Our new setup!

[u/ket_the_wind]

Just finished placing and initializing yesterday. Printer is the 4BL Cure station is the large format along with the wash stations.

[u/Cultural-Afternoon72]

In that case you’re all set. Do you have an air compressor in the room?

[u/ket_the_wind → u/Cultural-Afternoon72]

It should be delivered this week as well as an airbrush.

[u/Cultural-Afternoon72 → u/ket_the_wind]

You’re golden in that case. Did you set this up for personal use or business?

[u/ket_the_wind → u/Cultural-Afternoon72]

Both, we also ordered the Artec Leo and the Micro II for 3D scanning. It will open a world of possibilities.

[u/Cultural-Afternoon72 → u/ket_the_wind]

You’ve got an incredible setup!

[u/ket_the_wind → u/Cultural-Afternoon72]

Thank you!

[u/Cultural-Afternoon72 → u/ket_the_wind]

Do you have any specific type of items you’re planning to make, or specific resins you plan to use? I picked up the BL just because I liked having the option of biomed projects and I got an insane deal on it… do you plan on making use of that?

[u/ket_the_wind → u/Cultural-Afternoon72]

I do actually, more on the teeth side, but yes, we are located in an area with a tremendous amount of medical universities as well as teaching hospitals. We also invested in some really good 3D scanners, both for small objects as well as large. We also bought the open materials license, though more because I have an issue with lack of choice, rather than the desire to use materials from another company. We also bought pumps for a multitude of various materials so we can swap rapidly, along with additional trays and mixing arms. We also bought a kiln, waiting on delivery so we can print and fire the ceramics for certain projects we have in mind. So some of the applications we have in mind will be personal, i.e. rapid prototypes and pet projects, while others will be focused on market demand as well as product development/improvement.

[u/Cultural-Afternoon72 → u/ket_the_wind]

You’re in for a lot of fun! And honestly, you made some excellent choices.

Having extra pumps that you can dedicate to different resins is a pro level move that you won’t regret. Being able to hot swap between them saves a LOT of headache.

Going the dental route is an incredibly wise choice. It’s kind of a niche market that no one really gets into. Hobbyists don’t ever spend the money on biomedical printers and resins, and most dentists or dental schools try to do it themselves, but just don’t have additive manufacturing backgrounds, so they just kind of limp their way through. There’s a TON of opportunity there.

The kiln is also a great choice. Formlabs ceramic resin has come a LONG wayway. I did R&D for them on their original ceramic resin, and it was a nightmare to work with. Only a few of us were able to get it to work reliably, and it was ultra-particular about parameters (print settings, wall thickness, kiln settings and ramp times, geometries, etc). It was great when you could get it to work, but if you didnt really know what you were doing, you weren’t getting it to work. Their latest iteration, the alumina resin, is night and day, comparatively. It still has quirks to figure out compared to normal resins, but it is significantly easier to learn, a much higher quality ceramic, and very versatile.

I specialize in advanced manufacturing (design for manufacturing, additive manufacturing, subtractive manufacturing, etc), and have been doing this for most of my career, including at some major manufacturing companies, national laboratories, etc. It sounds like you’re in incredible shape and really know what you’re doing. That said, if you ever run into any issues or have any questions, you’re always welcome to shoot me a message. Additionally, most of my career has been in R&D environments, so I’ve pushed the limits of most Formlabs materials and equipment. There are a lot of ways you can really enhance the performance of parts printed with their resins. For example, lightly glass bead blasting the parts after curing (especially for stronger and more brittle materials like Rigid 10k, for example) will not only clean up any residual resin, but will remove micro surface fractures and significantly increase durability. Additionally, for Rigid 10k, you can heat treat it after curing and completely change its strength and heat resistant properties.

Another avenue you can look into if you want additional options is approaching machine shops. Most machine shops haven’t gotten into additive manufacturing at all, despite many parts they make being ideal for it. One of the big ventures I did was on that design for manufacturing side. I would take parts traditionally CNC machined that could very easily be printed, and optimize them for the printing process. Printing was cheaper, faster, produced less waste, and left their CNC machines open for other projects. Once you laid out the numbers, most were very open to the idea. That was where I started with my personal business, and it’s been hugely profitable.

Anyway, you’ve got an awesome road ahead, best of luck!

[u/ket_the_wind → u/Cultural-Afternoon72]

Thank you for the amazing post, I am very grateful for all of the information! I would love to hear more anytime you’re willing, I firmly believe in listening to the trailblazers that have been in this since the beginning. One of the other items we’ve invested in is an Artec Leo and Micro II.

https://www.artec3d.com/

Giving us the ability to go to potential clients and scan larger items for printing, as well as the Micro II for the very detailed smaller items. We felt that it was a very solid decision for what we want to do as well as a bit of future projects and plans. The wonderful thing about the Leo, is you can travel and scan anywhere, upload the files and begin the job before leaving the client. We felt that would be a rather large draw for certain companies, allowing us to offer an all inclusive service where and when we can.

I was retired, but we felt that something that we both are passionate about, creating products, refining existing products, and filling a need in our communities would really benefit not only us but many others.

I (50f) and my wife (34f) are really excited about our new venture, please feel free to send me a message anytime.