Formlabs

Formlabs operates a built-to-order 3D printing facility in Ohio with a 1–5 day turnaround commitment on custom parts spanning SLA and SLS materials. As order volumes grew, the facility's reliance on paper travelers and Google Sheets for production tracking created compounding operational risks: data inconsistencies, unreliable part tracking across multi-step post-processing workflows, and difficulty managing custom per-order requirements such as resin type, curing parameters, and finishing options. In high-mix discrete manufacturing, where each part follows a different process path, paper-based coordination degrades quality and throughput simultaneously. Without a formal MES, supervisors had no real-time visibility into part status, making it structurally impossible to reliably honor tight delivery commitments at scale.

The Operations Systems team at Formlabs built a composable MES on Tulip's platform, deploying it across the Ohio facility concurrently with its physical buildout — launching production with a fully operational system from day one. The team developed a suite of apps over several months covering every production stage: order intake via API integration with Formlabs' PreForm ordering software, automated printer assignment, wash station guidance, two-stage inspection, resin-specific curing instructions, finishing, final QC with quarantine escalation, 3D scanning via an Ortery photo-booth device, and shipping with Shippo-generated labels. IoT and sensor integrations — including barcode and QR code scanning at each workstation — automate data capture and eliminate manual entry. Real-time dashboards give supervisors part-level visibility across all stations. The Massachusetts-based development team iterates apps continuously based on structured feedback from Ohio frontline operators.

Deploying Tulip as the facility's full MES delivered compounding gains across quality, throughput, and delivery:

• 20% reduction in cycle time, driven by elimination of manual data entry and optimized station sequencing
• 60% reduction in defect logging time, freeing quality engineers from transcription work to focus on root cause analysis
• 20% reduction in lead time, directly supporting the facility's 1–5 day delivery promise
• 30% increase in overall productivity
• Full elimination of paper travelers across the facility

Beyond the headline numbers, supervisors gained the ability to track any individual part's location and status in real time — a capability that was structurally impossible under the prior Google Sheets and paper-based model.

• Build the MES alongside facility construction rather than retrofitting later — Formlabs launched production with a fully operational system from day one, avoiding disruption.
• In high-mix, built-to-order environments, IoT-based data capture (barcode and QR scanning) at every station is the prerequisite for both quality traceability and cycle time optimization.
• Composable MES platforms enable continuous improvement: operators and engineers can iterate workflows without waiting on vendor release cycles.
• Quality efficiency gains often come from accelerating data logging, not just preventing defects — the 60% reduction in defect logging time compounded into broader productivity improvements.
• Integrating the MES with upstream ordering (PreForm) and downstream shipping (Shippo) systems closes the full order-to-ship loop and eliminates error-prone manual handoffs.