Stratasys begins qualification of SAF PA12 production ready nylon for key industrial use cases

Stratasys has announced the launch of a qualification programme of SAF PA12, a production ready nylon material, designed to help manufacturers apply selective absorption fusion technology across key aerospace and industrial use cases. This programme is intended to help manufacturers address modernisation and reshoring initiatives by enabling more scalable, qualified additive manufacturing.

Stratasys and several manufacturing partners are launching the qualification programme of SAF PA12, a production ready nylon material, which upon qualification will be available on the company’s H350.

The qualification programme extends the 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.

SAF PA12 nylon powder has been developed to meet the performance, consistency, and traceability requirements manufacturers expect in production environments. Validation within the AIS framework will help shorten material qualification timelines, enabling customers to more efficiently move from initial adoption to routine manufacturing using SAF technology.

The qualification of SAF PA12 is being conducted through an industry led collaboration, using the proven NCAMP (National Centre for Advanced Materials Performance) materials qualification process that brings together leading manufacturers and additive manufacturing service bureaus. Early participants include Boeing, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc (GA-ASI), Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon, along with Additive at Scale, Bifrost Manufacturing, 3D Composites, Rapid PSI, and Stratasys Direct Manufacturing. Together, this group is validating SAF PA12 powder to support repeatable, production grade manufacturing across demanding industrial applications.

‘Bifrost is excited to participate in this effort to support our aerospace and defense partners, and most significantly this will provide engineers and designers with validated data, predictability and trust in additive for production components,’ said Killian Erickson, founder and CEO, Bifrost.

‘We are working together with Stratasys and the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) to provide the knowledge and resources to eliminate the guess work for our clients, further cementing SAF as a keystone technology in our business.’

The Advanced Industrial Solution (AIS) brings together materials, process control, and traceability to help manufacturers move more confidently from qualification into production. Extending AIS to SAF technology broadens access to production ready polymer additive manufacturing beyond Stratasys’ initial AIS platforms.

‘SAF technology is designed to help manufacturers address the realities of production – throughput, consistency, and cost efficiency at scale,’ said Rich Garrity, president and chief business unit officer, Stratasys. ‘Validating SAF PA12 for industrial use cases reduces barriers to enterprise adoption by expanding where and how customers can apply the technology, giving them greater confidence to use SAF across functional prototyping, tooling, and production environments.’