Shapeways’ Tetris Process

shapeways, printer, tetrisOur visit to Shapeways Factory of the Future revealed a fascinating technique they use to produce your objects. You might assume they take your order and then simply print it on one of their big machines. This is hardly the case, as they have to ensure the most efficient use of those big boys in the back room.

Their goal is to run the printers flat out with a build chamber completely full of objects. They do this by mixing everyone’s objects together in a print operation. They carefully “Tetris” dozens or even hundreds of objects together in the build volume, much like you’d see attendants parking cars on a ferry. There is very little space between the objects.

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