In an era where offices are located in crowded city centers, New Lab proposed the concept of bringing all collaborating companies under one roof. Spanning 84,000 square feet in the historic Brooklyn Navy Yard, it houses over 100 member companies, including more than 500 designers, engineers, entrepreneurs, managers, and product specialists.
Under high arched ceilings and 40-ton cranes, New Lab echoes its predecessor, a factory once used to manufacture warships. Every day, its members change how companies approach prototyping and manufacturing processes. Robotics, IoT, blockchain, urban planning, and life sciences... new technologies fill every office, loft, and studio; and there are dedicated customer visit spaces that allow for 24/7 manufacturing of modules, testing, and rapid prototyping.
3D printing technology, as a unique hardware member, is responsible for providing flexible manufacturing solutions and bridging the digital divide, from design concept to physical model. Therefore, 3D printers become the core of rapid prototyping within the company, allowing every step to promote communication, on-site testing, and creativity.
3D Printing Solutions
"When Ultimaker joined New Lab, we provided 1.5 years of the latest professional desktop 3D printers and hundreds of spools of filament for member companies to use 24/7 for free," says Matt, Ultimaker's North America Community Director. New Lab aims to create a high-speed, concrete collaborative space to meet the immediate demands of members' projects.
\With overall manufacturing capability and quality improving, New Lab eschews high-cost, high-maintenance industrial FFF options for higher utilization and lower cost. "For members interested in 3D printing and planning to integrate it into their workflow, the barrier to entry is either that they think 3D printing can do anything, or that it can't meet their needs," says Alexander, New Lab's Director of Additive Manufacturing.
The best way to help people truly understand 3D printing is to let them try printing something; some industrial-only machines cannot accommodate this.
Today, New Lab's 3D printing room has 12 Ultimaker 3D printers available for all members across the entire facility. With these printers available day or night, the possibilities for innovation are limitless.
From Industrial Machines to Desktop
Desktop 3D printers replacing industrial machines is an emerging industry trend, with manufacturers, design firms, engineering companies, and educators using the same budget to replace expensive machines. As Marcel Baush, CEO of 10xBETA, points out, industrial machines may miss opportunities in critical rapid prototyping.
"With our Ultimaker, we can finally experiment with 3D printers. The initial goal of rapid prototyping is to get results in a day, rather than manufacturing expensive parts at each stage. When I print with SLS or industrial FFF, I feel that producing overly expensive parts is very precious, but I might only need to look at them for five minutes and then discard and update them. We would rather buy three more Ultimakers than an entry-level industrial machine costing nine thousand dollars." Marcel believes that professional desktop 3D printers can meet the team's practical prototyping needs.
Once he got into the habit of 3D printing, Tony Kauffmann, Product Development Engineer at Voltaic Systems, said that the Ultimaker easily became a powerful part of his production tools. "It definitely speeds things up, and it allows Voltaic to reduce the time hindering their back-and-forth between factories. The greater advantage is that it can improve product quality," Tony says.
Eric Furman, who runs a personal studio, stated that 3D printing has changed his perspective as a designer on producing things, as he believes that 3D printers like Ultimaker may improve other practical and functional tools. "Most of my prints are used to combine with other tools. When I combine interactive and responsive technologies with natural materials like wood, it's important that everything interacts and has purpose. 3D printing can bridge and bond different materials," Clerry said.
Eric also thinks, "Perhaps 3D printing would improve it?" Now he tends to prioritize 3D printing during the construction process. "Now I've expanded to using actual 3D printed parts in the final work as the material itself, and not just as an auxiliary," he said.
Similarly, Aya also developed crucial ideas about 3D printing, drawing inspiration from new tools as an agent for companies like SILO. He found how useful it is to create simulated models through sanding and finishing prints, which he can directly hand over to industrial designers for immediate feedback.
Prototype Improvement Accelerator
Among the tools provided by New Lab, Aya found desktop 3D printers to be the most valuable and approachable. "Ultimaker is a general prototyping tool. I have done a lot of research on desktop 3D printers, and as far as I know, Ultimaker is the best in the FFF category. Just using them allows you to create inspiration and have it in front of you, whether it's an hour or a day, which shows how helpful it is.
Looking ahead, rapid prototyping encourages members to consider the impact of these versatile technologies—whether through investing in personal equipment or expanding horizons with new tools. Compared to the cost barrier of expensive machines, fully functional 3D printers can already meet their needs.
Bridging the time-consuming and expensive gap between conception and manufacturing, these innovators have found that Ultimaker can flexibly improve their products. Their creativity and cross-company collaboration demonstrate the success of New Lab's new work environment. Spaces like New Lab open doors for many businesses to exchange ideas and accelerate production processes, offering opportunities for hardware companies with the ability to rapidly develop.
Original source: https://ultimaker.com/en/stories/52698-new-lab-innovators-print-their-way-to-faster-iterations-and-design-freedom