Tech-Labs

What if students could test how a product works before it ever reaches production?

3D printing is changing more than product design. It's changing how manufacturers test, refine, and validate them.

In a recent Stratasys customer story, J.L. Clark demonstrates how PolyJet ToughONE™ technology supports functional packaging prototypes—including living hinges, realistic material behavior, and full-color graphics.

For engineering and advanced manufacturing programs, applications like this connect classroom design projects with real-world product development, material selection, and functional testing.

It's not just about printing a prototype. It's about learning how to make a better product.

See how J.L. Clark is using Stratasys technology:
https://hubs.ly/Q04zKhD00

ToughONE™ Reinvented Packaging Development at J.L. Clark | Stratasys With production-like polypropylene performance, living hinges, and full-color graphics, PolyJet ToughONE™ transformed how J.L. Clark designs, tests, and validates packaging concepts before manufacturing

What happens when 3D printing moves out of the prototyping lab and onto the production floor?

At General Motors, additive manufacturing is being used to solve everyday manufacturing challenges—from fixtures and assembly aids to quality tools, protective devices and ergonomic solutions.

One example highlighted by Stratasys: a robot end-effector bracket that could have taken weeks to obtain through traditional methods was produced in roughly four hours using FDM additive manufacturing.

That’s an important workforce lesson.

As additive manufacturing becomes another tool for solving real production problems, students need more than experience printing prototypes. They need opportunities to understand design for additive manufacturing, tooling, automation, production workflows and continuous improvement.

See how GM is using Stratasys FDM technology on the manufacturing floor:
https://hubs.ly/Q04zKg9r0

How GM Uses Stratasys FDM for Production Tooling Discover how GM uses Stratasys FDM 3D printing for production tooling, fixtures, jigs and ergonomic tools across its automotive assembly plants.

VR, XR, or simulation? The best training technology depends on the skill you’re teaching.

Immersive technology can give learners opportunities to practice procedures, troubleshoot systems, build confidence, and experience situations that may be difficult, expensive, or unsafe to recreate in a traditional lab.

But not every technology fits every training objective.

Our latest article looks at VR, XR, and simulation-based training and how educators and workforce programs can think about matching the technology to the skill.

Read more:
https://hubs.ly/Q04zhb300

VR, XR & Simulation: Which Training Technology Fits the Skill? Compare VR, XR and simulation for CTE and workforce training. Explore applications in manufacturing, welding, heavy equipment, healthcare, safety and more.

Building the industrial maintenance workforce takes more than classroom instruction. It takes hands-on skills that translate directly to the job.

Industrial maintenance apprenticeship programs can help learners build practical skills across mechanical systems, electrical systems, pneumatics, troubleshooting, safety and other technologies they’ll encounter in modern facilities.

Tech-Labs can help schools, employers, workforce organizations and apprenticeship sponsors build hands-on training around the skills their programs need.

Explore Industrial Maintenance Apprenticeship Training:
https://hubs.ly/Q04zhcdY0

Industrial Maintenance Apprenticeship Training Build industrial maintenance apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship labs with hands-on training, Amatrol curriculum and industry credential options.

What if medical learners could practice with a patient-specific anatomical model before entering the operating room?

Medical IP is using Stratasys 3D printing and AI-powered medical imaging to create realistic anatomical models for education, procedure planning, and surgical simulation.

The workflow combines CT and MRI data with full-color, multi-material printing to reproduce complex anatomy in a physical form learners can see, handle, and study.

See how the technology is being used:
https://hubs.ly/Q04yhzjs0

3D Printing for Surgical Simulation & Training | Stratasys See how Medical IP pairs AI segmentation with the Stratasys J750 to 3D print full-color organ models for surgical simulation and training. Read the case study.

We’re heading to FABTECH 2026! ⚙️

Tech-Labs will be joining APT Manufacturing Solutions Solutions in Booth S46000 at FABTECH in Las Vegas, October 21–23.

If you’re attending, stop by to meet the APT and Tech-Labs teams, talk manufacturing and workforce training, and explore hands-on solutions designed to build the skills industry demands today.

📍 Las Vegas, Nevada
📅 October 21–23, 2026
📌 APT Booth S46000

We look forward to seeing our manufacturing and education partners in Vegas!

What’s shaping the future of manufacturing in Texas—and what should industry and education be preparing for now?

Featured Presentation
Join us in Richardson on October 30 for a special presentation from Brittany Rosenberg, Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center at UT Arlington, exploring automation, AI, workforce shortages, changing supply chains, and the skills needed for what comes next.

🎤 Presentation: 10:00 AM CST
📍 Richardson, TX
🗓 Open House: 9:00 AM–2:00 PM CST

👉 Come explore. Ask questions. Try the technology. See what’s possible.

https://hubs.ly/Q04yBv2P0

Strong workforce partnerships are more than meetings and agreements—they align industry, education, and communities.

Our latest semiconductor workforce article looks at how those partnerships turn changing industry needs into real skills and career pathways.

https://hubs.ly/Q04yhC6y0

tech-labs.com

Join us for Texas Skills in Demand, a FREE Workforce Development Open House bringing together the technologies, trades, and technical skills behind some of Texas’ fastest-growing industries.

Come explore hands-on training solutions, see live demonstrations, meet industry experts, and discover ways to prepare students and workers for careers in:

⚡ Electrical & HVAC
🤖 Robotics & Automation
🔥 Welding & Manufacturing
🖥️ Data Centers
💻 Semiconductors
🏗️ Construction Trades
🚜 Heavy Equipment
🎓 Workforce Pathways

This is a come-and-go event—stop by when it works for you, explore the technologies most relevant to your program, and stay as long as you'd like. And yes, lunch and tacos are on us! 🌮

👉 Register free: https://hubs.ly/Q04yfdjp0

We hope to see you there!

Students recently explored immersive training technology during an XALTER demo. It’s one thing to talk about real-world environments in the classroom—another to let students step inside them.

Want to see what XALTER could look like in your program? Schedule a demo with Tech-Labs: https://hubs.ly/Q04ycNmw0