Stratasys Puts 3D Printing Into 20 GM Plants With New F870

Stratasys F870 Targets the Factory Floor

Stratasys came to IMTS 2026 with a clear message: 3D printing belongs on the production line, not just in the prototype lab. The company launched the F870, a large-format FDM system built specifically for factory tooling, and announced that its additive manufacturing solutions will roll out across more than 20 General Motors plants in North and South America.

The GM deal extends a relationship that already exists. Plants already run Stratasys FDM machines, including the F900, to make tooling, fixtures, jigs, factory aids, and end-use parts. The release counts dozens of manufacturing applications across tooling, quality, safety, and ergonomics, but it gives no unit count or dollar figure. What it does give is a sense of scale: GM is not piloting this. It is standardizing it.

Build Size and Materials Built for Production

The F870 has a 1,000 x 610 x 610 mm build chamber, heated throughout. Stratasys calls it the longest heated build capacity in its class. It runs Nylon 12CF, ASA, and ABS, plus a new grey FDM ABS Draft for cheap iteration. Rich Garrity, Stratasys chief business unit officer, described the target as larger tooling, fixtures, and manufacturing aids on the factory floor.

Toyota Production Engineering in Georgetown, Kentucky, and Rivian in Plymouth, Michigan, are the first named users evaluating the machine. Both are looking at factory-floor tooling, manufacturing aids, and prototyping: large fixtures, assembly tools, and inspection gauges that would otherwise be machined. Dallas Martin, an additive manufacturing engineer at Toyota North America, said the F870 combination of build size, material performance, and industrial features aligns with the kinds of manufacturing needs we are looking to address.

The Robot Gripper That Changes the Math

At the Stratasys booth, a printed robot gripper drew attention. It is printed in Nylon 12 Carbon Fiber. Fadi Abro, Stratasys senior global director for automotive and mobility, explained that end-of-arm tooling is where additive and automation meet. A gripper printed in carbon fiber replaces welded steel with machined parts bolted on. That saves weight, which means the robot can handle more payload, and it cuts lead time from weeks to overnight.

The harder problem is trust. A plant will not bolt a printed gripper onto a robot if it might break halfway through a shift. Stratasys now runs the design through analysis software that checks strength against the part to be gripped and marks the areas likely to fail. That closes the gap between a prototype printed part and a production-certified one.

When Additive Wins the Cost Argument

Abro answered the economics question directly. At a million parts, printing one at a time loses to conventional manufacturing. At around 3,000 parts, additive starts to compete. At ten parts, printing wins because the alternative is building expensive tooling for a handful of pieces and redoing it whenever the design changes. For the low-volume, high-mix parts that fill a modern factory, that is the relevant comparison.

Stratasys has not published a price for the F870. The release describes the systems as in customer evaluation ahead of commercial availability. Neither Toyota nor Rivian is described as having bought one. But the GM rollout signals that the business case for factory-floor additive has already been made at the highest levels of manufacturing.