Stratasys Completes Major Milestones in $3.6 Million Direct Digital Manufacturing Contract
Alpha Unit Accepted and Installed at Customer Site
MINNEAPOLIS, Feb 14 - (NASDAQ: SSYS) Stratasys reports it has recently completed several major milestones as part of its previously announced $3.6 million R&D contract with a Fortune 500 company.
The contract was entered into in 2005 for the purpose of advancing Stratasys' proprietary FDM® technology for direct digital manufacturing applications. The project is expected to increase Stratasys' opportunities in this emerging market and broaden its product offerings.
"Industry analysts project the market for direct digital manufacturing could be far greater than that of rapid prototyping systems and 3D printers combined," says Stratasys CEO Scott Crump. "Already we're seeing a significant percentage of our FDM productivity systems used for manufacturing applications."
Numerous milestones have been passed throughout the ongoing project. Major milestones reached in December 2006 include the:
ocompletion of alpha-unit testing, with customer approval at Stratasys, and
oinstallation and acceptance at the customer site.
These milestones were achieved less then two weeks apart, and the unit was delivered on time and on budget. Customer satisfaction has resulted in requests for several additional units to meet capacity demands.
Incorporating the new technologies, Stratasys will continue to develop new products with added manufacturing capabilities for the broader marketplace. "We've discussed several of these pending technologies with select customers who have shown enthusiastic approval," says Stratasys FDM product manager Patrick Robb. "Many of these customers would like these technologies now, but understand product-development schedules. Some have started plans to implement the technologies as they become available."
Stratasys Inc., Minneapolis, makes prototyping and direct digital manufacturing systems. Stratasys equipment is used in industries such as aerospace, automotive, defense, medical, and consumer products. In 2005, the company installed 34 percent of all systems sold worldwide, making it the unit market leader for the fourth consecutive year, according to Wohlers Report 2006. Stratasys patented the prototyping process known as fused deposition modeling (FDM(r)). The process creates functional models directly from any 3D CAD program using ABS plastic, polycarbonate, PPSF or other materials. The company holds 175 granted or pending global prototyping patents. In addition to manufacturing products, Stratasys is the exclusive North American distributor of Arcam manufacturing and prototyping systems. On the Web: www.Stratasys.com
Arcam is a registered trademark of Arcam AB, Gothenburg, Sweden. Stratasys and FDM are registered trademarks of Stratasys, Inc.
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