The Versatile Fortus 400 3D Printer

Stratasys' Fortus 400 is a Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) printer that offers a wide palette of materials to produce some of the most mechanically stable and accurate prototypes possible with additive manufacturing.

With two build volume options (1400in.³ or 3584in.³), the Fortus 400 can produce large models that can be used for functional testing, tooling and end-use applications. When set to its highest resolution print mode, the Fortus 400 will produce parts with a 0.005in layer thickness, providing a realism and feel that's almost indistinguishable from an injection-molded component.

While the Fortus 400 has excellent top-end performance, if you need to speed an early stage prototype through to production, the machine's layer thickness settings can be toggled to decrease build time without sacrificing geometric accuracy. The machine's nine material options lend engineers the ability to create concept models using anything from simple ABS to ULTEM 9085, a fire-retardant material with well-rounded thermal, mechanical and chemical properties.

The Fortus 400 in Action

The Fortus 400 has been used to create everything from jigs and fixtures to components that will be used in NASA's next generation of lunar rovers.

Key to the 400's versatility is its FDM printing technology.  The FDM process melts layers of plastic filament past their glass-transition point, laying them down along precisely controlled tool paths.

Leveraging over 25 years of experience with FDM, Stratasys has created an extensive range of materials (see below) that can all be utilized in a single system. That makes the Fortus 400 an extremely versatile addition to almost any product design cycle.

According to Wojciech Wawrzyniak, who operates a Fortus 400 for Williams3D, "The Fortus 400 produces some of the most rigid and solid mechanical parts available through additive manufacturing." Beyond their performance, Wojciech also noted that components coming off the Fortus 400 require less finishing than components from other machines – meaning high-fidelity, great looking parts are quicker to produce.

Although the Fortus 400 is extremely useful it does have a few drawbacks. Unlike Stratasys' Objet line of printers, the Fortus 400 can't blend materials to create unique composites. Instead, designers must choose a single material for their print and then run and create multi-material assemblies during post processing.

Like the Objet Connex3, however, the Fortus 400 has a large material reservoir, allowing the printer to complete very large jobs without the need for supervision or mid-job material changes. When materials do need to be changed, the Fortus 400's material cartridges are easily swapped and can be recycled through a Stratasys supported program.

All in all, the Fortus 400 is one of the most complete additive manufacturing solutions on the market. It offers a large build volume, a wide range of materials and Stratasys' large network of materials and maintenance vendors.