Netherlands-based life sciences lab tools producer AFYS3G has built-in 3D printer producer BigRep‘s large-format 3D printing to boost flexibility and cut back manufacturing prices.
The corporate makes a speciality of instruments that deal with and observe organic samples, corresponding to units for labeling labware, scanning barcodes, thawing specimens, and mixing or heating samples. In response to Harry Epping, Manufacturing Course of Engineer at AFYS3G, AM supplied a sensible various to conventional manufacturing.
“We wanted a large-format 3D printer to create housings for tools. We didn’t wish to spend money on giant quantities of tooling like die casting, injection molding, or vacuum molding. So we thought 3D printing could be a superb various.”
Leveraging the BigRep STUDIO for Finish-Use Manufacturing
AFYS3G chosen the BigRep STUDIO for its mixture of enormous construct capability, security options, and dependable half high quality. Its 1000 x 500 x 500 mm construct quantity permits the manufacturing of full-size housings with out requiring intensive ground area. The printer’s closed construct envelope and BOFA air filtration system guarantee secure operation and compliance with well being requirements by the usage of HEPA filters that purify the air earlier than launch.
Utilizing BigRep’s HI-TEMP filament, AFYS3G manufactures robust, dimensionally secure elements with minimal warping that, after sanding, filling, and portray, are akin to injection-molded or die-cast elements. With BigRep CONNECT, engineers can remotely monitor print progress, entry analytics, and enhance workflows. The ensuing productiveness beneficial properties led the corporate to accumulate a second BigRep STUDIO to satisfy rising demand and cut back bottlenecks brought on by lengthy print cycles.
Every 3D printed element undergoes a trial meeting to make sure precision earlier than post-processing. For instance, AFYS3G’s Labware Marking System housing is absolutely 3D printed and verified for proper alignment and match earlier than ending. Exterior surfaces obtain tailor-made finishes—from matte coatings to high-gloss therapies—whereas inside elements are strengthened and minimally processed with inserts added for mechanical stability. This technique balances perform, aesthetics, and manufacturing effectivity and produces housings practically indistinguishable from these made by injection molding, die casting, or vacuum forming.
By integrating 3D printing, AFYS3G has lowered lead occasions from months to weeks, minimized tooling bills, and gained the power to quickly prototype and iterate designs. The 3D printed elements additionally obtain the specified strength-to-weight ratio. “We use 3D printing for nearly all the pieces. If there’s a chance to 3D print elements, we are going to all the time take the chance,” stated Epping.
Advancing Analysis and Manufacturing By 3D Printing
Throughout the life sciences and educational sectors, establishments are more and more adopting 3D printing to enhance flexibility, cut back prices, and speed up analysis and improvement.
In October, Florida Worldwide College (FIU) acquired a WarpSPEE3D metallic 3D printer from Australian metallic 3D printer producer SPEE3D. The machine will function a centerpiece at FIU’s Chilly Spray and Speedy Deposition (ColRAD) Laboratory, situated inside the Division of Mechanical and Supplies Engineering on the School of Engineering and Computing (EC) campus. The acquisition strengthens FIU’s capabilities in chilly spray additive manufacturing (CSAM) and helps its objective of advancing analysis in large-scale metallic and composite supplies.
In 2024, the College of Birmingham acquired Prima Additive’s Print Genius 150 Double Wavelength (DW) metallic 3D printer. This printer is getting used for the analysis of novel supplies, encompassing functionally graded supplies, refractory metals, treasured supplies, and copper and its alloys.
By a Strategic Tools Grant from the Engineering and Bodily Sciences Analysis Council (EPSRC), the college secured funding to accumulate this method. This technique was deployed on the college’s Superior Supplies & Processing Laboratory (AMPLab), located inside the Faculty of Metallurgy and Supplies. Functioning as a nationwide facility, the system is now accessible to researchers from each academia and business throughout the UK.
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Featured picture exhibits Harry Epping, Manufacturing Course of Engineer at AFYS3G, with a post-processed 3D printed lab tools housing. Photograph by way of BigRep.
