SAF: SAF (Selective Absorption Fusion) is Stratasys's powder bed 3D printing process, which jets an infrared-absorbing fluid onto polymer powder and fuses it with infrared energy.
SAF is the process in Stratasys’s H Series printers, aimed at production runs of nylon parts. Like MJF, it spreads a layer of powder, prints a high-absorbing fluid where the part should be, then heats the layer with infrared light so that only the wetted powder fuses. The rest of the powder stays loose and supports the parts, so no support structures are needed.
What it means for the price
The cost logic is the same as for the other polymer powder bed processes. Parts are packed into a build, machine time is set mainly by the height of that build, and each part carries its build share of the run, plus the powder it consumes, cooling, depowdering and finishing. A busy, densely packed build is what makes the price per part low; a half-empty one spreads the same hours across fewer parts.
Example: a build that runs for 12 hours and holds 150 small clips spreads those 12 hours across all 150 parts, about 5 minutes of machine time each. The figures are an example.
Common confusions
SAF and MJF look alike on paper. They come from different makers and use different fluids, powders and machines, so their speeds, material choices and finishes differ. Neither is SLS, which fuses the powder with a laser instead of infrared lamps.
Go deeper: MJF vs SLS: cost, quality, materials and when to choose each