Stratasys launches new materials across FDM, PolyJet, P3 DLP, and SLA with GrabCAD workflow upgrades
Hardware
Originally reported by form-werkzeug.de
Stratasys has announced a broad materials expansion across its polymer AM portfolio, introducing new filaments for its FDM platform, new photopolymers for PolyJet and P3 DLP systems, and new resins for SLA. The company also rolled out improvements to its GrabCAD Print software, including enhanced build preparation, automated support generation, and expanded material profile libraries. The updates span the company's entire polymer hardware lineup, from the Fortus and F900 FDM systems to the J8-series PolyJet printers and the Origin One P3 DLP platform. No specific financial terms or launch dates were disclosed, but the materials are available immediately for existing customers through Stratasys' direct sales channel.
This move is significant because it addresses a persistent bottleneck in polymer AM adoption: material qualification and workflow integration. Stratasys is not introducing a single breakthrough material but rather expanding the envelope of qualified options across four distinct process segments — FDM/FFF, PolyJet (material jetting), P3 DLP (vat photopolymerization), and SLA. This breadth is rare in the industry; most polymer AM vendors specialize in one or two process families. By simultaneously updating GrabCAD Print, Stratasys is reinforcing its value-chain position as a software-integrated materials ecosystem rather than just a hardware supplier. The competitive context matters: HP's Multi Jet Fusion has been gaining ground in production polymer applications, while desktop resin players like Formlabs have eroded Stratasys' historical SLA advantage. This multi-process materials push is a defensive play to retain existing customers and reduce the incentive to switch platforms for specific material needs.
From a practical standpoint, this is a maintenance and retention update rather than a market-shifting event. Stratasys is doing what a mature platform vendor should do: expanding the materials library to keep its installed base productive. The real test will be whether these new materials carry meaningful price-performance advantages over third-party alternatives, which have been eating into Stratasys' consumables margins for years. For buyers, the key takeaway is that GrabCAD Print's improved workflow integration may reduce per-part programming time, but the materials themselves are incremental — not the kind of step-change that would justify a fleet replacement decision.
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