Approximately 30-40% of food in the United States goes to waste, adding up to over 60 million tons annually. STOR, a Colorado-based startup with a mission to help kitchens keep food fresh for longer, is looking to change that.
Using Formlabs stereolithography (SLA) 3D printers in-house helped STOR develop their first prototypes fast, but with the added capacity provided through Form Now, STOR has been able to expand into selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printing and new materials. With Form Now, they’ve been able to launch a second, larger product for commercial kitchens while keeping costs low and their iterative cycle going at warp speed.
“Form Now definitely helps us work faster. In terms of helping us break into new product categories, the fact that it lets us try new materials and methods so quickly has been huge.” Baker Logan, Lead Engineer at STOR
From Consumer to Commercial Solution
The STOR MiniMAP™ (left), next to prototypes of the commercial kitchen solution that the design team is currently prototyping through Form Now with the Fuse Series (right).
STOR’s first product is a consumer-grade device that can turn ordinary food storage containers into Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) devices. The handheld device extends the lifetime of the perishables within the container by removing oxygen — oxidation is the main culprit for food ‘going bad’ or developing rotten spots. STOR develops both the handheld device and the customized container lids that the device fits onto.
Both parts required extensive prototyping, and the STOR team leveraged the Formlabs Form 4 SLA 3D printer for Clear Resin lid prototypes, molds for silicone gaskets, and Grey Resin for the wand prototypes, before eventually moving to injection molding for final production.
A Clear Resin prototype next to the eventual injection molded product with silicone gasket.
For commercial kitchen solutions, STOR needed more engineering development to create a bigger, more complex product that could move around kitchens, be easy to use, and, maybe more importantly, easy to clean. Baker Logan was brought on as Lead Engineer to develop this second major product category.
“We had the Form 4 and FDM printers at that point, but to develop a bigger, more complex product, we needed to have other options,” says Logan. With limited floorspace in their engineering area, Logan and the development team looked for a familiar solution that could scale up.
“For developing the larger product, we went straight to Form Now and SLS.” - Baker Logan, Lead Engineer at STOR
Why Use Form Now SLS?
The large build volume of the Fuse Series enables the STOR team to prototype large enclosures like this one for the battery packs for their larger commercial kitchen device.
The STOR team was already familiar and happy with the Formlabs workflow — at least, for their prototyping needs for the smaller, consumer product. But when it came to developing something bigger that could be wheeled around a commercial kitchen, dealing with the wear and tear of busy staff, Logan knew they needed something a bit more rugged.
“SLA would probably be fine, but the parts are a bit more brittle with a lot of supports. SLS with Form Now is just easier — the cost is great, and it’s so much simpler for a big part without all the post-processing,” Logan says.
The Fuse Series footprint, while still miles more accessible than most powder bed technology systems, does require about 100 sq feet of floor space and its own electrical circuit. For a fast-moving startup used to the desktop Form 4 and bench-top Form 4L, the infrastructure investment and cost weren’t worth it. “We had just purchased the Form 4L, and if we can get parts within a few business days anyway, we don’t need to have the Fuse Series in-house,” says Logan.
Ease of Use, Peace of Mind
Molds for thermoforming printed in High Temp Resin through Form Now
STOR has a product that could make a big impact on a serious problem, but they’re still a young, relatively small company. They have to operate as a lean, agile tech startup, despite working in the food industry — a notoriously slow-moving, hard-to-change area. Chefs are infamously reluctant to adopt new technologies, even when they could be saving money and keeping food fresher for longer.
STOR’s tools, therefore, have to be easy to use and stress-free. Form Now is just the answer they were looking for, Logan says. “You upload your file, choose the materials and quantities, and press go. It’s definitely fast and easy, especially being familiar with the Formlabs ecosystem already.”
Investing in a Fuse Series printer in-house could introduce another headache besides maintenance — the pressure to get a quick ROI. As of right now, STOR is printing large SLS parts only about once a week. In the interim days, the parts are tested on the full commercial set-up, re-designed, and discussed. There’s simply not enough volume to justify a Fuse Series printer sitting idle six days a week. “Even going through a design sprint for a new feature on the commercial wand, we’ll only be sending out parts about once a week,” says Logan.
Form Now Makes Material Options Easy
Prototype in Tough 2000 V2 Resin (left), next to final metal part (right)
Form Now doesn’t just make the process easier; it expands access to the full Formlabs materials library of over 25 unique materials. STOR can prototype in an industrial, end-use material that prepares them for production planning. “The nylon material is interesting to us because that’s fairly similar to what the final product will be, and it’s not as brittle as SLA materials,” says Logan.
Being able to iteratively prototype in a nylon material for battery cases and the wand portion of the device means there’s less redesign work they have to do when thinking about production in mass quantities.
They also use Form Now to try out new SLA materials, rather than purchase a new resin and resin tank for Form 4 or Form 4L, without being totally sure it will work for their needs. “For making molds for vacuum forming, the High Temp Resin is expensive to buy and we don’t need that much of it, so Form Now makes more sense for mold prints,” says Logan.
While in-house they rely on Clear Resin, Tough 2000 Resin, and Grey Resin, Form Now gives STOR the ability to try out a range of different mechanical properties with no risk.
“Form Now gives us the ability to test materials and other manufacturing methods without having to buy the materials ourselves. We know they know how to print with each material and it’s reliable, high-quality results. Time is a premium, and we don’t have to spend time on trial and error in-house.” - Baker Logan, Lead Engineer at STOR
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