechanical use. As part of a complete 3D Systems additive manufacturing solution – comprising Accura AMX Rigid Black, the company’s SLA 3D printing technology, 3D Sprint^®, and application engineering services – customers in markets such as automotive & motorsports, consumer goods, service bureaus, and contract manufacturers are able to rapidly address a broad range of production applications.

3D Systems’ materials scientists engineered Accura AMX Rigid Black for long-lasting mechanical performance and stability in any environment. This material has been tested for up to eight years of indoor and one and a half years of outdoor mechanical performance, enabling significantly improved part performance and stability. The superior surface quality rivals that of injection-molded parts and exhibits similar stress/strain toughness performance of standard thermoplastics. Additionally, Accura AMX Rigid Black’s high isotropic properties enable greater part repeatability and accuracy.

Accura AMX Rigid Black is 3D Systems’ latest customer-centric innovation – inspired in part by the advanced production application requirements of TOYOTA Gazoo Racing (TGR). In 2019, 3D Systems entered a partnership with TGR to change automotive engineering. Since that time, the companies have developed first-to-market manufacturing solutions to revolutionize automotive design and production. TGR has extensive experience with 3D Systems’ Figure 4^® materials and was particularly impressed by the mechanical properties of the company’s Figure 4 PRO-BLK 10. However, they had a vision for a CNC fixture that would be larger than the build size of the Figure 4 printers.

“Accura AMX Rigid Black allows us to deliver larger, complex SLA production parts, including full-scale manufacturing aids,” said Alexander Liebold, group leader, production engineering & future technologies, TGR. “We recently used the material to develop 3D printed fixtures for stabilizing larger automotive components for CNC milling. Using Accura AMX Rigid Black we achieved 90% time savings and 60% cost savings in comparison to the previous handwork process for a batch of 40 parts. Unlike other additive production technologies, parts in Accura AMX Rigid Black provide very smooth sidewalls and superior isotropic strength, critical for accurate jigs and fixtures that are in constant use. Now we can turn around any large-scale part and be confident it will perform as required, for as long as we need. This is a real game-changer for production manufacturing.”

In addition to bringing significant benefits to automotive and motorsports applications, Accura AMX Rigid Black is engineered to enable long-term use production parts for:

• Consumer goods for direct digital production to replace injection molding or soft tooling processes, as well as manufacturing aids and jigs and fixtures
• Service bureaus for applications such as large, structural load-bearing functional prototypes and end-use production parts for manufacturers and tier 1 suppliers to a variety of customers in consumer goods, industrial engineering, automotive, and motorsports
• Specialty contract manufacturing for custom load-bearing parts such as levers, arms, couplings, cranks, jigs, and fixtures
  

“We’re excited to bring this game-changing material to market,” said Dr. Edwin Hortelano, senior vice president, materials engineering & development, 3D Systems. “As part of our strategy to invest in and continue to add innovative products to our SLA material portfolio, the introduction of Accura AMX Rigid Black is poised to address a variety of new production applications with additive manufacturing. For example, we are seeing a larger percentage of work that service bureaus are undertaking is focused on the manufacture of end-use parts. Accura AMX Rigid Black in combination with our SLA 3D printing technology will allow service bureaus to more efficiently, and cost-effectively meet their customers’ needs – helping to fuel the growth of their businesses and their customers’ innovation. This is just the first of many planned breakthrough additions to 3D Systems’ portfolio of production-grade industrial SLA resins.”

General availability of Accura AMX Rigid Black is planned for July 20, 2021. For more information on this material, please visit the company’s website.

Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made in this release that are not statements of historical or current facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to be materially different from historical results or from any future results or projections expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In many cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terms such as "believes," "belief," "expects," "may," "will," "estimates," "intends," "anticipates" or "plans" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are based upon management’s beliefs, assumptions, and current expectations and may include comments as to the company’s beliefs and expectations as to future events and trends affecting its business and are necessarily subject to uncertainties, many of which are outside the control of the company. The factors described under the headings "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in the company’s periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as other factors, could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected or predicted in forward-looking statements. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not, and should not be relied upon as a guarantee of future performance or results, nor will they necessarily prove to be accurate indications of the times at which such performance or results will be achieved. The forward-looking statements included are made only as of the date of the statement. 3D Systems undertakes no obligation to update or review any forward-looking statements made by management or on its behalf, whether as a result of future developments, subsequent events or circumstances or otherwise.

About 3D Systems
More than 30 years ago, 3D Systems brought the innovation of 3D printing to the manufacturing industry. Today, as the leading additive manufacturing solutions partner, we bring innovation, performance, and reliability to every interaction - empowering our customers to create products and business models never before possible. Thanks to our unique offering of hardware, software, materials, and services, each application-specific solution is powered by the expertise of our application engineers who collaborate with customers to transform how they deliver their products and services. 3D Systems’ solutions address a variety of advanced applications in healthcare and industrial markets such as medical and dental, aerospace & defense, automotive, and durable goods. More information on the company is available at www.3dsystems.com.

Investor Contact:	investor.relations@3dsystems.com
Media Contact:	press@3dsystems.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5acf9fd8-b26b-44da-ae94-21de53a28b48

FAQ

What is Accura AMX Rigid Black by 3D Systems?

Accura AMX Rigid Black is a new production-grade resin from 3D Systems designed for large-scale additively manufactured parts.

Who is using Accura AMX Rigid Black?

TOYOTA Gazoo Racing is one of the first to utilize Accura AMX Rigid Black for motorsports applications.

When will Accura AMX Rigid Black be available?

Accura AMX Rigid Black is set to be available on July 20, 2021.

How does Accura AMX Rigid Black compare to traditional materials?

This resin offers superior surface quality and mechanical properties similar to injection-molded parts, making it ideal for demanding applications.

What industries can benefit from Accura AMX Rigid Black?

Industries such as automotive, motorsports, consumer goods, and specialty contract manufacturing can benefit from this innovative resin.