Solidscape

Coordinates: 42°50′29″N 71°29′31″W / 42.84139°N 71.49194°W / 42.84139; -71.49194

Solidscape, Inc
Public NASDAQ: SSYS
Industry Computer Systems
Computer Peripherals
Software
Founded Wilton, New Hampshire (1993)
Founder Royden Sanders
Headquarters 316 Daniel Webster Highway,
Merrimack, New Hampshire
, USA
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Fabio Esposito
President & CEO
Danielle Stirbisky
VP Human Resources
William Dahl
VP Marketing & Communications
Richard Couto
COO
Paul Maloney
VP Sales & Services
Products 3D Printers
3D Software
3D Materials
Parent Stratasys
Website solid-scape.com

Solidscape, Inc. is a company that designs, develops and manufactures 3D printers for rapid prototyping and rapid manufacturing, able to print solid models created in CAD.

History

Solidscape was founded under the name Sanders Prototype, Inc. in 1993 by Royden C. Sanders to build PC-based 3D wax printers for rapid prototyping and creating master molds used for investment casting. Sanders Prototype was originally headquartered in Wilton, New Hampshire and later moved to its current location in Merrimack, New Hampshire, USA. In early 1998, a new management team was installed, and a substantial reorganization ensued. Sanders Prototype renamed itself Solidscape, Inc. in the Fall of 2000.

The first product was the Model Maker which was a DOS-based desktop printer able to create high-resolution three-dimensional wax objects created in CAD software packages. This machine was accurate to less than 1 thousandth of an inch, allowing operators to create very small, very detailed models. The wax models could then be cast without the need of a master pattern or rubber mold.

Solidscape’s machines established themselves as a favorite among custom jewelers, who appreciated the ability to create custom designs for customers and deliver finished goods faster and more consistently than creating them by hand.

Solidscape's first machine was the Model 6 PRO. In addition to a vacuum cleaner, it shipped with a desk-size tower containing an Intel 486DX processor on a standard motherboard, a 15-inch CRT monitor and keyboard. Also installed in the PC was a proprietary interface card which interacted with the printer. The computer ran MS-DOS. The computer was required to prepare the CAD models (converting them from STL file to a proprietary format that the printer can utilize) and operate the printer. Conversion for most files required several hours to complete and printing required several more. Depending on the model to build, the whole process from file to finished output often required 24–30 hours. Most of these units were developmental models, and very few were sold. In 1997, the 6 PRO was revised to become the Modelmaker.

In 2004, Solidscape introduced the BenchTop series of 3D printers (T66BT and T612BT), a benchtop-ready solution. The BenchTop series were DOS based and did not require an external PC. The control software could run on the printer processing unit and the front-end software ModelWorks could be installed on the customer PC. Along with the BenchTop 3D printers, Solidscape launched the model-making materials InduraCast and InduraFill model-making materials.

In 2006, Solidscape introduced the higher performance BenchTop printers (T66BT2 and T612BT2).

In 2007, Solidscape introduced the benchMark series of printers (T76, R66) based on the Windows platform including touch screen functionality.

In 2009, Solidscape introduced the preXacto series of printers (D76+, D66+) dedicated to dental applications, incorporating the proprietary SCP technology and DentaCast material.

In 2010, Solidscape introduced the benchMark (T76+, R66+), incorporating the proprietary SCP technology.

In 2011, Solidscape was acquired by Stratasys, Inc (SSYS) the world market leader in 3D printing and Rapid Manufacturing systems "Wohlers Report".

Products

Solidscape manufactures 3D printers, 3D materials and 3D software.

Technology

Applications

See also

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/31/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.