In late spring 2018 we expect to take delivery of a Fuse 1 complete system from Formlabs.
This new printer was announced in 2017 and our group was one of the first to order the complete systems.
The system uses a laser to melt together thin layers of parts in a volume of nylon powder. The result is a robust part (or many parts) that do not have the typical support structures to hold the parts as in SLS or various printers using plastic extrusion. Parts require little or no post cleanup. In addition, the surface is slightly porous and bonds tightly with acrylic paints. We do have a air brush painting system and can paint the parts as requested (assuming the basic dark gray color of the nylon is not want the client wants) or the client can paint as they wish.
The system is best utilized when we have a request that packs many parts into the printers build volume (165x165x320 mm) to reduce the cost per part.
