Located in Darlington, County Durham,
Paragon Rapid Technologies Limited, provides high-level support throughout the product development cycle. The company is split into three strategic business units: Paragon Rapid Technologies; AM Technologies and CNC Technologies. These business units serve customers from a wide variety of industries including, aerospace, automotive, consumer goods, entertainment, medical and many more.
Paragon’s Rapid Technologies business unit offers prototyping and low to mid volume manufacturing services through 3D printing, vacuum casting, reaction injection moulding and silicone moulding technologies. The team also has a model shop for assembly and finishing. It is within this unit that the company is utilising the Stratasys Neo line in the form of the three Neo800 stereolithography 3D printers.
The Neo range of 3D printers features dynamic laser beam technology that enables improved build accuracy, increased feature detail, and low variability across the full extent of a large build platform. As an open resin system, the Neo products provide customers materials with a wide range of properties to suit their specific application requirement - be it chemical resistance, heat tolerance, flexibility, durability, and optical clarity. The Neo800 can produce large parts up to 800 x 800 x 600 mm, providing a significant build area in a small footprint.
According to Marc Faux, Divisional Head, Rapid Technologies, it is these capabilities and more that led to the investments in the Neo800s, “Stereolithography is one of the oldest and most well-known methods of 3D printing and has been a part of our business for many years. Our familiarity with the technology aided in identifying Neo solutions as the next step for our Rapid Technologies business unit and the business. The ability to quickly produce highly accurate parts with high-level industry quality directly answers the increasingly exacting demands of our customers.”