The main reason we went with
Formlabs for SLS
is because they have
a fantastic reputation.
We know that their customer
service is good
and also we've seen
lots of sample parts
and we know the quality is amazing.
So we thought
if we can start delivering parts
like these to our customers,
then it's just going to take off
and they're going to be thrilled.
FLEX 3D are able to offer
not only 3D printing services,
but also CAD design, reverse
engineering and consultation as well.
A lot of people have designs
and they want to 3D print them
even in mass production,
and the design is just not suited
to 3D printing at all.
So taking our experience
and sitting down with the customer
and saying,
if you make these tweaks,
things get cheaper,
the quality gets better,
it's really valuable
and we try and give
that as much as we can
with new customers.
Typically, we're asked
to produce prototypes
for products
that will
then be injection moulded
or produced some other way.
Often customers come back to us
and say they didn't
expect the prototype to look so good,
and they ask for quotes
for batch production.
And then that's actually
what we're really aiming
for, is batch production
of end use products,
or at least parts,
to go into assemblies in a commercial
or industrial environment.
Initially we went with FDM printing
just because the barrier to entry
is really low
and the materials
that you're using aren't messy,
they're not smelly,
and the post-processing
can just be done
in a domestic environment.
So that's why we went with FDM.
One of the key limitations
that we kept running into with FDM
3D printing is the reliability.
We'd find that prints would warp,
prints would fail,
and the end
finish and colour of the parts
might vary
between printer or
brand of filament.
And this made it very difficult
to offer a professional service.
We went with the Fuse 1+ 30W,
and we loaded that up with PA
12 Nylon,
which made the most sense
for us for the applications
that we’re going to be producing
parts for.
We went for the full Blast
and Sift combo workflow as well,
which makes the post-processing
super, super easy
and keeps our professional quality
up of the parts that we're providing.
Bringing SLS
in-house has
meant that we can increase
our turnaround time on SLS parts.
Previously,
we had manufacturing partners
that we'd work with.
But our margins on top of their prices
were super high
and the lead times
were just insanely long.
And so for us to now be offering
two day
turnarounds on such industrial
parts is fantastic.
People sometimes will need
a replacement
Nylon gear for a machine,
and while that machine's down,
it's costing their business money.
So if we can turn it around
in two days, we've saved that
customer loads of money.
So that turnaround time is key
for us, it's
been a really valuable USP.
Most of our customers
actually didn't need SLS
and that's why they used us
in the first place.
But we've blown a few of them away
by just sending a sample
print of their normally
FDM printed product in SLS,
and they just had no idea
these things were even possible
with 3D printing.
So it's put us into a new league
where we can approach larger companies
and blow away our
existing customer base.
We found that the support
from Solid Print3D
was more than just a reseller.
They clearly run
the machines themselves.
They have them set up.
They've got lots of experience.
So when we have specific questions,
they're really able to help.
In fact,
when we were setting up
our air compressor,
we had an issue where we couldn't
find this quick release valve.
And I just called up one of the guys
and they already knew
exactly this problem,
and they just sent me a link
and I ordered it arrived the next day.
So it's really helpful
to have people who've gone
through the same problems
that we're going to run into,
especially when you bring
in a new technology,
because it can be a bit scary.