Seattle-based on-demand manufacturer Quickparts.com Inc. adopted new manufacturing technologies to offer same-day shipping of 3D printed parts.
The company partnered with Ventura, Calif.-based Nexa3D, which makes 3D printers it says can deliver productivity gains of up to 20 times faster, to launch its new service called Quickparts Express.
The service aims to set industry-leading turnaround times for 3D printed, computer numerically controlled machined and injection molded custom parts.
Most 3D printing orders generally took five business days before parts shipped, according to Quickparts Chief Revenue Officer Sal Mikel.
"Right now with our express service we're offering same-day shipping. If ordered before our cutoff time, your parts ship that same day," Mikel said in a phone interview.
He added that he doesn't know of any other company offering same-day shipping.
"Some competitors are doing two day, or for certain parts they can do next day, but no one is doing same day. That's a significant improvement of our own standard and the rest of the market," Mikel said.
One of the new technologies, Nexa3D's lubricant sublayer photo-curing (LSPc) technology, makes quicker turnaround times possible, according to Nexa3D Chief Marketing Officer Nina Swienton.
"Nexa3D was founded on the premise of digitizing supply chains sustainably by making ultrafast polymer 3D printers accessible to professionals and businesses of all sizes," Swienton said in a news release. "We are thrilled to partner with Quickparts to further expand access to our industry-leading technology and at the same time deliver 3D printing services faster than ever before."
In addition to 3D printing, Quickparts Express uses conventional manufacturing processes to deliver custom parts and prototypes.
For CNC parts, which generally take five to seven business days, Quickparts is offering two-day shipping.
"We believe we can keep improving that offering in the next few months," Mikel said.
For injection molded parts, most new tools take four to six weeks.
"You send them to China to get them set up and then you get the first parts six weeks later," Mikel said. "We brought that down to five days. This is a combination of speed and doing five-day tools domestically in the U.S. We're removing all the supply chain disruption that has been going on."