5 High-Tech Highlights from RAPID 2026

RAPID isn't just the biggest additive manufacturing event in North America; it's where manufacturers unveil their latest innovations to the world. As exhibitors at the heart of the event, the GoEngineer team spent the week digging into the latest hardware and software advancements poised to deliver immense value to our customers.  

We’ve filtered through the noise to bring you the technical highlights that matter. These launches focus on one outcome: eliminating friction across the engineering lifecycle, from capturing real-world conditions to rapid functional validation to scalable production.

PolyJet J850 Core: Functional Prototyping Without the Premium Overhead

Engineering teams rely on multi-material prototypes to validate fit, assembly, and function, but full-feature PolyJet systems are often seen as overkill (and over budget) for daily engineering use. Others are stuck maintaining aging PolyJet systems with limited materials and throughput. 

The new Stratasys J850 Core fills the gap between too basic and too premium, delivering professional-grade PolyJet capability focused on function, not just color. 

Key Features:

• True multi-material printing in a single build (rigid, flexible, and transparent). 
• Materials like ToughONE™ and Agilus™ for snap fits, seals, and overmolding simulation. 
• Faster print modes and a large build tray for higher throughput. 
• A simplified, predictable workflow with minimal post-processing. 

The J850 Core enables faster, more realistic engineering validation, without paying for features you don’t need. 

Artec Jet™ 3D Scanner: Capturing Reality at Site Scale 

Scanning existing facilities, large assemblies, tooling environments, or hard-to-access sites using traditional methods is often slow, fragmented, and unsafe.

The new Artec Jet is a survey‑grade, mobile LiDAR 3D scanner that enables fast, autonomous, and highly accurate capture of large-scale environments, from factories and infrastructure to construction sites and hazardous or GPS-denied locations. Designed for integration into digital engineering and manufacturing workflows, the Artec Jet brings reality capture to the same level of speed and confidence engineers expect downstream in additive manufacturing.

Key Features:

• Site‑scale 3D capture with ±10 mm accuracy indoors and underground. 
• Detects changes as small as 5 mm, ideal for as-built verification and change detection.
• Operates across seven deployment modes: handheld, backpack, drone, vehicle-mounted, robotic, pole-mounted, or protective cage. 
• Fully functional in GPS‑denied, low‑light, or hazardous environments. 
• Autonomous drone operation with obstacle avoidance for remote or unsafe areas. 
• Optional RTK/GNSS support for enhanced global accuracy. 
• Captured data is processed through Artec Twins™ software, enabling engineers to merge, inspect, georeference, and export large point clouds into downstream CAD, simulation, inspection, and manufacturing workflows. 

The Artec Jet extends digital engineering beyond isolated parts, making it possible to digitize entire sites, assemblies, and operating environments quickly and safely, creating a reliable foundation for downstream design, validation, and additive production workflows. 

P3 Silicones for Origin: Real Silicone, Finally Additive

Silicone parts are everywhere, from seals and gaskets to wearables and medical devices, but molding is expensive, slow, and restrictive. Meanwhile, many silicone-like printed materials don't behave like real silicone. 

New P3 Silicone 25A materials, developed with Shin‑Etsu, bring true silicone performance to digital production on the Origin P3 DLP platform. 

Industrial Silicone (Gray) is a durable, flame-retardant, chemically resistant material ideal for seals, grommets, vibration dampers, and industrial components. 

Medical Silicone (White) is ISO 10993 biocompatible and is suited for patient-contact devices, wearables, and personalized medical applications. 

Key Features:

• Mold-free production of complex silicone parts. 
• High tear strength, elasticity, and long-term durability. 
• Rapid iteration and low-to-mid volume manufacturing without tooling. 

These new materials enable design freedom, production realism, and true silicone behavior, all without the need for molds or long lead times. 

SAF™ PA12 - Powered by Evonik: Lower Cost SAF, No Compromises

Many teams feel squeezed between traditional manufacturing and increasingly commoditized polymer PBF materials, often forced to choose between price, quality, or consistency. 

SAF PA12 - Powered by Evonik delivers the most cost-efficient PA12 available for industrial SAF production, without changing hardware, licenses, or workflows. 

Key Features:

• Up to 24% lower material pricing. 
• Up to 14% lower cost per part vs. current SAF PA12. 
• Proven, repeatable mechanical performance for serial production. 
• Ideal for housings, brackets, jigs, fixtures, and end-use components. 

Additive App Suite: Design-to-Print Tooling in Minutes

Jigs and workholding fixtures, tooling, and dunnage are essential elements in any manufacturing facility. But it takes time to design them, and CAD resources.

Stratasys' new Additive App Suite brings purpose-built manufacturing design apps directly into GrabCAD Print. This integration enables engineers and technicians to generate production-ready tooling without CAD expertise, and eliminates the inefficiencies associated with hand-offs between shop floor and engineering departments.

What launched at RAPID: 

• 10 apps, including Shadow Boards, Clamping Jaws, Robotic Fingers, and Logistic Trays.
• AI-powered features like Photo-to-Outline. 
• Up to 80% reduction in tooling design time. 

Tech That Works for Engineers 

Across systems, materials, and software, these RAPID 2026 releases reflect a clear shift: technology optimized for everyday engineering use, not just demos or edge cases. 

These launches are all about removing friction and accelerating real work. Want to see what’s possible? Contact the experts at GoEngineer to leverage industry-leading solutions.  

Related Articles

FDM Post-Processing: Oryx sca1200ht for Soluble Support Removal

How 3D Printing is Helping Manufacturers Fight Back Against Tariffs

Guide to Using Formlabs PreForm Software for SLA 3D Printing

DICOM-to-3D Print Medical Models: Methods Used to Compare Accuracy

Economic Change in Manufacturing Demands a New Approach by Leveraging 3D Printing

VIEW ALL ARTICLES