The company behind the MakerBot 3D printer has launched a model that can handle multiple colors and materials in one print run. Stratasys’s new machine costs $330,000 and is very much aimed at making practical objects rather than novelty items.
Where normal 3D printers use a single stream of material, Objet500 Connex3 uses jets that can deliver three different liquefied resins. These can be combined in different proportions to create a range of rubbers and plastics with different levels of rigidity and flexibility.