Stratasys made an interesting move that should grow their industrial customer base.
The company announced a new materials qualification program for SAF PA12. This is a production nylon material designed for use in the company’s SAF systems. SAF is a powder-based technology that is designed for production use, able to build end-use parts.
Why is this a relatively big deal? It’s all about “qualification”. While the SAF equipment can certainly 3D print PA12 very well already, any manufacturer using that technology and materials must qualify their manufacturing process. In other words, they must formally prove that the equipment, materials, software, and process actually work — meaning the results meet certain standards of quality. These may vary by application, of course, and that’s why every company needs to qualify a technology before use.
Qualification is itself a rigorous process, requiring multiple steps, culminating in a broad qualification document. This document can later be presented to regulators, customers, auditors, or others that require proof that the technology operates as described.
In many industries, a technology cannot be used for production purposes unless it has been qualified.
The problem is that the qualification process can be a bit arduous, so if the proposal to use a new technology isn’t sufficiently compelling, a company may not continue due to the expense and time required for qualification.
This is where Stratasys’ new approach appears. They explain:
“The qualification program extends Stratasys’ AIS™ advanced industrial solution package to SAF technology, applying a structured framework for material performance, consistency, and traceability required in production environments. By shortening material qualification timelines, manufacturers can move more efficiently from initial adoption to routine production using SAF printers.”
In other words, they’ve simplified the qualification process tremendously, making it far easier for a customer to qualify SAF PA12 for production use.
In some sales scenarios, this could be the tiebreaker that makes a deal happen. Stratasys is removing some of the friction that existed to purchase their equipment.
As they say, if you want something to happen, remove the friction. That’s what Stratasys is doing here. Expect more SAF sales incoming.
Via Stratasys
