I know it's been a little while since I've put out a video. That's because we've been heads-down upgrading our production facility here in Fargo, and I'm really excited to finally show you what we've been working on.
The short version: we've added new high-speed extrusion lines, and we've installed two FEELO Prima automated spool winders, which I believe are among the first in North America.
That extra capacity and automation is exactly what made our new automatic quantity discounts possible. Buy 5 spools and save 5%. Buy 20 and save 10%. No code needed.
Here's a look behind the scenes.
One quick disclaimer before you look too closely: we're still in the middle of organizing everything while we keep production running. We're building the wings while we're in the air, so to speak. So yes, the floor is a lot messier than it normally would be. I promise it won't always look like this!
What's Running on the Floor
The day we filmed, we had lines 1 and 2 running Pro PCTG. Line 4 is up and running too. It just happened to be down the day we filmed, because of course it was.
The plastic gets melted in the extruder, pulled through a long cooling trough, and run past a length counter on its way to the winder. Same process as always, just more of it.
The big one is Line 5, one of our new high-speed lines, and we're very, very close to firing it up. Each high-speed line runs twice as fast as one of our regular lines. Once they're all running, we'll have far more than doubled our total production capacity.
What does that mean for you? Fewer stockouts, faster restocks, and more room to keep adding the colors and materials you keep asking for.
Meet the FEELO Prima
This is the part I've been waiting to show you.
The FEELO Prima is a fully automated spool winder, built in Italy. I've been talking with the FEELO team for two or three years while they developed it, and now that it's a proven, workable product, we were finally able to justify bringing two of them over. As far as I know, ours are among the first in North America.
On line 2, the filament comes off the length counter, bypasses our normal winder, and goes straight into the FEELO. From there, it handles the whole cycle on its own.
1. Wind the spool. Filament feeds through the winding head and lays down onto the spool, layer after layer.
2. Track the rotation. See that red light? That's how the machine knows exactly where the spool is in its rotation.
3. Tape the end. When the spool is full, it secures the end with a specially designed adhesive that won't leave any residue on your filament.
4. Swap spools. The full spool gets pushed back, and a new empty spool drops down into place. Another light finds the new spool's rotational position so the machine can line it up perfectly.
5. Thread and go. The filament threads right through the inner hole of the new spool, and it starts winding again. We trim off the start and the tail afterward.
(Fair warning if you ever visit: I kept accidentally tripping the safety sensors while filming because I got too close. It's very serious about keeping people out of the way.)
Where the empty spools come from
The empty spools wait in storage columns on the side of the machine. When a changeover happens, the next spool rolls out, gravity tips it up, and a little elevator lifts it to the winding head.
My favorite part: the track lines up each spool mechanically. No crazy sensors, nothing fragile, nothing that's going to go wrong at 3 AM. Just good, simple engineering.
I have to say, we're very, very happy with how they've been performing, especially for a brand-new machine (one of ours is serial number 004!). When you're running production 24 hours a day, this is the kind of thing that pays for itself pretty quickly. And honestly, I'm not sure our operators are going to want to go back to changing spools by hand.
What This Means for You
You'll see a new spool. The FEELO uses a slightly different spool design. If you get one in your next order, it was almost certainly wound on the automated winder. And no, there's no notch on this one. It's fully compatible with the Bambu Lab AMS. You can find the details on all of our spools here.
You'll pay less when you stock up. All of this efficiency is what made our new automatic quantity discounts possible: 5% off 5+ spools and 10% off 20+ spools. Mix and match any material and color. Get the full details here.
You'll get more of the filament you rely on. More lines and more automation mean we can keep up with demand while still designing, making, and shipping everything ourselves, right here in Fargo, North Dakota.
Thank You
None of this happens without you. Every order you've placed with 3D-Fuel helped pay for these upgrades, and I'm really proud to be able to pass some of that back to you through better pricing.
We've got a lot more coming, and I can't wait to show you the high-speed lines once they're up and running.
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Happy Printing!
— John
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