What to Do When Stratasys No Longer Supports Your Machine or sell your preferred Material

When Stratasys no longer supports a machine or sells your preferred material, do not assume that the printer has reached the end of its useful life. Argyle Materials continues to sell many popular materials discontinued by Stratasys. For example our Breakaway Support was the original Stratasys support but they switched to Soluble Support because the could get an exclusive on the raw materials. Soluble is messy and adding time in the bath makes it slow whereas Breakaway is much cleaner on removal and faster clean up. Stratasys also discontinued materials for uPrint and Fortus 200mc and 250mc while we continue to carry materials and eeprom chips for these systems. 

Why Does a Stratasys 3D Printer Stop Supporting a Material?

There is an important distinction between a material being unsupported and being discontinued.

A material can become unavailable because the manufacturer has ended its product lifecycle. However, a material may also be unsupported on a particular printer because of material licensing limitations. 

For an older FDM system, the material portfolio available when the printer was purchased may therefore be different from what is available today: especially with our material license upgrade options. 

First, Identify the Actual Compatibility Issue

Check:

1. The exact printer model and generation.
2. The model material and grade currently being used.
3. The support material, if applicable.
4. Whether the material has been discontinued or is simply unavailable.
5. Whether the printer officially supports that material.
6. Whether the limitation involves hardware, software, configuration, or material recognition.
7. The properties the finished part must retain for its intended application.

This last point is particularly important. Replacing a material is not simply a matter of finding another product with the same polymer family. The replacement needs to work with the machine and satisfy the requirements of the finished part.

What Are Your Options?

Once the reason for the material limitation is understood, there are several possible routes.

Another supported material may be appropriate when the application can accommodate a different material specification.

A compatible alternative material can be considered when the existing printer remains suitable but the original material is no longer available or practical to source. Compatibility should be established for the particular printer and material combination.

A replacement support material may be possible when the issue concerns support rather than model material. Support selection needs to account for the model material, removal method, geometry, and printer configuration.

A material upgrade may provide another route on certain systems by expanding material capabilities.

Printer replacement becomes relevant when the required material or performance cannot reasonably be achieved with a supported material, compatible alternative, or upgrade.

None of these options should be selected solely on material price or availability.

How Do You Select a Replacement Material?

Start with the requirements of the part and then work backward to the printer.

For an engineering application, compare the properties that actually affect performance, including tensile strength, stiffness, impact resistance, heat resistance, chemical resistance, dimensional stability, layer adhesion, moisture sensitivity, and durability.

The comparison should also consider the manufacturing process. A material that has appropriate mechanical properties may still be unsuitable if it cannot be processed correctly on the intended machine or if the resulting dimensional behavior does not meet the application's requirements.

For production use, consider more than the first successful print. Material availability, lot consistency, repeatability, qualification requirements, and ongoing supply should also be part of the evaluation.

For operators of older Fortus systems, a useful starting point is to review available Fortus-compatible replacement materials alongside the requirements of the existing application.

OEM vs. Compatible 3D Printing Material

OEM and compatible materials represent different sourcing approaches and should be evaluated on their own specifications.

A compatible material should not be assumed to be identical to the OEM product. The relevant question is whether it provides the required performance and is appropriate for the particular machine and application.

Can Alternative Materials Work Without Printer Modifications?

That depends on the material and printer combination.

Industrial FDM systems can use material identification and configuration mechanisms that affect whether a material is recognized and processed correctly. Depending on the system, this can involve EEPROM or DRD components, printer configuration, software settings, and other material-specific requirements.

For that reason, "compatible" should mean more than physically fitting into the material bay.

Argyle Materials states that its applicable compatible materials are designed as plug-and-play solutions for supported machines, with EEPROM/DRD components supplied where applicable. The specific requirements still depend on the printer and material combination.

How Should You Qualify an Alternative Material?

A replacement should be qualified against the actual production requirement, not just confirmed through a single successful print.

A practical qualification sequence is:

1. Confirm compatibility with the exact printer and configuration.
2. Review technical data for the replacement material.
3. Identify critical properties required by the application.
4. Print representative parts using relevant geometries.
5. Check dimensional performance and surface quality.
6. Evaluate mechanical performance where required.
7. Test application-specific conditions, such as heat or chemical exposure.
8. Repeat the evaluation to establish consistent results.
9. Document the process and acceptance criteria before production approval.

Before qualifying a replacement, review the supplier's material data sheets to compare the technical characteristics relevant to the application.

This distinction matters because printer compatibility and application qualification are two separate questions. A material can run successfully through a machine without being appropriate for a particular end-use part.

When Does a Material Upgrade Make Sense?

A material upgrade is worth investigating when the printer remains useful but its existing material capability has become a limitation.

Certain older systems have upgrade options that can expand material choices or change support-material capabilities. However, these options are specific to particular machines and configurations. The available upgrade, required components, compatible materials, and resulting capabilities should therefore be confirmed before treating an upgrade as a solution.

For applicable systems, Argyle Materials provides material upgrade services intended to expand material options on supported machines.

Could an Alternative Material Extend the Life of an Older Printer?

Potentially. If the machine remains mechanically and operationally useful but its original material has become difficult to source, expensive, or unsupported, an alternative material may provide a way to continue using the equipment.

The decision should consider the printer's condition, required material properties, compatibility, qualification effort, material availability, maintenance requirements, upgrade possibilities, and expected production needs.

This can be especially relevant when replacing the entire printer would solve a material-supply problem but would also introduce a substantially different equipment and qualification requirement.