Vancouver’s 3DQue has set a new record for the 3D printing industry.
The entrepreneurship@UBC incubated startup printed 897 parts in 1,000 hours straight, autonomously, non-stop, for five days.
Before this achievement, a 3D printing farm would take approximately five weeks to print the same amount of parts. Without 3DQue’s innovative solution, the printing technician has to regularly oversee the equipment and work on repetitive, time-consuming, manual tasks.
3DQue is changing the manufacturing industry by delivering complex sustainably-sourced plastic parts at scale faster than injection molding at a lower cost than traditional 3D printing. 3DQue’s automation innovation allows for leaner production, less waste and local manufacturing. Their 3D continuous printing technology is driving change in the 3D printing industry.
Over a period of five days, 3DQue technicians had to change the filament and check the print beds for no more than three hours in total. The printers did the rest. “Our operating hours were of a total of 1.5 hours to change filament and 1.25 hours to adjust clogged nozzles. This means we don’t need to babysit our printers all day and night, just adjust a few things once in a while”, clarifies Mateo Pekic, 3DQue co-founder and Chief of Innovation.
3DQue’s exclusive Qsuite software is an essential piece of the solution that allows for continuous printing. “It includes a diagnostic tool that finds any issues with a printer and reallocates the job to another working equipment that has the correct filament. All fully remotely”, explains Mateo Pekic.
When printers can run for 24 hours straight, impressive print volumes can be achieved, an ability that has proven to be crucial during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
“This technology has allowed us to continue our high-volume production without having to be physically there. Especially, as you can’t expect employees to be resetting printers and scraping off parts 24 hours of the day with the current physical distancing guidelines in place”, confirms Stephanie Sharp, co-founder and CEO of 3DQue.
After reaching this milestone, 3DQue’s team is hard at work to release their technology to 3D printing enthusiasts and power users to use it at home.
Co-founded by Sharp and Pekic, 3DQue entered entrepreneurship@UBC’s venture creation program in 2019.
Through market validation training, leveraging the practical expertise of industry experts and access to the Hatch Makerspace, 3DQue were able to take their innovation from idea to commercialization in less than 6 months.