3D Printers Enhanced

By DE Editors

In response to user requests 3D Systems Corp.(Valencia, CA) has announced the release of advanced user controls,added functionality, and feature enhancements for its InVision HR 3Dprinting system. Enhancements include the ability to accept the SLC(stereolithography contour) file format and broader CAD compatibility,enabling customers to integrate third-party software.

The InVision HR, available since July 2004, offers high-resolutioncapability that enables the production of fine-feature, highly detailedparts. Compared to the more common used STL (stereolithography) fileformat, the SLC file format transfers highly detailed geometry in amore compact data form. SLC does so by cutting 2D contours of 3D data,which results in fewer data translations between the part’s originalgeometry and the data sent to the InVision HR.

The InVision also features a foundation to embed a Print Preview toolinto complementary software, such as an MCAD system. This lets userssubmit jobs to the InVision printer directly from their MCAD package.The company has also added a so-called “self-correcting intelligence"functionality to the printer. This enables fast real-time diagnosticsand automated recovery in the event of simple interruptions.

For complete details, go the 3D Systems Corp. website.