Loveland, Colo., December 12, 2019 — Avid Product Development, a privately-held product design and 3D printing service bureau, has expanded its additive manufacturing services with the addition of a new HP Jet Fusion 5210 3D printer and is offering a new elastic material, Ultrasint® TPU01 by BASF.
The Jet Fusion 5200 Series 3D printer system is the newest additive manufacturing advancement by HP. Designed for more than functional prototyping applications and short-run productions, the Jet Fusion 5210 expands upon HP’s existing Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) portfolio and facilitates direct digital manufacturing at Avid Product Development.
With improved speed and manufacturing predictability, the HP Multi Jet Fusion 5210 3D printer brings increased productivity, accuracy, and consistency to the existing MJF capabilities at Avid Product Development, which includes two MJF 4210 3D printing systems.
“The addition of the MJF 5210 brings an even higher degree of productivity,” stated Doug Collins, co-founder of Avid Product Development. “With increased speed and efficiency, the 5210 system allows Avid to scale to production volumes.”
“The MJF 5210 helps Avid accelerate our customers’ product development cycles by repeatedly manufacturing high quality end-use parts faster than ever,” added Ryan Billson, who founded Avid Product Development with Collins. “Full builds on the new 5210 system are 30% faster and deliver the lowest cost per part.”
Avid Product Development is one of the first 3D printing service bureaus to offer BASF’s new Ultrasint® TPU01 printed on the HP MJF 5210. The new TPU (Thermoplastic Urethane) material features durable elasticity and abrasion resistance along with shape recovery and shock absorption. Ultrasint® TPU01 also provides excellent part accuracy, intricate detailing, and high surface quality for 3D printed parts.
Before introducing TPU, all digital manufacturing at Avid Product Development has been in PA 11 and PA 12, which are both rigid nylon polymers. The capability to print with TPU facilitates further access into various markets including automotive, prosthesis, helmets, footwear, wind energy, and robotics. TPU is an ideal material for additional manufacturing applications requiring require good shock absorbance, energy return, and flexibility.
“We anticipate new opportunities will materialize with the ability to print with TPU, specifically entrance into new manufacturing segments as well as product development,” stated Collins. “By combining the viscoelasticity of TPU with the design freedom of 3D printing, Avid has engineered parts with lattice-type structures to attain strong impact performance at lower weights and improved ventilation.”
“A wider range of companies across multiple industries will be utilizing Avid for their production needs because of these new direct digital manufacturing tools, coupled with our design, engineering, and product design experience,” concluded Billson.