Additive manufacturing and automation are two trends pushing the manufacturing to grow in leaps and bounds, and together present enormous potential for increasing productivity, improving sustainability, and enabling new innovations in the way we make things.
The Formlabs Automation Ecosystem is comprised of a Formlabs SLA printer with Build Platform 2’s patented Quick Release Technology, the Form Auto hardware extension, and the High Volume Resin System. These components work together to nearly eliminate necessary printer interactions, freeing up users’ time for higher value tasks.
Formlabs user Mackart Additive, an engineering and manufacturing sub-contract facility based in Staffordshire, England that works with Formula 1 teams, touts the ability of the Form Auto to create a ‘third shift,’ of overnight part production. “With the Form Auto, you get that third and weekend shift going, and you don’t have to plan swapovers or any changes of build platforms. It runs nicely and it’s great for small components, and mid-size batch production runs of up to 1000 parts and beyond,” says Mackart Additive managing director and founder Steven McCarthy.
