Tronix3D

I’m pulling a fresh batch off the plate right now, and this is just one machine. Picture that scaled up, printer after printer running around the clock, all producing parts at once. That’s how additive manufacturing goes from making one prototype to producing real volume.

This is what production at scale actually looks like. Not one part at a time, but batches stacking up across machine after machine.

That’s what we do at Tronix3D, scaling from a single prototype all the way to production runs. Quotes in hours, parts in days.

What would you put into production if you had 30 printers running? 👇

We asked Mike what he wishes he knew before starting a company.

His answer wasn’t about money or strategy. It was the weight of hiring his first employee. The moment someone else is depending on you for their paycheck, the stakes change. It’s not just your own risk anymore, it’s someone else’s livelihood riding on the decisions you make. Nobody really prepares you for that kind of responsibility.

Did you think something like this could be 3D printed?

A fully linked chain, every piece connected, and not a single part was assembled by hand. It printed exactly like this, buried in a bed of powder using SAF, and we’re brushing it all away to reveal it.

This is what makes additive manufacturing so wild. You can print complex, moving, interlocking parts in one shot, no assembly required.

What else do you think we could print?

We asked Mike: will AI replace engineers?

His take is one worth sitting with. The engineers who learn to use AI are the ones who’ll pull ahead, and the ones who ignore it are the ones at risk. Not the technology itself.

Where do you land on this? Threat to engineers, or just the next tool worth mastering?

This is the most satisfying part of the whole process.

What you’re watching is depowdering after a SAF print. SAF (Selective Absorption Fusion) builds parts inside a bed of powder, fusing it together layer by layer. When the print finishes, the parts come out buried in a block of loose powder, and this is the moment we dig them out and brush them clean to reveal what’s underneath.

Because the parts print surrounded by powder, there are no supports to cut off, and you can pack a whole batch into a single build. That makes SAF great for producing consistent, detailed parts at higher volumes.

This is the kind of process that makes additive manufacturing so cool to watch. That’s what we do at Tronix3D, turning powder into real, production-ready parts. Quotes in hours, parts in days.

What part would you want to see come out of the powder next?

This is what prototyping actually looks like.

A drone frame fresh off the printer, supports still coming off. Before this becomes a final product, it goes through version after version, each one tweaked, tested, and improved. That’s the whole point of prototyping. You get the design in your hands, find what works and what doesn’t, and refine from there.

With something like a drone frame, that matters even more. You’re balancing strength against weight, testing how it holds up, and adjusting until it’s right. Printing lets you move through those iterations fast, so you’re not waiting weeks between versions to find out what needs to change.

That’s what we do at Tronix3D. We help turn ideas into real parts quickly, so you can prototype, test, and dial it in without the wait. Quotes in hours, parts in days.

How many versions do you think a part like this goes through?

Most people don’t know you can 3D print a material that foams as it prints.

Mike breaks down foaming TPU here. It’s a flexible filament with a foaming agent built in, and when it heats up, it expands as it comes out of the nozzle. That gives you a part that’s lighter and softer than regular TPU, with a nice cushioned, frosted texture. What’s really interesting is the control. By adjusting the temperature, you can dial in how dense or how soft the final part comes out.

It’s great for anything that needs to absorb shock and vibration or stay lightweight, and it opens up a different set of uses than standard flexible materials.

That’s part of what makes additive manufacturing so versatile, there’s a material for almost every problem. That’s what we do at Tronix3D, matching the right one to the job. Quotes in hours, parts in days.

Ever seen a material that foams as it prints?