Austin-based 3D printing company Solid Prototype is now the first in the industry to offer next-day service, allowing anyone to take an idea from their mind and place it in their hands within a single day.
“Imagine having immediate access to discontinued parts for machinery, custom auto parts that don't exist in any catalog, or a prototype for an invention that's been crawling around in your brain. Now, you can have it tomorrow,” says Charles Barton, owner of Solid Prototype.
President Barack Obama, in his latest State of the Union Address, said this about 3D printing. “Our first priority is making America a magnet for new jobs and manufacturing. There are things we can do, right now, to accelerate this trend. Last year, we created our first manufacturing innovation institute in Ohio. A once-shuttered warehouse is now a state-of-the art lab where new workers are mastering the 3D printing that has the potential to revolutionize the way we make almost everything."
Most projects are on a time constraint and donʼt have the time to wait a week or more for necessary parts. Timing is the most important asset to a 3D printing company, as it is has the potential to cut manufacturing times to pieces. Solid Prototype provides their clients with a quote within a few hours, 3D prints their parts in either plastic or rubber (simultaneously, if needed), and then ships them directly within 24 hours nationwide. “Quality is equally as important as timing when it comes to ideas,” says Barton. Solid Prototype prints all their clientʼs parts at 16micron accuracy using Stratasys/Objet machines. Today, colleagues, customers, and investors alike can all tell the difference between an off-the-shelf part and a brittle, scratchy prototype. “Don't come up short with a part that looks cheap, instead fool them all with a functional replica”, replies Barton. Next-day service, engineering grade plastics, flexible rubber parts, full assembly printing, transparent materials, over-molding, seals and gaskets, and more. It seems that Solid Prototype has found the solution to the manufacturing problem the President just referenced.
