I was captivated when I saw my first Robot Factory 3D printer. The robust, precise machine was built to last. And this was in an era of very flimsy, disposable, non-working 3D printers. Here was a well-made, Italian-made, 3D printer that was beautiful and built like a machine tool. I’ve always loved their stereolithography (SLA) and material extrusion systems. Founded by Andrea Martini in 2006, the Mirano, Venice-based company makes bench-top injection molding equipment and 3D printers.
The company got started making fun robotics learning tools for kids, then made CNC machines before expanding into 3D printers and injection molding. We asked Andrea about Robot Factory and how the company has evolved. First, it’s rather surprising to find that now the company has a product line in injection molding. So, why the focus on injection molding?
It stems from customers’ requests for very small parts with very high resolution and very fast lead times. This was not possible with any type of 3D printing, only with injection molding.
“Although 3D printing has revolutionized prototyping and low-volume production, it becomes less efficient when producing large quantities of small parts with precise, uniform details. Printing each component individually is time-consuming, and production speed quickly becomes a limiting factor as volumes increase. Injection Molding offers a practical solution to this challenge. Once a mold is available, it allows for the rapid production of thousands of identical parts, with excellent surface quality and repeatable precision. This makes it particularly suitable for small components, where consistency and efficiency are essential,” says Andrea.
Yes, we sometimes get caught up in our 3D printing world. And in many cases, injection molding is far away in China, and it’s easy to see it as low-cost but inefficient. Robot Factory, however, has a bench-top pneumatic injection molding unit that lets you turn 3D printed inserts into quick series in a small space.
Andrea goes on to tell us, “Injection Molding is one of the most widespread and scalable manufacturing processes in modern industry. For a company like Robot Factory, which operates in the field of robotics and automation, Injection Molding represents an ideal environment in which robots, automated handling systems, and intelligent production cells can significantly improve productivity, quality, and repeatability. The first approach was to develop a very simple, easy-to-use system accessible to any laboratory, wherever a simple desk was available to house the system, with a small, simple, and inexpensive air compressor.”
I really like this approach to building a system that could be very compact yet reliable to use.
Oleodynamic Injection Molding.
“This pneumatic system represented the first step towards democratizing Injection Molding. Powered by compressed air, it can handle volumes up to 32 cm³ with an injection fo
I was captivated when I saw my first Robot Factory 3D printer. The robust, precise machine was built to last. And this was in an era of very flimsy, disposable, non-working 3D printers. Here was a well-made, Italian-made, 3D printer that was beautiful and built like a machine tool. I’ve always loved their stereolithography (SLA) and material extrusion systems. Founded by Andrea Martini in 2006, the Mirano, Venice-based company makes bench-top injection molding equipment and 3D printers.
The company got started making fun robotics learning tools for kids, then made CNC machines before expanding into 3D printers and injection molding. We asked Andrea about Robot Factory and how the company has evolved. First, it’s rather surprising to find that now the company has a product line in injection molding. So, why the focus on injection molding?
It stems from customers’ requests for very small parts with very high resolution and very fast lead times. This was not possible with any type of 3D printing, only with injection molding.
“Although 3D printing has revolutionized prototyping and low-volume production, it becomes less efficient when producing large quantities of small parts with precise, uniform details. Printing each component individually is time-consuming, and production speed quickly becomes a limiting factor as volumes increase. Injection Molding offers a practical solution to this challenge. Once a mold is available, it allows for the rapid production of thousands of identical parts, with excellent surface quality and repeatable precision. This makes it particularly suitable for small components, where consistency and efficiency are essential,” says Andrea.
Yes, we sometimes get caught up in our 3D printing world. And in many cases, injection molding is far away in China, and it’s easy to see it as low-cost but inefficient. Robot Factory, however, has a bench-top pneumatic injection molding unit that lets you turn 3D printed inserts into quick series in a small space.
Andrea goes on to tell us, “Injection Molding is one of the most widespread and scalable manufacturing processes in modern industry. For a company like Robot Factory, which operates in the field of robotics and automation, Injection Molding represents an ideal environment in which robots, automated handling systems, and intelligent production cells can significantly improve productivity, quality, and repeatability. The first approach was to develop a very simple, easy-to-use system accessible to any laboratory, wherever a simple desk was available to house the system, with a small, simple, and inexpensive air compressor.”
I really like this approach to building a system that could be very compact yet reliable to use.
Oleodynamic Injection Molding.
“This pneumatic system represented the first step towards democratizing Injection Molding. Powered by compressed air, it can handle volumes up to 32 cm³ with an injection fo