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Sep 19, 2023

Automation Elevates 3D Printing to Production Floor

In a sign that 3D printing continues to march toward the production floor and

In a sign that 3D printing continues to march toward the production floor and isn't just for small batches and prototypes, Boston-based Formlabs Inc. recently unveiled an automation system for its stereolithography resin printers. The new Automation Ecosystem is capable of back-to-back throughput, reducing the need for an operator, according to the company.

"Until now, 3D-printing production has been limited by operator intervention, requiring users to remove complete printed parts, change resin cartridges, and set new printing jobs manually," said Bálint Horváth, software product manager.

Key features include: Form Auto, a hardware extension for part removal; Fleet Control software for fleet management; and the High Volume Resin System with a five-liter capacity for the company's nylon powder, biocompatible materials, and castable wax resins. The new system is five times larger than previous resin cartridges and reduces packaging waste by as much as 96%, Formlabs said.

While the company promises lights-out operations in its promotional literature—and even offers a separate service called Factory Solutions to help companies scale up production—Fleet Control can't connect with ERP or MES software at this time, according to Horváth.

That hasn't stopped some major manufacturers from using Formlabs’ printers for production. The company's Factory Solutions team formulated a new 3D-printing material, Rebound Resin, and production system to help footwear giant New Balance make its TripleCell line of shoes. Formlabs also partnered with Proctor & Gamble's Gillette brand to produce shaver handles featuring a sports team logo or other custom image. The 3D-printing specialist also helped produce nasal swabs for COVID-19 testing.

Fleet Control takes over once Formlabs' PreForm slicing software has done its job. With Fleet Control, operators set their printing preferences and select a group of printers. Users choose a print queue and can see real-time information about the job via Fleet Control's dashboard, then the software assigns the best available printer for that job.

One year of Fleet Control is included in the purchase price, after which the program costs $100 per printer per year. There is no limit to the number of printers the software can manage.

"In the future, Formlabs aims to expand Fleet Control to cover other areas related to managing a print farm, and user feedback about additional features and functionality will be integrated into the roadmap," Horváth said.

In lights-out production, if something goes wrong, Form Auto can squeeze the build platform several times to remove the part. Then, the platform is scraped along an edge of the printer's enclosure to remove any additional parts or material that remains. A sensor will alert the user as necessary and pause if there's an issue.

"The Ecosystem has multiple stages of checks to make sure the automation is working correctly," Horváth noted. "If a print fails, users can see the status of their prints on the dashboard in real time and can set up dashboard notifications to receive an SMS (text). There is also a camera that records a video and photo of the release for easier remote monitoring."

Formlabs claims the Automation Ecosystem can save manufacturers up to 80% on labor, lowering cost per part by 40%. The system is the latest in a long line of innovations since the company was launched in 2011. It previously found inspiration in truss bridges and trees to streamline build support scaffolding into Smart Supports, which take less time and material to print, reduce post-processing time, and enable better resin flow during printing. And the company's Draft Mode allows for printing a part more than twice as fast than with a standard resin.

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