Winning the award for 3D Creative Printing, Protolabs were recognised alongside many other nominees; the showcase event highlighted excellence, success and achievement in the fast evolving world of 3D printing technology.
Now in its second year and with international significance, the awards evening was attended by more than 150 guests, representing over 60 organisations. From major players pushing the boundaries, through to academic pioneers, the guest list was something of a who’s who in 3D printing. If there needed to be a stronger indication that 3D printing is comfortably on track to become reality and common practice, then these awards confirmed it loud and clear. Significantly demonstrating openness and engagement, the award winners were identified by 3D Printing Industry’s own readership voting process.
Protolabs was nominated for its PepsiCo Black Panther project. The requirement was to produce a promotional mask as part of a limited edition media kit for the company’s Black Panther movie. The design comprised complex geometries, a particularly high level of detail and a requirement for longevity. Engineers evaluated a number of alternative 3D printing processes before selecting Multi-Jet Fusion (MJF). MJF met the necessary quality standard and low production volume economics – just 250 units were produced by Protolabs in total.
Collecting the award, Daniel Cohn, General Manager, Protolabs Germany, said: “The PepsiCo project demonstrated our company’s capabilities in a number of key areas. We provided design input and feedback to the customer to ensure manufacturability. We produced a fantastic product that met all the required design criteria and ultimately, fulfilled PepsiCo’s ambitious delivery timetable. I am very proud to be part of a very professional team who worked very hard on the project. To have won the 2018 Creative 3D Printing Award is very special for us and a credit to everyone involved.”
There’s more: Proto Labs 3D also printed the awards
The awards evening had additional significance for Proto Labs. The organisers ran a design competition for the awards themselves and commissioned Protolabs, as event sponsor, to manufacture Sruthi Venkatesh’s winning entry. Using Watershed material, 20 awards were produced at the company’s facility. For Protolabs, this meant that every award winner went home with one of the company’s products; a stunning, creative and imaginative piece of 3D printed artwork.