3D Printing Helps Internet-enabled Wireless Headphone Design Win Award and Recognition

3D Printing Helps Internet-enabled Wireless Headphone Design Win Award and Recognition

MINNEAPOLIS and REHOVOT, Israel, July 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --



Ignitec uses Stratasys 3D printing technology to develop Audiowings, a


luxury, smart headphone that wirelessly connects to user's online music via mobile


networks



Audiowings awarded 'People's Award' in Sir Richard Branson's annual 'Pitch


to Rich' competition



Stratasys Ltd. [http://www.stratasys.com ](Nasdaq: SSYS), a leading global provider of
3D printing and additive manufacturing solutions, today announced that British product
design house, Ignitec [http://ignitec.com ], has designed and manufactured a new
generation of wireless headphones for technology start-up and luxury goods company
Audiowings, using its Stratasys Objet30 Pro
[http://www.stratasys.com/3d-printers/design-series/precision/objet30-pro ] 3D Printer.



(Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140702/694479-a )




(Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140702/694479-b )




(Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140702/694479-c )




Named after the company, Audiowings is a luxury audio headphone that synchronizes
directly with online music services, such as Spotify, enabling users to listen to their
favorite music on-the-go, without the burden of headphone cables. As well as featuring a
built-in storage system, the device also connects wirelessly to the Internet using 3/4G or
WiFi, giving users the ability to plug into YouTube and enjoy music from around the world.



In a bid to receive funding, the first fully 3D printed Audiowings prototype was
entered into Sir Richard Branson's 'Pitch to Rich' 2014 competition. The company has since
been awarded the 'People's Award', receiving a prestigious mentoring program from some of
the world's leading business minds. Audiowings is currently finalizing its plans to enter
the retail market.



"When we were first approached with the concept of Audiowings and briefed on its
prototyping requirements, we instantly knew that 3D printing would be the answer,"
explains Ben Mazur, Director of Ignitec. "Our Stratasys Objet30 Pro 3D Printer was the
obvious choice since it has the ability to produce products on demand that depict the
accuracy and surface quality of injection molding."



Stratasys' PolyJet-based 3D printing technology features 16 micron accuracy, producing
parts that combine high definition with a smooth surface finish, crucial in the
development of high quality prototypes.



"Quality is paramount and is the driving force behind all of our projects," continues
Mazur. "We printed the headphones in a durable rigid opaque grey material (VeroGrey), not
only enabling us to perfect the look and feel, but also perform ergonomic testing with the
user's comfortability- always integral to this development."



Ignitec's move towards Stratasys' PolyJet 3D printing technology aimed to increase the
precision of its prototype parts, as well as reduce its prototyping costs and development
cycle times. Equipped with a Stratasys Objet30 Pro 3D Printer from UK reseller Stanford
Marsh Group, the company has since seen a significant reduction in the time required to 3D
print and hand-finish its prototypes parts.



"Since introducing Stratasys 3D printing into our work flow, we have cut our finishing
time by more than 50% due to the reduction of support material removal required compared
to our previous SLA system," explains Mazur. "We have also seen a surge in client interest
due to the fact that we can now produce prototype parts with a short turnaround time,
while retaining the highest quality and remaining cost effective. Being able to offer
end-use parts prior to manufacturing is something which is very valuable to our clients
and takes away a lot of risk and guess work."



Andy Middleton, Senior Vice President and General Manager EMEA at Stratasys,
concludes: "In today's economy, product designers are under extreme pressure to take
innovation and quickly turn it into a money-making product. Ignitec is a great example of
how our PolyJet 3D printing technology is empowering these designers to deliver first
class prototypes to their clients with the precision and detail of the final product. As
such, product development processes are shortening and fantastic products like Audiowings
are reaching the market faster than ever before."



Stratasys Ltd. (Nasdaq:SSYS), headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. and Rehovot,
Israel, is a leading global provider of 3D printing and additive manufacturing solutions.
The company's patented FDM(R), PolyJet(R), and WDM(TM) 3D Printing technologies produce
prototypes and manufactured goods directly from 3D CAD files or other 3D content. Systems
include 3D printers for idea development, prototyping and direct digital manufacturing.
Stratasys subsidiaries include MakerBot and Solidscape, and the company operates the
RedEye digital-manufacturing service. Stratasys has more than 1900 employees, holds over
550 granted or pending additive manufacturing patents globally, and has received more than
25 awards for its technology and leadership. Online at http://www.stratasys.com or
http://blog.stratasys.com



Stratasys and Objet are registered trademarks, andConnex, PolyJet and Fortus are
trademarks of Stratasys Ltd and or its subsidiaries or affiliates.



Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements



Certain information included or incorporated by reference in this press may be deemed
to be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements are often characterized by the
use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "expect," "anticipate,"
"estimate," "continue," "believe," "should," "intend," "project" or other similar words,
but are not the only way these statements are identified. These forward-looking statements
may include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the company's objectives,
plans and strategies, statements regarding the expected performance and impact of our
products, statements that contain projections of results of operations or of financial
condition (including, with respect to the MakerBot acquisition) and all statements (other
than statements of historical facts) that address activities, events or developments that
the company intends, expects, projects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the
future. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are
subject to risks and uncertainties. The company has based these forward-looking statements
on assumptions and assessments made by its management in light of their experience and
their perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments
and other factors they believe to be appropriate. Important factors that could cause
actual results, developments and business decisions to differ materially from those
anticipated in these forward-looking statements include, among other things: the company's
ability to efficiently and successfully integrate the operations of Stratasys, Inc. and
Objet Ltd. after their merger as well as MakerBot after its acquisition and to
successfully put in place and execute an effective post-merger integration plans; the
overall global economic environment; the impact of competition and new technologies;
general market, political and economic conditions in the countries in which the company
operates; projected capital expenditures and liquidity; changes in the company's strategy;
government regulations and approvals; changes in customers' budgeting priorities;
litigation and regulatory proceedings; and those factors referred to under "Risk Factors",
"Information on the Company", "Operating and Financial Review and Prospects", and
generally in the company's annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2013
filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and in other reports that the
company has filed with the SEC. Readers are urged to carefully review and consider the
various disclosures made in the company's SEC reports, which are designed to advise
interested parties of the risks and factors that may affect its business, financial
condition, results of operations and prospects. Any forward-looking statements in this
press release are made as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to
publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.



Attention Editors, if you publish reader-contact information, please use:




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Stratasys Media Contacts

USA
Aaron Masterson
Weber Shandwick
Tel. +1-952-346-6258
AMasterson@webershandwick.com

Europe
Jonathan Wake / Miguel Afonso
UK Bespoke
Tel: +44-1737-215200
stratasys@bespoke.co.uk

Stratasys
Arita Mattsoff / Joe Hiemenz
Stratasys
Tel. +972-(0)74-745-4000 (IL)
Tel. +1-952-906-2726 (US)
arita@stratasys.com
joe.hiemenz@stratasys.com

Asia Pacific
Stratasys AP
Janice Lai / Frances Chiu
Tel. +852-3944-8818
Janice.lai@stratasys.com
Frances.Chiu@stratasys.com

Japan
Stratasys Japan
Aya Yoshizawa
Tel. +81-90-6473-1812
Aya.yoshizawa@stratasys.com

Korea
Stratasys Korea
Jihyun Lee
Tel. +82-2-2046-2287
jihyun.lee@Stratasys.com

Brazil
Tatiana Fonseca
GAD Communications
Tel: +55-11-3846-9981
tatiana@gadcom.com.br

Mexico
Stratasys Mexico
Thibault Leroy
Tel. +52-1-(55)-4866-0800
thibault.leroy@stratasys.com

South Africa
Alison McDonald
PR Connections
Tel. +27-(0)11-468-1192
alison@pr.co.za




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http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140702/694479-b



http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140702/694479-c


Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140702/694479-a
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140702/694479-b
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140702/694479-c
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Stratasys Ltd.


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