The Headwaters of Innovation
Itasca State Park contains the Headwaters of the Mississippi River and is located in Minnesota.
United States geography aficionados recognize Minnesota as the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Tourists travel to Itasca State Park, 210 miles northwest of our offices, to step across a 30-foot span of rocks at one end of Lake Itasca — the origin of the mighty Mississippi. There, a signpost states that, 1,475 feet above the ocean, this great waterway begins to flow on its winding way 2,552 miles to the Gulf of Mexico.
By the time it reaches Minneapolis at Saint Anthony Falls, its flow rate has multiplied from 6 cubic feet per second to about 2,000 times that, and it spans 400 feet. It then merges with more rivers, and by the time it exits into the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi’s flow rate has increased another 50 times. It now reaches spans of several miles across.
A few years ago, at Chromatic, we took inspiration from the Mississippi and decided that one of our core values was to be, as we like to say, at the headwaters of innovation. What we mean by this is that we, as technology developers, recognize that our innovations are just the beginning. Our customers then integrate our tech into their own processes and products. Like the Mississippi’s headwaters at Lake Itasca, the impact of RX-AM™ builds, deepening and broadening as our customers use it.
Core Value: Partnering with Customers
To live out this core value, we commit to partnering with our customers as they implement our technology in their respective markets and industries. Many of our customers do not begin their journey with a printer but rather with a development program. These range in length from one-month efforts to programs that last multiple years. We scope out milestones that assist all parties — Chromatic, the customer and the customer stakeholders — in making decisions about feasibility, program costs and implementation timelines.
For example, we have one customer who is evaluating Chromatic-made parts as a sacrificial casting mold in a large fabrication process. The parts need to dissipate static discharge. Together, we identified the risks: printability (the casting mold was a large 40-centimeter-by-30-centimeter part), resin suitability and production. In the first phase, we worked with the customer to iterate on the part design and printing process to confirm that additive manufacturing is feasible. They confirmed that the prototypes met the design requirements in their process. Next, we developed a resin that met their static dissipation requirements and printed the part with the new resin. In the last phase, we will develop a process as well as pricing and supply to meet their production needs.
Collaborative Development Process
Development processes like these are collaborations. It’s possible that this customer could develop the part and materials independently by purchasing a printer. However, through a joint development process, we can move to a solution more quickly and more cost effectively. Our engineers and chemists work closely with theirs, combining our additive manufacturing know-how with our partners’ application, process and product-requirements expertise. We are forthcoming about our business objectives and theirs.
In the spirit of our headwaters-of-innovation core value, we partner to produce the parts and achieve the development milestones that will impress decision makers. Through these partnerships, we turn the stream of 3D printing into a massive river of manufacturing disruption. Today, with our partners, we are already transforming medical devices, aerospace, transportation, energy and consumer goods. We greet each new opportunity to partner, develop and transform with enthusiasm. We invite you to step across the rocks with us.
