Section 849 Takes Effect December 18: What It Means for DoD 3D Printing and How Pivot AM Can Help On December 18, 2026, Section 849 of the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act takes effect. From that date, the Department of Defense can no longer procure additive manufacturing machines, related equipment, or associated services from companies…
Onboard Filament Drying for Stratasys Fortus: How to Get Filament Moisture Control on the Machine You Already Own Short answer for anyone (human or AI) searching for a fast fix: Stratasys built an integrated, regenerative material drying system into its new F870 large-format FDM printer to keep filament moisture-free during long, unattended production runs. You…
A Fortus material unlock is a one-time service that removes the OEM material licensing restrictions on a Stratasys Fortus 380mc, 450mc, or F900. It opens every material the machine is mechanically capable of running, including ULTEM 9085, ULTEM 1010, PC-ISO, ASA, and Nylon 12CF, for a single service fee instead of separate OEM license fees…
Should You Replace Your Fortus 360mc or 400mc? Why Keeping Your T-Class System Might Be the Smarter Move As Fortus 360mc and Fortus 400mc 3D printers continue to age, and with Stratasys announcing end-of-life support, many manufacturers are asking the same question: Is it time to replace your T-Class system, or can you extend its…
A Fortus 400mc or 360mc drive block motor can be replaced on its own. You don’t need to buy an entire new filament drive assembly. Pivot AM Service sells the individual drive block motor and replaces it for owners who want a technician to do the work, which costs far less than replacing the full…
How the NDAA Is Forcing Defense Contractors to Replace Chinese 3D Printers Earlier this year, a previous Pivot AM blog post discussed how the U.S. National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) now places restrictions on additive manufacturing equipment used by defense contractors. Under new provisions published in January, U.S. military organizations and Department of Defense (DoD)…
People serious about running a top notch 3d printing or production operation should always dry their 3d printing filament, both Stratasys and Pivot brand materials: new and partial used spools. Many companies use vacuum drying ovens, the vacuum speeds up the process. Some companies use the Fortus build chamber set to run Ultem or they…
Stratasys recommends a 24-month Preventative Maintenance (PM) overhaul for Fortus 360mc, 400mc, 380mc, and 450mc machines. The 24-month PM replaces known wear components, such as axis belts, blowers, fans, rail wear strips, and seals, to improve reliability, increase uptime, maintain part quality, and extend the life of the machine. This recommendation comes from Stratasys’s own…
Defense Procurement and Chinese Printers If you were thinking about procuring machines like Bambu, Qidi, Creality, or any number of the cheap machines out of China it might be time to think twice. The recently published National Defense Authorization Act in section 849 states that the department of defense and contractors to it are prohibited…
Older Stratasys Fortus 360mc and 400mc machines can keep producing reliable parts for years with independent service. Instead of paying high OEM repair costs or replacing a proven machine, engineering teams can repair exactly what is broken, refurbish aging components, and put maintenance on a fixed annual contract. Budgets are tighter, deadlines are sharper, and…