3D People expands color dye finish service for high-quality 3D printed parts

London-based 3D People, a leading service provider in the field of additive manufacturing, has expanded its color dye finish service. With this expansion, the company now offers its customers the ability to choose from 170 color shades for their 3D printed parts. This expansion aims to further increase the quality and customizability of the components produced, whether they are one-offs or production runs.

According to Felix Manley, Co-Founder of 3D People: “We believe that we are the only AM service bureau in the UK that offers such a broad spectrum of colour options for products and parts. We know that coloured parts are not always a priority for many standard applications of AM, however, for many non-standard applications where colour is important, the choices are often limited to basic primary colours. Our new colour finishing service has the ability to match colours to the RAL colour system, ensuring precise colour consistency for industries or brands that require standardised colours.”

With the expanded color palette, 3D People customers can select specific brand colors for their parts and save them for future orders. This ensures color consistency across all products. In addition, the extensive color offering can be combined with 3D People’s other premium finish options, such as vibro-polishing and automated vapor-smoothing, to achieve a smooth, high-quality finish.

One example of using this enhanced service is Tides Studios, a sustainable design company based in London, which has switched its entire production to 3D People.

Joseph Alpert, Founder of Tides Studios, commented: “Finding an additive manufacturing partner with a solid colour range was a struggle. Most only had basic colours, and paint trials always cracked or flaked. Since 3D People rolled out their 170 standard colours, we’ve shifted all our production to them. Their dyes hold up great for eyewear, and the colour options are perfect for what we need. Plus, working with their team on non-standard colours has been a pleasure—they really get what we’re looking for. Their vapour smoothing also makes the colours pop more than anything we’ve seen from other suppliers.”

Sasha Bruml, co-founder of 3D People, commented: “Quality is central to our entire 3D printing service offering from beginning to end, and the foundation of our reputation. We are listening to our customers and they are excited by these new colour options for finishing because it offers them extensive customisation opportunities with AM and, in some cases, is providing them with a competitive advantage when it comes to their customised and brand colour choices without having to outsource painting to a 3^rd party with the inevitable costs that brings.”

3D People’s enhanced color dye finish service not only offers a cost-effective and sustainable alternative to traditional paint finishes, but also improves the longevity and consistency of colors. This advancement underscores 3D People’s commitment to providing high-quality and customizable additive manufacturing solutions.

Manley concludes: “This is just one small, but important, step forward for 3D People in achieving excellence in the finishing of 3D printed parts. This is what we focus on at 3D People, and there is much more to come. The future needs to look beyond the use of AM to make parts, and onto the ability to produce repeatable surface finishes which rival and are often superior to parts produced using conventional manufacturing processes.”