3D Printer Farm: How We Use 40+ Printers to Produce Customized Products in Small Batches
3D Printer Farm: How We Use 40+ Printers to Produce Customized Products in Small Batches
3D Printer Farm: Why We Need Over 40 Printers to Be Fast
An honest insight into our production capacity and how a 3D printer farm is key to personalized small-batch products.
Our 3D Printer Farm in Graz: Over 40 FDM printers running simultaneously for your orders.
What is the most common misconception about 3D printing? That it's fast. When someone places a personalized order for the first time, they often think: printer on, finished ten minutes later. The reality is different. A single cookie cutter with an individual design takes about 20 minutes to produce. A more elaborate object, like an anatomical heart as a decorative vessel, takes over 4 hours to print.
And yet we deliver orders of 50, 100, or 500 pieces in just a few days. How do we do it? With a 3D printer farm.
What is a 3D Printer Farm?
A 3D printer farm is a production facility with multiple 3D printers running in parallel. Instead of operating a single printer that produces objects one after another, many machines run simultaneously in a farm. The principle is simple: what one printer can do in 20 minutes, 40 printers can do 40 times over in 20 minutes.
At Biocraftlab in Graz, we currently operate over 40 FDM printers simultaneously, including two large-format printers with a build volume of over one cubic meter, one of which is a pellet printer for particularly large objects. This infrastructure allows us to cover everything from single custom orders to small series production in-house.
Parallel production: While one printer is printing your cookie cutter, the next orders are already running on the other machines.
Why do you even need a 3D printer farm?
FDM printing is a layer-by-layer process. The print head moves layer by layer, line by line. This can only be accelerated to a limited extent without compromising quality. Faster print heads, larger nozzles, optimized slicer settings: All of this helps, but none of these tricks double throughput as efficiently as a second printer.
- 50 cookie cutters = ~17 hours
- Delivery time: several days
- No parallel orders possible
- Failure = production stop
- 50 cookie cutters = ~20 minutes in parallel
- Delivery time: 1–3 days
- Multiple orders simultaneously
- Printer failure is not a problem
Then there's redundancy: if a printer in a farm fails, production continues. In a single-printer operation, a technical problem means a complete shutdown. For us, it means that 39 other machines simply continue working.
How our 3D printer farm works
From inquiry to finished order, we have a structured process that our farm infrastructure makes possible:
Design & Preparation
Either you provide a ready-made file (STL, STEP, OBJ), or we create the 3D design according to your briefing. Logo, company name, individual shape, everything is possible. Find out more on our 3D Printing Service page.
Slicing & Print Preparation
The model is optimized for printing: layer height, infill, supports, print parameters. A one-time process for series products, then reusable for all printers.
Parallel Production on the Farm
The file is distributed to multiple printers. All run simultaneously. Depending on the quantity and print time, an order of 100 pieces can be ready in a few hours.
Quality Control
Every part is checked. Misprints go into our recycling facility and are processed into new filament. Zero-waste approach from the start.
Shipping
Finished products are packaged and shipped throughout Austria and internationally. Optionally with individual packaging or branding.
What we produce with our 3D printer farm
The farm is not limited to one product category. This is one of the main advantages of additive manufacturing: We switch between completely different products without retooling times or tooling costs.
With company logo, name, or individual design. Popular as promotional items, employee gifts, and in museum shops.
Precise molds for food and cosmetic products, customized according to your specifications, also for special shapes and complex geometries.
Custom trophies and awards made from sustainable plastic, from 1 piece to large series.
Personalized giveaways for trade fairs, events, and employee gifts. Sustainable and memorable.
Unique designs from modern to playful, also as corporate gifts with individual branding.
With our 1 m³ pellet printer, we can realize projects that no other local provider can print.
Sustainability in the 3D Printer Farm
A farm of 40+ printers sounds like a lot of resource consumption. Our approach is the opposite. We exclusively use biodegradable PLA from renewable resources or recycled rPET and rPLA filament. Misfired prints and support material are shredded in our own recycling facility and processed into new filament.
In addition, there is regional production in Graz: short transport routes, local value creation, no container imports from the Far East. Those who order from us receive a product from Styria.
Frequently Asked Questions about the 3D Printer Farm
From how many units is an order from your 3D printer farm worthwhile?
From just one unit. The farm gives us the flexibility to economically produce even single pieces. Tiered pricing starts at approximately 20 units.
How long does delivery of a small series of 100 units take?
Depending on product size and complexity, typically 3–7 business days including design coordination. Faster for simple standard products with a finished file.
Can I submit my own 3D design?
Yes, we accept STL, STEP, and OBJ files. We check printability and provide feedback if adjustments are needed.
What happens to misprints from the farm?
All misprints and waste go into our recycling facility and are processed into new filament. Nothing goes to waste.
Does Biocraftlab also offer large-format 3D printing?
Yes. With our 1 m³ pellet printer and our XXL filament printer, we also produce large objects in one piece – a service that hardly any other regional provider covers.
Your Project on our 3D Printer Farm
From the first draft to the finished small series. We accompany you from 3D design to delivery – sustainable, regional, fast.
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