customized Archives - Perfect 3D Printing Filament

Live Entrepreneurship & 3D Value Networks: Lack of Innovation in Frozen Confections

In this continuing series, I’m having a look at how value networks can be used to shape the future of industries as well as fundamentally disrupt them. Previously we looked at 3D printing concrete and open-source construction.

Recently I sat down with Robert Acree (of Unilever, Ben & Jerry’s, Yasso etc.) to discuss the challenges within the ice cream industry and why this industry has been lagging behind in technological developments for the last century. Yes, a century. High tooling costs, long lead times for introducing products, narrow sales channels, commoditized pricing,…are just a few of the challenges the industry faces. But like in most industries, the industry insiders take things for granted and this results in the status quo. Given this stasis, innovation has to come from outside the industry in order for anything to change.

If you care to understand what 3D printing has to do with this and how an effective value network can enhance this industry by bringing thought leaders together from various other fields for a common good, tune in through the video above.

The post Live Entrepreneurship & 3D Value Networks: Lack of Innovation in Frozen Confections appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.

Porsche Creating Partially 3D Printed Seats that Offer Different Levels of Comfort

3D printing is used often in the automotive sector, and many recognizable names, from Volkswagen and BMW to Ford and Toyota, are adopting the technology. German automobile manufacturer Porsche, which specializes in high-performance sports cars, SUVs, and sedans, has turned to 3D printing multiple times in the past to make components for e-drive powertrains and turbo inlet ducts. Now, the company has revealed its latest innovation – 3D printed bodyform bucket seats.

Michael Steiner, a member of the executive board for research and development at Porsche, said, “With the ‘3D-printed bodyform full-bucket seat’, we’re once again giving series-production customers the opportunity to experience technology carried over from motor sports.”

The manufacturer, based in Stuttgart, currently considers the seat a concept study, and not yet a production part. The seat’s central section is partially 3D printed, because the technology will allow Porsche to offer customers an exceptional level of customization – people who order the seat in the future will be able to choose between soft, medium, and hard firmness levels. The central section of the seat will then be custom 3D printed to provide whichever level of comfort they choose.

“The seat is the interface between the human and the vehicle, and is thus important for precise, sporty handling. That’s why personalised seat shells customised for the driver have been standard in race cars for a long time now,” Steiner said.

In the future, the manufacturer plans to bring the 3D printed seats to customers as production parts through Porsche Tequipment. But for now, only 40 of these seats, for the driver only, will be made and installed in the 911s and 718s Porsche racing models; in fact, the new 3D printed bucket seat is based on the company’s current sports seat. These 40 seats will be considered as prototypes, and will only be used on European racetracks this summer with a six-point harness.

Once Porsche receives feedback from the customers, the 3D printed seat will then be included as a regular offering in its Porsche Manufaktur catalogue starting in mid-2021 – if the feedback is good, of course. At that point, Porsche will also offer the seat in a variety of different colors as well.

The base support for the bucket seat is made out of expanded polypropylene (EPP), which is then bonded to the 3D printable, breathable custom comfort layer, featuring an aesthetically pleasing lattice structure. The seat’s final layer is made from a material that Porsche calls Racetex, which has a distinguishing perforation pattern that helps with climate control.

Porsche hopes that in the long run, it will be able to use 3D printing to offer its customers even more customization, such as seats that are designed and molded for a person’s specific body contour and shape, similar to how vehicle seats in motorsports are made for the race car driver.

There isn’t yet a price listed for these customizable 3D printed Porsche seats, but you can bet your bottom dollar that they won’t be cheap; customization rarely is, of course.

What do you think? Discuss this story and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts in the comments below.

(Sources: Autoblog and MSN / Images: Porsche)

The post Porsche Creating Partially 3D Printed Seats that Offer Different Levels of Comfort appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.

Fast Things 7: On Demand Manufacturing, Float Like a Butterfly

“Insurers receive premiums upfront and pay claims later….This collect-now, pay-later model leaves us holding large sums…money we call “float” …that will eventually go to others. Meanwhile, we get to invest this float for Berkshire’s benefit.” Warren Buffet

“Float like a butterfly sting like a bee…his hands can’t hit what his eyes can’t see.” Muhammad Ali

If things are to be produced quickly, on demand is the final goal. Sneakers or headphones, while you wait, would be wonderful for 3D Printing. Now we can only really make very tiny things limited in usability and finish while people stood by. Even the most patient would not be able to deal with the excruciatingly slow print times of current 3D printers. I think our technology would be seen as a lot less magical if someone would have told the muggles that it takes us between four and twenty-four hours to 3D print an iPhone case. Happily, we jump skipped and missed telling them this, so they still think we’re some whizz-bang wish fulfillment technology. If we’re realistic, however, we must admit that it will take us some time to improve our surface finish and quality for many goods. We can do a lot now, but we need to cherry pick the right applications for the technology to make sense.

If we do look at marble to volleyball sized objects out of polymers that are relatively valuable because they need a custom shape or texture, there is a world for us to explore. Insoles, soles, sunglasses, headphones, golf club handles, any other sports equipment handles, steering wheels, any hats or helmets, goggles, prosthetics, braces, jewelry, Bijoux, and toys are already large categories that are each worth many billions more than our entire industry. Making a dent in any of them would validate our technology. On the one hand, we can outperform by enabling the implementation of true mass customization for relatively low-cost items worldwide. We will cover this in another article in this series. A much less hype sounding thing can be done simultaneously as well: on-demand production. Producing on demand has some apparent advantages that benefit businesses.

Faster to market. You can go from an idea to a product in a day with 3D Printing. That means that your design teams can get products in stores faster. Quicker response to trends and wishes means that your offering can be more compelling and more on point. Beat your competition by being available before they’ve even made a deal with a supplier.

Agile Engineering. You can also develop products through agile engineering, whereby more iterations lead to more testing and better end products. Other teams in your company can provide data or feedback, which can lead to changes in the final design.

Feedback based tweaking. At the same time, you will change what “final design” means. With few items in store, you can quickly drop something that doesn’t work or print more if it does. You can listen to your customers and tweak products day by bad based on their feedback. An SKU that would run for a year now lasts for a day, ever adapted ever better for the market and the prospect.

Perfect sizes. By producing on demand, you can in a short time have the perfect size available for each customer. Also, in terms of size, this means less stock and less unsold stock. If your production times were manageable, you could have one fitting unit per discrete size available. Or with other types of things may have one example product that can then be customized. One size fits all things.

Niche products. You can develop products for specific niches, even if they are ultra small. Is there a group of blues aficionados in your town? Perhaps make some earbud covers specifically tailored to this group, or design something around a particular type of person specific to your city.

Hyperlocal. Maybe the graffiti artist only active on your block wants to turn her work into a broche? Maybe your local middle school basketball team wants a cookie with their logo on it?

Customize. Maybe your next baby shower needs a personal touch. With a mother into cheese and unicycles and a baby named Brittney, we can make an ice cube mold for that specific party with those elements as an inspiration. Very touching things made for one can be created with this technology. A personalized cookie tin with cookies with your name on them or personalized cookies with JohnLovesBritney, SamLovesBritney etc. could also be made. Your steak restaurant can easily have their logo seared into their steak with 3D Printing. There are lots of things to explore.

Fail fast fail often. None of the above ideas have to make sense. The beauty of our technology is our ability to fail quickly and relatively inexpensively. You can try many different products with 3D Printing, and many can be happy failures. Start a lab in a big city that just makes ten products a day, every day.

Get in the door products. You can also for a few bucks make products whose only purpose is to get people in the door. Do things that provoke, inspire, and amaze that no one will ever buy. No problem. I once had a frisbee made that we didn’t want to sell so we priced it so prohibitively that no one would buy. Meanwhile, we did get a lot of traffic from the announcement, and the high price.

Timely products. Raptors, win? Make a product. Raptors lose by 6 make a product referencing that. Raptors lose? Don’t end up stuck with a million championship shirts for a championship that never happens. As a side note, I learned from a friend that for NBA finals and Superbowls hundreds of thousands of t-shirts are ordered in advance with usually the same company ordering both team shirts. The winning shirt is sold while the losing shirt is sold overseas for scrap prices. On some level, this is a comfort; somewhere a person is walking around in a hat or t-shirt of the alternative universe where your team won that disastrous final. Super Bowl XXXVI St. Louis Rams World Champions.

Less fashion risk. With 3D Printing, you have less fashion risk. You don’t have to anticipate two years in advance that you can sell 100,000 of something. If you don’t sell it, you don’t then have to dump it at a discount store. And you don’t have to overproduce just in case either. Changes in preference or style can be avoided by producing on demand.

More daring. You can also afford to be more daring overall by adding new things to your collection that pushes the envelope in terms of design. Bold designs can be used to create buzz, garner attention, or engage with people who are perhaps a bit too fashion forward for much of your stuff. With lower upfront costs, you can design more daring things that do not have to do well.

No stock. Companies tie up tens of millions of dollars in stock. By having no stock apart from the needed raw materials, you can deploy your cash more efficiently. Freeing up cash for investment, advertising, or R&D, can be hugely advantageous to firms, especially in declining or difficult markets. One firm breaking the status quo could tip the balance in closely fought industries. Free free cash flow can be massive for firms, but the fact that the capital is not all tied up in stock also gives management a chance to be more daring, responsive, and proactive.

Float. In on-demand markets, your customer pays you first. Yes, you do have the employee, space, printer, and material, but they pay you when they order a product. You then turn around and make it for them. Rely on outsourced production? It gets even more beautiful with you paying the outsourcing firm end of the month plus 15 while your customer paid you 26 days before. In these scenarios, you don’t have to buy something on January 1, 2017, and pay half for it so you can sell it in 2019. Or your supplier doesn’t have to finance this same similar step. For the finished product, you get your money up front and then make the person what they need. This improves the fundamentals of 3D printing businesses to the point that it can be used to outcompete those with more difficult access to money or with damaging payment terms. Few seem to really get how float and better capital utilization specifically will have huge impacts on 3D printing competitiveness.

Through agile engineering, 3D printing and on-demand production companies can outcompete through more accurate product development and more efficient deployment of cash in the business. Don’t get into 3D Printing because it is cute, cool or fun. Get in 3D Printing before someone annihilates you using it.

Images: Jan Timmons, Formlabs, ESA.

Purdue Researchers Create Soft Robotics Users Can Customize & Make Using 3D Printing

Researchers have patented promising new robotics technology created through the Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization, and outlined in ‘3D Architected Soft Machines with Topologically Encoded Motion.’ Authors Debkalpa Goswami, Shuai Liu, Aniket Pal, Lucas G. Silva, and Ramses V. Martinez have developed robotic devices that can be 3D printed and customized by users, depending on their needs.

This technology may both surprise and fascinate users, who in the past have expected robots to make things for them—but they may not have expected to be the ones creating the robots from home or the workshop. A 3D printed robot, while not completely able to protect users, can at least communicate with them, ask basic questions, and sense movement such as a fall, acting as a more complex panic button in these cases.

“Unfortunately, the external hard structure of current caregiving robots prevents them from a safe human-robot interaction, limiting their assistance to mere social interaction and not physical interaction,” said Ramses Martinez, assistant professor at the School of Industrial Engineering and in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering in Purdue’s College of Engineering. “After all, would you leave babies or physically or cognitively impaired old people in the hands of a robot?”

Purdue University researchers have developed a new design method to create soft robots (Artist rendering by Ramses Martinez)

Users can create their own CAD files, shaping the robot, and then designating what types of movements it will make. The researchers have created a customized algorithm that converts the data into a 3D architected soft machine (ASM). And indeed, this opens a brave new world to users everywhere as they can print the robots on virtually any 3D printer.

The fabricated ASMs can mimic human locomotion, operated with tiny motors that rely on nylon to pull the limbs back and forth. The researchers state that these customized robots and their soft materials can be stretched to beyond 900 percent of their initial length.

“ASMs can perform complex motions such as gripping or crawling with ease, and this work constitutes a step forward toward the development of autonomous and lightweight soft robots,” Martinez said. “The capability of ASMs to change their body configuration and gait to adapt to a wide variety of environments has the potential to not only improve caregiving but also disaster-response robotics.”

While users can 3D print customized robotics, the actual forms created move in the realm of the 4D, responding and morphing with their own environment. The researchers state that they can perform a wide range of motion, depending on need.

“The topological architecture of these low‐density soft robots confers them with the stiffness necessary to recover their original shape even after ultrahigh compression (400%) and extension (500%),” state the researchers in their paper. “ASMs expand the range of mechanical properties currently achievable by 3D printed or molded materials to enable the fabrication of soft machines with auxetic mechanical metamaterial properties.”

You don’t have to be an engineer or a techno-geek to understand that today (which used to be that distant, faraway future) has not yielded the type of progress we expected from robotics. And while we are not being served and accompanied 24/7 by charismatic androids, significant and interesting developments have certainly been achieved—from 3D printed robots that pick up trash for us, to construction robots—and even swarms of robots doing the 3D printing work for us. The picture may be different from what we imagined, but in the end—far more spectacular. Find out more about the recent research in soft robotics here, serving as part of the university’s Giant Leaps celebration in connection with their 150th anniversary.

Purdue researchers have developed a new design method that will enable anyone to quickly design and fabricate soft robots using a 3D printer (Photo credit: Purdue University)

What do you think of this news? Let us know your thoughts! Join the discussion of this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com.

[Source / Images: Purdue University]

Civil Engineering Applications: Researchers 3D Print Packaging for Fiber Optic Sensors

In a bustling world full of ever-expanding technology, there is much going on behind the scenes, in the air, and underground, that we don’t even think about. Fiber optics are a great example of this, delivering information, entertainment, monitoring systems, and much more. Researchers from the UK and India are interested in how 3D printing can further the performance of fiber optics, outlining their findings in ‘Encapsulation of Fiber Optic Sensors in 3D Printed Packages for Use in Civil Engineering Applications: A Preliminary Study.’

Authored by Richard Scott, Miodrag Vidakovic, Sanjay Chikermane, Brett McKinley, Tong Sun, Pradipta Banerji, and Kenneth Grattan, the recently published paper gives us further insight into the progression of fiber optic technology in relation to the ongoing need for being able to install sensors in materials like concrete—a material which poses challenges (for rigorous sensor installation) due to its high alkalinity.

Commercial optical fiber sensor.

Sensor installations today can be complex and cost-prohibitive (in some cases, one sensor may cost as much as $300), leaving the industry wide open for alternatives—and motivating the authors to develop packaging for fiber sensors that is not only exponentially more affordable but also sturdy and reliable. They went into this research project seeking to create packaging with the following features:

High quality
Repeatable measurements
Ease in surface mounting
Durability for withstanding harsh environments

Before designing their new product, the researchers examined the current benefits of Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors, which have been very popular among civil engineers. They discovered that current issues with FBGs are one, that they are extremely delicate—and two, they must be ‘encapsulated’ in packaging that can ward off not only environmental rigors, but also heavy usage.

The researchers used SolidWorks for 3D design of the new sensor packages, and then 3D printed them on a Formlabs 1+ 3D printer. What makes these devices even more unique and attractive for industrial applications is that they can be highly customized, in comparison to traditional materials.

“Since packaged ersgs are specifically designed for both surface mounting and embedment in concrete structures (without the need for bolted connections), it seemed sensible, for this exercise, to manufacture the new FBG-based sensor package to have similar dimensions and surface characteristics for easy comparisons to be made. This shows the versatility of the approach used. However, in other applications the sensor package could be designed to be completely different from that where esrgs are used and be lighter and more compact or contain a larger number of sensors,” state the researchers.

“Over the last few years there have been considerable advances in the use of 3D printing techniques with both the hardware and software becoming much more affordable and this forms the basis of the low-cost sensor discussed.”

In-field testing of the packaged sensors was positive, although sensitivity of packaged FBG-based sensors was deemed significantly lower that that of those left bare. The authors found this encouraging still as it means that their 3D printed packaged sensors could be used for ‘all but the most sensitive of measurements desired.’

Test rig used in this work for assessment of the packaged sensors developed.

During their research, however, the authors did realize that rather than using materials like resin, polyether ether ketone (PEEK) or ceramic could prove more suitable for sensor packing, although the affordability and ease in production offered by 3D printing (out of standard resin) are hard to beat. Width of the packaging was slightly problematic too, leaving the researchers to consider how to reduce thickness. Ultimately, they were happy with the results of their research, although waiting to test their products further in more realistic civil engineering applications.

Packaged sensors: ersg top, FBG bottom.

The sensors used have been ‘effectively packaged (encapsulated)’ with the chosen materials, are affordable, and effective, leaving the researchers to conclude:

“Proof-of-concept laboratory testing has demonstrated the potential of the packaged sensors for strain measurement in civil engineering applications.”

Decades ago, 3D printing was created by an engineer, for engineers. And while infinite numbers of and other types of users can benefit from the technology, this is an extremely useful tool for creating prototypes and functional devices in fields like civil engineering where so many new structural applications are evolving, with exciting strides being made in residential home construction, different types of infrastructure like bridges, and even road paving.

Detail of sensor layout on steel beam.

[Source / Images: Encapsulation of Fiber Optic Sensors in 3D Printed Packages for Use in Civil Engineering Applications: A Preliminary Study]

3D Printing News Briefs: October 13, 2018

We’ve got business and education news galore in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs. First, Voodoo Manufacturing has launched its new Shopify app, and BeAM Machines is partnering with Empa, while Sculpteo is working with a property developer to provide 3D printed apartment models. VSHAPER has signed an agreement with educational publisher Grupa MAC, and the United Arab Emirates is introducing 3D printing into over 200 of its primary schools. The US Navy will be testing the first 3D printed ship component, and Lufthansa Technik has established a new Additive Manufacturing Center. Finally, maker Thomas Sanladerer shared on YouTube about his recent visit to the Prusa headquarters.

Voodoo Manufacturing Launches Shopify App

This spring, high-volume 3D printing factory Voodoo Manufacturing began its full-stack manufacturing and fulfillment service for 3D printing entrepreneurs, which allows users to outsource work like quality control and assembly for their products through its easy shopfront integrations with online marketplaces like Shopify. Now, the company has launched its own Shopify app, which will allow online sellers to create and customize 3D printed products and sell them on their own Shopify stores. Once the app is installed, users can make their first product in less than 5 minutes, which is then automatically added to their store, ready for purchase.

“We wanted to make it ridiculously easy for ecommerce stores to diversify their product offering with 3D printed products. By applying 3D printing to the print-on-demand business model, we are opening up an infinite range of product categories for Shopify merchants,” said Max Friefeld, the Founder and CEO of Voodoo Manufacturing. “The Voodoo app provides a new source of high quality, customizable, on-demand products, that don’t require any 3D design experience.”

Before the official launch this week, Voodoo piloted the service with a group of beta users, including It’s The Island Life by graphic designer and Guam native Lucy Hutcheson. She is already successfully selling six different products made with the help of the new Voodoo app.

BeAM Machines Partnering with Empa

BeAM, recently acquired by AddUp, has signed a research and development agreement with Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology. Together, the two will develop novel applications for BeAM’s powder-based Directed Energy Deposition (DED) technology, which uses focused thermal energy to fuse materials by melting them while they’re deposited. This makes parts manufacturing much faster. The partnership has come on the heels of Empa’s acquisition of a BeAM DED 3D printer, which is located at its Laboratory for Advanced Materials Processing in Thun and is used to integrate and test out innovative components.

Patrik Hoffmann, who leads the laboratory, said, “We are very excited to collaborate with BeAM’s engineers to push the boundaries of this innovative additive manufacturing technology and to develop a whole new range of applications for Swiss industries and beyond.”

Sculpteo 3D Printing Apartment Models

Together with Sculpteo, French property developer Valoptim is working to improve customer experience by providing clients with miniaturized 3D printed models of their future apartments when they sign their contracts, so they can better visualize and prepare for moving into their new home. These small, exact replicas give new owners an immersive experience, which is a definite value add. In addition, production of the 3D printed models is local, and can be done fast.

“Sculpteo uses the best machines and 3D printing processes on the market today. At first, we had the ambition to test the feasibility of 3D printing in the real estate sector. This innovative process has proven to be extremely interesting: the realistic rendering, with high-end finishes, allowed our clients to discover a miniaturized version of their future apartment enabling them to realistically imagine themselves living in it,” said Edouard Pellerin, CEO of Valoptim. “This innovation contributes to our business dynamic: constantly improving the customer experience.”

VSHAPER and Grupa Mac Sign Agreement

Polish 3D printer manufacturer Verashape has signed an agreement with Grupa MAC, the country’s top educational publisher, in front of Poland’s education curators at the recent Future of Education Congress. Per the agreement, Grupa MAC will use a network of educational consultants to distribute the VSHAPER GO 3D printers to kindergartens and other schools in the country. Grupa MAC recognizes that 3D printers are a good way to quickly present the effects of students’ learning, and the VSHAPER GO is the perfect choice, as it is easy to use and comes with an intuitive interface of SOFTSHAPER software.

“Classes with students are a perfect environment for the use of 3D Printing. Creating a pyramid model for history lessons, the structure of a flower or a human body for biology lessons are just a few examples, and their list is limited only by the imagination of students and teachers,” said Patryk Tomczyk, a member of the Grupa MAC Management Board. “We are happy that thanks to our cooperation with VERASHAPE, 3D Printers have a chance to reach schools through our network of educational consultants.”

3D Printing to be Introduced in UAE Primary Schools

Speaking of 3D printing in education, the Ministry of Education (MoE) for the UAE has announced that in early 2019, a country-wide introduction of 3D printing into over 200 primary schools will commence. As part of this new technology roll out, Dubai education consultancy company Ibtikar is partnering with Makers Empire, an Australian education technology company, to deliver a program that implements 3D printing and design. Makers Empire will supply 3D software, curriculum, teacher resources, training, and support to Ibtikar, which will in turn train MoE teachers to deliver the program.

“Through this rollout of 3D technology, our students will learn to reframe needs as actionable statements and to create solutions to real-world problems,” said HE Eng. Abdul Rahman of the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education. “In doing so, our students will develop an important growth mindset, the skills they need to make their world better and the essential ability to persist when encountering setbacks.”

US Navy Approves Test of First 3D Printed Shipboard Part

USS Harry S. Truman

The US military has long explored the use of 3D printing to lower costs and increase the availability of spare parts. Huntington Ingalls Industries, the largest military shipbuilder in the US, has also been piloting new technologies, like 3D printing, as part of its digital transformation. In collaboration with the US Navy, the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding division has worked to speed the adoption of 3D printed metal components for nuclear-powered warships. This has led to an exciting announcement by the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA): a metal drain strainer orifice (DSO) prototype has officially been approved as the first 3D printed metal part to be installed on a US Navy ship. The assembly is a component for the steam system, which allows for drainage and removal of water from a steam line while in use. The 3D printed DSO prototype will be installed on the USS Harry S. Truman in 2019 for evaluation and tests. After one year, the assembly will be removed for inspection and analysis.

“This install marks a significant advancement in the Navy’s ability to make parts on demand and combine NAVSEA’s strategic goal of on-time delivery of ships and submarines while maintaining a culture of affordability. By targeting CVN 75 [USS Harry S. Truman], this allows us to get test results faster, so-if successful-we can identify additional uses of additive manufacturing for the fleet,” said Rear Adm. Lorin Selby, NAVSEA Chief Engineer and Deputy Commander for Ship Design, Integration, and Naval Engineering.

Lufthansa Technik Opens New Additive Manufacturing Center

Lufthansa Technik, a leading provider of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) for civil aircraft, has established a new Additive Manufacturing Center. The goal of the new AM Center is to bundle and expand the company’s experience and competence with the technology, which can be used to make individual parts more quickly and with more design freedom. As the world of aircraft is always aware of weight, making more lightweight parts is an excellent benefit of 3D printing.

“The new AM Center will serve as a collaborative hub where the experience and skills that Lufthansa Technik has gained in additive manufacturing can be bundled and further expanded,” said Dr. Aenne Koester, the head of the new AM Center. “The aim is to increase the degree of maturity of the technologies and to develop products that are suitable for production.”

Tom’s 3D Visits Prusa Headquarters

Maker Thomas Sanladerer, who runs his own YouTube channel, recently had the chance to tour the Prusa Research headquarters in Prague. Not only did he get the opportunity to see how the company makes its popular MK3 and and MK2.5, but Sanladerer was also able to see early models of the company’s recently announced SL1 resin 3D printer, as well as the Prusament filament production line.

“I always find factory tours like this super interesting because it’s the only chance you really get of seeing behind the scenes of what might really just be a website, or you know, a marketing video or whatever,” Sanladerer said in his video.

Sanladerer took the tour of the Prusa factory right after Maker Faire Prague, which the company itself organized and sponsored. To see behind the scenes of Prusa for yourself, check out the rest of the video below:

Discuss these stories and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts below.