Production Grade Thermoplastics

Forge Labs offers a wide range of advanced thermoplastics identical to those used in traditional manufacturing processes, making it ideal for end-use parts, testing real-world material properties, or creating durable jigs, fixtures, and templates for production.  FDM offers 14 unique 3D printed materials making it one of the versatile technologies suitable for a number of specialized applications such as medical devices, electric static dissipative parts, or high temperature applications where Flame, Smoke Toxicity (FST) ratings are critical.

Manufacture using FDM 3D Printing Services when you need strong, functional parts that are dimensionally stable, and don't mind some visible layer lines. Parts are produced on Stratasys Fortus series machines which offer the industry's best accuracy and part repeatability along with one of the commercially largest printing envelopes on the market.  Manufacture large, complex designs in a wide range of thermoplastics up to 36 x 24 x 36 inches in a single build with strength and accuracy that only Stratasys FDM machines can provide.

36" x 24" 

Max X/Y Build Volume

± 0.15

MM Part Tolerances

12

High Performance Materials

2-5 Day

Average Lead Time

Strongest Additive ABS Thermoplastic 

ABS-M30™ by Stratasys is up to 70 percent stronger than standard ABS, providing significantly better layer bonding, impact resistance and flextural strength than standard level consumer grade ABS. ABS-M30 highly cost effective solution, ideal material for numerous applications including conceptual modeling, functional prototyping, manufacturing tools such as jigs and fixtures as well as end-use production parts.

Strength, Heat Resistance & Flexibility 

Polycarbonate-ABS (PC-ABS) combines the desirable strength and heat resistant properties of PC with the flexibility & cost advantages of ABS. PC-ABS is one of the most widely used thermoplastics used in automotive, electronics and variety of other industrial manufacturing applications.

Static Dissipative 

ABS thermoplastic with static dissipative properties (ABS-ESD7) is ideal for applications where a static charge can damage products, impair their performance or cause an explosion. ABS-ESD7 prevents static electricity build up so that it will not produce static shock while also preventing fine powders & dust from sticking. ABS-ESD7 is widely used in electronic manufacturing industries for creating jigs and fixtures, enclosures and packaging.

UV Stable ABS Thermoplastic 

ASA provides the same mechanical properties as ABS-M30 along with enhanced UV stability, making it ideal for outdoor applications. Combined with good impact resistance, toughness and aesthetics, ASA is one of the most broadly used thermoplastics, ideal for concept models, functional production parts such as jigs, fixtures, working prototypes and manufacturing tools.

Tough Parts With Superior Elongation 

Ideal for creating durable end-use parts with high fatigue and chemical resistance. FDM Nylon 12 exhibits up to 300% better elongation and fatigue resistance than other FDM materials along with superior chemical compatibility for the most demanding applications such as repetitive enclosures, snap fits and vibration-resistant parts.

High Tensile Strength For Demanding Parts

Polycarbonate provides exceptionally high tensile and flexural strength, making it ideal for manufacturing strong parts, tooling and fixtures. FDM Polycarbonate is a widely used thermoplastic in automotive, aerospace, medical and a variety of other applications for applications where accuracy, durability and stability are critical.

Highest Strength-to-Weight Ratio 

ULTEM 9085 by Sabic is a high performance polyetherimide thermoplastic offering excellent strength- to weight ratio and FST (flame, smoke, toxicity) ratings. Ideal for demanding applications, these properties make ULTEM 9085 a great choice for direct manufacturing of fully functional parts, prototypes and tooling with ultra fast lead times.

Highest Tensile Strength, Heat & Chemical Resistance 

ULTEM 1010 is a high performance thermoplastic resin used to create fully functional parts ideal for aerospace & automotive manufacturing industries. ULTEM 1010 offers the highest heat resistance, chemical resistance and tensile strength of any additive thermoplastic.

Standard Finish

Support structures dissolved, some visible layer lines remain.

Custom Finish

Parts finished with a combination of sanding, vapour smoothing and painting.

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STEP | STP | SLDPRT | STL | DXF | IPT | 3MF | 3DXML | PRT | SAT files

This design guidelines covers specific design parameters, which will need to be followed to prevent build failures from occurring. We have set the minimums allowed, specified by our engineers which will need to be followed, otherwise your parts may not meet the specific tolerances required or can cause the build to fail. Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) is an additive manufacturing process by Stratasys that uses continuous filament of thermoplastic polymers.

Accuracy

Parts are built inside of a fully enclosed build chamber which offers significant improvements over desktop FFF 3D Printers. The nature of a fully enclosed build chamber means that shrinkage is precisely controlled to ensure very high part tolerances. The internal temperature of the print chamber is set just below the glass transition temperature of the filament being used. This ensures that warping never occurs during the print process, as well as significantly improves layer adhesion.

Surface Finish

Layers are deposited by molten plastic on a previous layer of cooled plastic with a thickness between 125 - 330 microns with each layer until a solid three-dimensional structure has been built. Depending on the slice height chosen, it can have an impact on the strength of the part. The thinner the slice height, the weaker the part tends to be. Thicker slice heights result in stronger parts, but more noticeable layers.

Pricing

Price is primarily based upon the amount of model & support material required to produce the part. Optimizing your designs for Fused Deposition Modeling will help keep manufacturing costs down.  Increasing self supporting angles, reducing wall thickness as well as minimizing steep overhang will help ensure your parts are priced the most competitively in this technology.

Build Size

Our FDM machines have a maximum build volume of: 914 x 609 x 914 mm (36 x 24 x 36 inches). Varied layer resolution of 125 - 330 microns, depending on the settings specified. Standard layer height is 254 microns (0.010″) unless otherwise stated. 

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