Stratasys 3D Printed Injection Molds Help Whale Cut Lead Times by up to 97% and Reduce Overall R&D Process by 30-35%

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Stratasys 3D Printed Injection Molds Help Whale Cut Lead Times by up to 97% and Reduce Overall R&D Process by 30-35%

MINNEAPOLIS and REHOVOT, Israel, June 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

       
        - Significant savings part of introducing 3D printing into Whale's tooling
          process
        - 3D printing has shortened Whale's design process and product launch lead time
          by 20%

    Stratasys, Ltd [http://www.stratasys.com ]. (Nasdaq:SSYS), a global leader of 3D
printing and additive manufacturing solutions today announced that Whale
[http://www.whalepumps.com ], a leading manufacturer of water and heating systems for
mobile applications, has slashed its lead times for the production of injection mold tools
for prototype parts by up to 97% since introducing Stratasys 3D printing into its tooling
process.

    (Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140602/690043-a )

    (Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140602/690043-b )

    (Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140602/690043-c )

    (Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140602/690043-d )

    According to Jim Sargent, 3D Technical Services at Whale, the company is 3D printing
injection mold tools in less than 24 hours using its Objet350 Connex Multi-material 3D
Printer [http://www.stratasys.com/3d-printers/design-series/precision/objet-connex350 ],
at a fraction of the cost of producing metal tools: "Traditionally, our lead times for
metal tools were somewhere between 4 - 5 weeks and came with significant production costs.
As a result, our R&D process was very time-consuming and fundamentally slowed down the
launch of new products. With our Objet Connex 3D Printer, we are now able to design our
tools during the day, 3D print them overnight and test them the next morning with a range
of end-product materials. The time and cost savings associated with this new tooling
method are significant."

    The injection mold tools are 3D printed using Stratasys' Digital ABS material, which
features distinct material properties ideal for low volume part production - high
temperature resistance and toughness. Whale also offers its Rapid Prototyping Service to
external customers, including automotive and aerospace industries, producing 3D printed
multi-material parts and tools using plastics such as polypropylene and polypropylene
glass-filled.

    "Looking into the future, 3D printing is hugely revolutionary in terms of how we are
going to operate as a business," explains Patrick Hurst, Managing Director at Whale. "We
have already seen the technology take months off of our product development process and
that in turn minimizes risk. In fact, I estimate that we've shortened our R&D process by
up to 35% with Stratasys 3D printing solutions. Add that on top of the 20% we're already
saving in terms of our design work - well for me, it's fantastic."

    Nadav Sella, Solutions Sales Manager at Stratasys concludes: "We are seeing an
increasing number of customers exploring the potential that 3D printed injection mold
tools offer. In addition to the dramatic cost and time savings potential, our Digital ABS
tools enable companies to produce parts in the real end-product material, ready to test
even in the prototyping phase. Our customers can therefore make quicker test iterations
and bring products to market faster."

    Watch this video [http://youtu.be/TOKj6CsZ92M ] to learn about how Whale's move to 3D
printing is revolutionizing its injection molding process.

    Stratasys Ltd. (Nasdaq:SSYS), headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Rehovot,
Israel, is a leading global provider of 3D printing and additive manufacturing solutions.
The company's patented FDM(R), PolyJetTM(TM), and WDM(TM) 3D Printing technologies produce
prototypes and manufactured goods directly from 3D CAD files or other 3D content. Systems
include 3D printers for idea development, prototyping and direct digital manufacturing.
Stratasys subsidiaries include MakerBot and Solidscape, and the company operates the
RedEye digital-manufacturing service. Stratasys has more than 1900 employees, holds over
550 granted or pending additive manufacturing patents globally, and has received more than
25 awards for its technology and leadership. Online at: http://www.stratasys.com or
http://blog.stratasys.com.

    Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

    Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

    Certain information included or incorporated by reference in this press may be deemed
to be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements are often characterized by the
use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "expect," "anticipate,"
"estimate," "continue," "believe," "should," "intend," "project" or other similar words,
but are not the only way these statements are identified. These forward-looking statements
may include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the company's objectives,
plans and strategies, statements regarding the expected performance and impact of our
products, statements that contain projections of results of operations or of financial
condition (including, with respect to the MakerBot acquisition) and all statements (other
than statements of historical facts) that address activities, events or developments that
the company intends, expects, projects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the
future. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are
subject to risks and uncertainties. The company has based these forward-looking statements
on assumptions and assessments made by its management in light of their experience and
their perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments
and other factors they believe to be appropriate. Important factors that could cause
actual results, developments and business decisions to differ materially from those
anticipated in these forward-looking statements include, among other things: the company's
ability to efficiently and successfully integrate the operations of Stratasys, Inc. and
Objet Ltd. after their merger as well as MakerBot after its acquisition and to
successfully put in place and execute an effective post-merger integration plans; the
overall global economic environment; the impact of competition and new technologies;
general market, political and economic conditions in the countries in which the company
operates; projected capital expenditures and liquidity; changes in the company's strategy;
government regulations and approvals; changes in customers' budgeting priorities;
litigation and regulatory proceedings; and those factors referred to under "Risk Factors",
"Information on the Company", "Operating and Financial Review and Prospects", and
generally in the company's annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2013
filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and in other reports that the
company has filed with the SEC. Readers are urged to carefully review and consider the
various disclosures made in the company's SEC reports, which are designed to advise
interested parties of the risks and factors that may affect its business, financial
condition, results of operations and prospects. Any forward-looking statements in this
press release are made as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to
publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

    Attention Editors, if you publish reader-contact information, please use:

       
        - USA 1-877-489-9449
        - Europe/Middle East/Africa +49-7229-7772-0
        - Asia Pacific +852 39448888

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOKj6CsZ92M&feature=youtu.be

       
        Stratasys Media Contacts

        USA
        Aaron Masterson
        Weber Shandwick
        Tel. +1-952-346-6258
        AMasterson@webershandwick.com

        Europe
        Jonathan Wake / Miguel Afonso
        UK Bespoke
        Tel: +44-1737-215200
        stratasys@bespoke.co.uk

        Stratasys
        Arita Mattsoff / Joe Hiemenz
        Stratasys
        Tel. +972-(0)74-745-4000 (IL)
        Tel. +1-952-906-2726 (US)
        arita@stratasys.com
        joe.hiemenz@stratasys.com

        Asia Pacific
        Stratasys AP
        Janice Lai /  Frances Chiu
        Tel. +852-3944-8818
        Janice.lai@stratasys.com
        Frances.Chiu@stratasys.com

        Japan
        Stratasys Japan
        Aya Yoshizawa
        Tel. +81-90-6473-1812
        Aya.yoshizawa@stratasys.com

        Korea
        Stratasys Korea
        Jihyun Lee
        Tel. +82-2-2046-2287
        jihyun.lee@Stratasys.com

        Brazil
        Tatiana Fonseca
        GAD Communications
        Tel: +55-11-3846-9981
        tatiana@gadcom.com.br

        Mexico
        Stratasys Mexico
        Thibault Leroy
        Tel. +52-1(55)4866-0800
        thibault.leroy@stratasys.com

        South Africa
        Alison McDonald
        PR Connections
        Tel. +27-(0)11-468-1192
        alison@pr.co.za

    Photo:
    http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140602/690043-a

    http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140602/690043-b

    http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140602/690043-c

    http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140602/690043-d

Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140602/690043-a
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140602/690043-b
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140602/690043-c
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140602/690043-d
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Stratasys Ltd.

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