3D Printing News & Updates

Gearbox™ HT2 3D Printer compared to Stratasys Fortus 380mc Carbon Fiber Edition

We designed our Gearbox™ HT2 3D printer to enable our customers to take advantage of the broadest array of materials on the market – including advanced composite materials such as our CarbonX™ Carbon Fiber grades of materials. The combination of our Gearbox™ HT2 and CarbonX™ CF allows for the printing of production parts, functional prototypes, and large-scale tooling with exceptional dimensional stability, strength, and stiffness.

Gearbox HT2 3D Printer  vs. Stratasys Fortus 380Our CarbonX™ Carbon Fiber reinforced grades of filament encompass the broadest range of CF materials on the market (HERE). Our customers who use our exotic grades – CF PEKK and CF-PEEK for example – want to take full advantage of these advanced materials but have found there is a limited number of options for an industrial grade 3D printer to mate with these materials. Gearbox™ HT2 was designed to allow our customers to fully utilize these grades by incorporating high-temp extrusion, heated build chamber, industrial mechatronics and controls, and on-board filament drying technology.  HT2 is our answer when customers ask which 3D printer we recommend to make CF-PEKK and CF-PEEK parts.

In 2018, Stratasys responded to the growing demand for CF materials by releasing their Fortus 380mc Carbon Fiber Edition (CFE) printer and marketed this machine as their go-to option for making industrial-grade CF parts.  Now that we are offering the Gearbox™HT2 printer, we receive a lot of questions from customers asking how our printer compares to the Fortus 380mc Carbon Fiber printer.  In an effort to answer these questions, we took a look at the specs and material options available to both systems in order to offer a direct comparison.

Gearbox™HT2

Collage of HT2 Close Ups

Check out the stats below – We think you’ll agree that the Gearbox™ HT2 is a far better option, especially if you need the ability to make large industrial quality parts.  Don’t accept the limitations of the printer manufacturer telling you which material you can print in a machine that you paid for.

Gearbox™ HT2 Advantages

  • HT2 has 5X larger build volume than the Fortus 380mc
  • Larger material capacity + larger build volume = larger parts
  • Higher Performance materials (PEEK, PEKK, PEI, and more)
  • Significantly lower cost materials
  • 100’s of material options whereas the 380mc CFE offers only 2 materials

HT2 3D Printer

Comparison Specifications

Feature3DXTECH
Gearbox™ HT2
Stratasys
Fortus 380CFE
Quoted Price$139,995$75,000
Build Volume18″ x 18″ x 32″
(10,368in³)
14″ x 12″ x 12″
(2,016in³)
$/in³ Build Volume$13.50/in³$37.20/in³
Number of Extruders2 (Model + Support)2 (Model + Support)
Actively Heated Build ChamberYes (225°C Max)Yes (180°C Max)
Heated Bed Temperature250°C120°C
Built for Carbon FiberYesYes
On-board Filament DryerYesNo
On-board Filament Capacity16kg4kg
Printer Utilizes Open-Source FilamentYesNo
Carbon Fiber Grades AvailablePEKK, PEEK, Ultem®
PPA, PC, PA12
PA6, PP, ABS
PA12
Unfilled Grades AvailableHundredsASA

Material Usage Cost Analysis

Typical Stratasys Carbon Fiber Nylon Customer
  • 1 reel of CF-Nylon per week (92in3 of filament per reel)
  • 52 reels per year (approx. 94kg of filament)
  • $620 per reel (costing about $6.65/in3)
  • $32,240 per year when buying CF-Nylon from Stratasys
  • CF-Nylon Pricing from 3DXTECH:  $90/kg
  • $8,460 Annual cost of CF-Nylon when using our CarbonX™ CF-Nylon in the Gearbox™ HT2 Printer
  • $23,780 Annual savings!!!!  If you use only 1 reel of Stratasys CF-Nylon per week
Typical Stratasys ABS Customer
  • 1 reel of ABS per week (92in3 of filament per reel)
  • 52 reels per year (approx. 85kg of filament)
  • $360 per reel (costing about $3.90/in3)
  • $18,720 per year when buying ABS from Stratasys
  • ABS Pricing from 3DXTECH: $30/kg
  • $2,550 Annual cost of ABS from 3DXTECH
  • $16,170 Annual savings!!!!  If you use only 1 reel of Stratasys ABS per week

The future is limitless. The future is Gearbox HT2.

Click below to learn more about this machine and request a quote for your Gearbox HT2 today!