BigRep - Large-Format 3D Printers

A client calls with a bizarre, high-detail request and a brutal deadline. You have three choices: outsource it and pray the supplier doesn't delay you, piece it together on a small desktop printer, or just say no. Britten, Inc. doesn’t say "No". For 40 years, this Michigan fabrication shop relied on traditional tools like CNC routers and foam carving. But when client designs pushed beyond what traditional tools could cleanly cut, they brought large-format 3D printing in-house with the BigRep ONE. 💡 The impact was immediate: ✅ No more outsourcing delays: They started printing massive, 24-inch clear light globes as a single, seamless piece. No seams, no post-processing, straight to assembly. ✅ Floor efficiency: Engineers now print custom shop fixtures in-house instead of wasting hours hunting for specific hardware parts outside. 🛠️ Today, about 50% of the sculptures Britten produces involve 3D printing. Moving this capability in-house isn't a tech experiment; it’s a massive competitive advantage. When you aren't waiting on external tooling or supplier delays, you can design a custom component on Tuesday and hand it to a client on Wednesday. 🔥 If your shop is constantly getting squeezed by external lead times, it’s time to rethink how you build. 👉 Read the full case study here: https://lnkd.in/g8SRyunR #BigRep #Britten #AdditiveManufacturing #LargeFormat3DPrinting #Manufacturing #InHouseProduction #Design #BigRep

"3D printing opens doors that you don't even know are there because of the geometry limitations that other manufacturing processes have. 3D printing, because it's an additive manufacturing method, it can create things that simply aren't touchable by other processes." *Anthony Zeitler - Industrial Designer Britten, Inc., a massive Michigan fabrication shop, hit a wall. Traditional CNC routing couldn't handle complex client geometries. And waiting on external suppliers for custom tooling was killing their project timelines. Take lighting. A client wanted a 24-inch clear globe. You physically cannot machine or piece that together without ruining how the light passes through the material. So they moved production in-house with a large-format BigRep ONE 3D printer. The fix was immediate. Engineers now print custom jigs and complex final parts on demand. No sourcing delays. Large parts come off the machine and go straight to assembly with zero post-processing. Today, half of the structures Britten builds include 3D-printed parts. It turned a slow supply chain headache into a direct production asset. 🚀 🎬 Watch the full video here to see the machine running on their floor: https://lnkd.in/g9ys8gqY #BigRep #Britten #3Dprinting #InHouseProduction #Manufacturing #LargeFormat3DPrinting #IndustrialDesign

16 hours a day your print room sits empty. It does not have to. 🌙 Lenin Hercules, Head of Design & Fabrication, builds exhibition stands at Axios NYC and prints the structural parts in-house with BigRep ONE. His argument for the machine is scheduling, not speed. Once a design is done, the estimated print time is close enough to plan a day around. He uploads the job, the part finishes, he takes it off the bed, loads the next one and goes home. Nobody stands next to the printer checking whether the filament is behaving. That is where the extra hours come from: a machine you can leave alone, running through the time the shop is closed. Where it stops being true. Unattended running assumes a geometry you have run before, a bed you trust and a material recipe that already works. A first print of a new part on a new material is not the one you walk away from. Full conversation with Lenin, link in the first comment. #AdditiveManufacturing #LargeFormat3DPrinting #Manufacturing

From Woodworking to 3D Printing: Scaling a 40-Year-Old Fabrication Shop 💥 A customer asks for something that sounds almost impossible. The design is complex. The deadline is tight. And waiting weeks for an outside supplier isn't an option. Many shops would turn the project down. Britten, Inc. doesn’t say "No". After decades of building custom displays with CNC machining and foam fabrication, the Michigan-based company added the BigRep - Large-Format 3D Printers ONE to its production floor. The goal wasn't simply to adopt a new technology. It was to remove the bottlenecks that kept slowing projects down. The results changed the way they work. Instead of outsourcing oversized components, Britten now produces large, one-piece clear light globes in-house. Printing them as a single part eliminates seams, reduces finishing work, and shortens production time. The benefits extend far beyond customer projects. The engineering team also prints custom jigs, fixtures, and production aids whenever they're needed, replacing hours spent sourcing specialized hardware with a print that starts the same day. Today, roughly half of Britten's sculptures incorporate 3D-printed parts. Bringing large-format additive manufacturing in-house didn't just expand their capabilities. It gave them greater control over production, faster turnaround times, and the flexibility to move from design to finished part in days instead of weeks. When every project depends on speed and customization, reducing reliance on outside suppliers can become one of your biggest competitive advantages. 👉 Read the full case study here: https://lnkd.in/g8SRyunR #3DPrinting

A four by eight foot exhibition wall at Axios NYC weighs 4.5 kg. 📦 The aluminium panel it replaced weighed 20 kg. For a trade show builder, that is not a material spec. It is a freight quote. Axios NYC is an experiential design house in New York, building booths for manufacturing and life science clients worldwide. Founder David Yepez names the industry's problem in two words: sustainability and shipping. "Everyone's becoming more conscious of the cost of shipping, the cost of tariffs." In 2018, they brought a BigRep ONE in-house. A one cubic metre build volume meant structural parts came off the bed in large sections instead of dozens of small pieces to be glued together. The weight saving is the headline. What matters more is the design work: curves and compound angles aluminium extrusion cannot produce are now routine, in an industry where the whole job is standing out on a crowded floor. Full story and video in the comments. #AdditiveManufacturing #LargeFormat3DPrinting #TradeShows #Sustainability

Britten, Inc. has been building event structures and themed environments for 40 years. They have a massive team of makers and artists. But even the best wood and foam fabrication hits a wall when a client asks for a custom 24-inch clear lighting globe. 🌐 Instead of dealing with external sourcing delays or building complicated wood jigs, they took control of their production. They brought BigRep large-format 3D printers right onto their shop floor. And it completely changed how their craftsmen work. They can now print massive lighting fixtures in a single piece to mimic glass. The clear shades come off the print bed ready to assemble, with absolutely no post-processing needed. Plus, their engineers are printing specific custom components on demand instead of wasting hours hunting for the right washer at the hardware store. The BigRep machines provide a practical solution because they are easy to use and highly reliable for long print jobs. Now, nearly 50% of Britten's sculptures feature a 3D printed component. 📖 Read the blog for the full use case here: https://lnkd.in/gyHcWuig #BigRep #Britten #AdditiveManufacturing #3DPrinting #EventDesign #LargeFormat3DPrinting #IndustrialDesign Paul Britten Jr.