As specified, the “Stratasys Rigur Rubber-Like” configuration is not a single-barrel resin formulation and is not the standard rigid Rigur RGD450 material. It is a PolyJet digital-material architecture in which VeroClear RGD810 is jetted as the primary rigid-transparent component and TangoPlus FLX930 or TangoBlackPlus FLX980 is jetted as the secondary elastomeric component. The printer firmware, within PolyJet Studio or GrabCAD Print, generates intermediate Shore A durometers by voxel-level mixing of RGD810 into the FLX930 or FLX980 matrix. Published datasheet values for the individual resins are as follows: VeroClear RGD810 reports Shore D 83–86, tensile strength 50–65 MPa, elongation at break 10–25%, flexural strength 75–110 MPa, and heat deflection temperature 45–50 °C at 0.45 MPa under ASTM D648. TangoPlus FLX930 and TangoBlackPlus FLX980 report Shore A 26–28, tensile strength 0.8–1.5 MPa, and elongation at break 170–220% under ASTM D638-14. This data is for single-resin specimens; published data for intermediate digital-material mixtures is limited because the exact dithering ratios are held in printer calibration tables. Application-specific qualification therefore requires printing Shore hardness plaques, tensile bars, and compression-set specimens from the exact digital-material file rather than assuming linear rule-of-mixtures behaviour.

Process controls on Stratasys J850 Prime and J850 Pro systems in 16 µm high-resolution or 30 µm high-speed mode require stable ambient conditions of 18–25 °C and relative humidity 30–70%. PolyJet part quality degrades when the roller leveler accumulates partly cured FLX930 over long unattended builds, a failure mode observed on mixed trays where the roller passes repeatedly over large VeroClear-dominant flat lenses and small elastomeric gasket features. Support removal with high-pressure water outside 40–60 °C imposes a processing threshold: below 40 °C SUP705 support removal becomes excessively slow in deep undercuts, and above 60 °C the FLX930 phase softens enough to cause measurable dimensional drift in thin-walled elastomer sections.

Soft-Touch Overmolding on Handheld Industrial Housings

When a handheld industrial scanner or mobile payment terminal housing is designed for a two-shot injection-molded elastomer grip, the RGD810/FLX930 combination permits a functional single-build prototype to be produced before the mold tool is cut. In this application, the grip region is generated to target Shore A 50–60 by assigning RGD810 as 20–40 wt% of the total resin mass in the soft zone, while the rigid mounting shell and battery door frame remain RGD810-dominant at 100% or local 90% RGD810 with adhesion-promoting geometry. The finished prototype is screened for restricted substances under 2011/65/EU RoHS Annex II, where lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers carry a 0.1 wt% threshold and cadmium carries a 0.01 wt% threshold. REACH Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 Article 33 also applies because prototype enclosures are articles placed on the EU market and the laboratory must be able to communicate any SVHC above 0.1% w/w in the printed resin blend.

The downstream process begins on a Stratasys J850 Prime tray in 16 µm mode, with the housing shell oriented to minimise peel load at the overmolded interface. The interface region is not a discrete second shot but a continuous digital-material gradient over 0.5–1.0 mm, which reduces the sharp stress riser observed in conventional two-shot prototypes. After build completion, SUP705 support is removed with high-pressure water at 45 °C, low-pressure air drying is applied for 24 h, and parts are assembled with threaded brass inserts, polycarbonate lens covers, and PCB mounting posts. Batch quantities of 12–20 units per 14–18 h tray are used for drop exposure per IEC 60068-2-31, random vibration exposure per IEC 60068-2-64, and ergonomic grip trials. The terminal part type is not a production housing; it is a pilot-run functional prototype of the handheld scanner grip, trigger seal, and battery door overmold used to validate tooling split lines and tactile Shore A targets before steel mold release.

When a center-stack switch bezel for a passenger vehicle is built as a single PolyJet prototype, the transparent RGD810 lens must sustain backlighting without early yellowing while the surrounding TangoBlackPlus FLX980 button webs must return to their as-printed shape after repeated actuation. The bezel body is generated with RGD810 at 50–65 wt% in FLX980-rich areas to stiffen the lens collar, while the button web region is programmed at 25–35 wt% RGD810 in FLX980 to target Shore A 40–50 and reduce surface tack. Because no public datasheet covers the 50–65 wt% RGD810/FLX980 digital mixture, the lens collar hardness is verified on a printed plaque under ISO 868 before backlighting validation. Flammability screening for occupant-compartment prototypes is performed against ISO 3795 and FMVSS 302, with a maximum horizontal burning rate of 100 mm/min on a 3.0 mm printed plaque; the result is not a production material certification, but it identifies early failure modes such as flame spread caused by unpolymerised elastomer residue in deep button ribs.

The downstream workflow on a J850 Pro includes 16 µm printing with the black elastomer in matte finish and the clear lens in glossy finish, followed by support removal with high-pressure water at 40–45 °C, isopropanol rinsing of the clear lens, and post-cure under ambient light for 24 h to stabilise surface energy before switch assembly. Lens transmittance is measured on a 2.0 mm plaque under ASTM D1003 before and after 24 h thermal soak at 85 °C. Each bezel receives a laser-etched identification code and is mounted to a bench instrument panel with tactile switch domes and LED backlight modules. The terminal output is a short-run automotive instrument panel bezel prototype used for photometric evaluation, switch actuation force mapping, and design review before injection tooling.

What Cytotoxicity Evidence Is Required Before a PolyJet Liver Model Enters a Surgical Planning Laboratory?

Patient-specific hepatic and vascular models built from VeroClear RGD810 and TangoPlus FLX930 are not implantable devices; they are benchtop planning tools that may be handled inside an operating theatre during a pre-surgical briefing. For that reason, the responsible hospital laboratory treats the printed article as a medical device component under ISO 13485:2016 quality management and ISO 14971:2019 risk management, even when PolyJet printing is performed in-house. Cytotoxicity testing according to ISO 10993-5:2009 is the minimum biological endpoint: printed discs of the exact digital-material ratio used in the model are extracted in buffered saline at 37 ± 1 °C for 24 h, and the extract is applied to L-929 mammalian fibroblasts. Because Stratasys does not publish an ISO 10993 certification for mixed RGD810/FLX930 digital materials, the testing burden lies with the validating laboratory. The same applies to skin sensitisation and irritation endpoints under ISO 10993-10 if the model will be handled with bare hands.

The digital-material assignment for a liver model is asymmetric: the parenchyma and tumour mass are printed with RGD810 at 100% to retain transparent rigid capsules and registration landmarks, while the portal vein and hepatic artery branches are printed with FLX930 at 100% or with RGD810 0–15 wt% in FLX930 for small-vessel flexibility at Shore A 27–35. The production process starts from CT or MR DICOM data; segmentation is performed in Mimics or 3D Slicer, vessels are hollowed to 1.5–2.0 mm wall thickness, and the model is oriented on a J850 Prime in 30 µm mode to shorten build time without sacrificing vessel patency. After support removal with high-pressure water at 40 °C, the model is inspected for trapped SUP705 in vessel branches under 2.0 mm internal diameter; any occlusion is rejected because low-flow channels cannot be flushed reliably. The terminal output is a patient-specific planning model combining clear rigid anatomy with stretchable vessel segments, used for dissection rehearsal, measurement of tumour-to-vessel distance, and patient-specific anatomy discussion. Published data for vessel wall fatigue under repeated flexing of this specific RGD810/FLX930 configuration is limited.

For pneumatic end-of-arm grippers transferring glass vials between filling stations, the RGD810/FLX930 combination provides a single-build alternative to two-component gripper jaws that would otherwise require bonding a cast polyurethane pad to an aluminium bracket. The gripping surface region is generated with RGD810 at 30 wt% in FLX930 to target Shore A 45–55, while the coupling flange is printed with RGD810 at 100% and designed with a hexagonal insert pocket for a stainless-steel M6 nut. Compliance for this application includes REACH (EC) No 1907/2006 and RoHS 2011/65/EU as both apply to machinery components sold into the EU, together with physical testing under ASTM D638-14 for tensile strength and ASTM D395-18 Method B for compression set after 22 h at 70 °C. Because no public datasheet covers the 30 wt% RGD810 mixture, printed test buttons from the same build tray must be used for quality release.

Downstream production on a J850 Prime is run with 16 µm layer thickness, the gripping surface face-up, and the flange bottom face-down to prevent support entrapment in the nut pocket. Each batch is limited to 8–10 jaws to maintain consistent UV exposure across the elastomer pad. The jaws are cleaned, dried, and mounted on a 5-bar pneumatic actuator where a pick-and-place cycle of 40–60 picks/min is used to evaluate edge chipping, pad compression recovery, and glass vial scuffing. The terminal part type is a low-production series of soft gripper jaw sets used in pharmaceutical filling-line robots, produced for line-qualification trials rather than continuous production.

When a Footwear Midsole Master Must Balance Draft Angle Release Against Shore A 35 Surface Tack

Footwear midsole and orthotic prototyping with RGD810/FLX930 is dominated by two requirements: the master must release from RTV silicone without tearing, and the printed surface must not retain vacuum-class polyurethane during backfill. The midsole or insole master is built with RGD810 at 10–20 wt% in FLX930 to target Shore A 30–40. Lower RGD810 fractions preserve elongation needed for flexure modelling, while enough RGD810 is included to reduce the high surface tack of pure FLX930. Compliance is governed by REACH for chemical substances in imported articles. Where the final article is a wearable orthotic, the manufacturer must evaluate skin-contact suitability through ISO 10993-10 if the printed master is used for direct patient fitting; the vacuum-casting master itself is normally an indirect tool and does not require skin-contact certification.

Downstream processing typically uses a J850 Prime in 30 µm mode to print the positive master with a draft angle of 2–3° per side. The master is then sealed with a thin release agent, embedded in a two-part RTV silicone mould, and cured at 25 °C for 12 h before de-moulding. The resulting silicone cavity is used to cast 15–30 polyurethane midsole prototypes with Shore A 40–55 prepolymer systems. The terminal product type is not a mass-production midsole; it is a custom orthotic or athletic midsole prototype and its associated vacuum-casting master, used for fit trials, gait analysis, and finite-element model correlation.

In wearables that require IP67 dust and water seals for fitness-tracking housings, the TangoBlackPlus FLX980 phase is used as the main elastomer because dark pigmentation reduces visible light transmittance through the gasket window. The seal bead is generated with FLX980 at 80–100 wt% and RGD810 at 0–20 wt% to target Shore A 35–50 and lower surface tack. Because the digital-material mixture is not publicly characterised, compression-set specimens are produced from the same tray before release. RoHS 2011/65/EU Annex II and REACH Article 33 apply to this wearable electronics use case, and ingress protection is validated by IEC 60529 IPX7 immersion at 1 m for 30 min after the gasket is assembled into the housing. The production workflow on a J850 Pro at 16 µm prints gasket channels directly into the case geometry; after support removal with high-pressure water at 40 °C, seal compression is measured with a 0.5 mm deflection probe across four quadrants. The terminal part type is a low-volume prototype and pilot-run elastomeric dust seal for a wearable camera or fitness band, used to validate channel geometry, split-line position, and waterproofing before production silicone gaskets are moulded.