Stanley Black & Decker, an American manufacturer of industrial tools and household hardware, has partnered with AstroPrint, a San Diego-based provider of cloud software, to control and optimize its fleet of 3D printers.
As Stanley Black & Decker continues to invest and develop 3D printing ventures, particularly through the STANLEY+Techstars Accelerator, the company will utilize AstroPrint’s Enterprise Cloud platform to automate and manage additive manufacturing systems from multiple facilities. Martin Guay, VP of Business Development at Stanley Black & Decker, said:
“Thanks to this partnership, we will gain visibility into ROI, uptime, value, resource optimization, and competence development in regards to 3D printer usage at Stanley Black and Decker.”
“These are critical drivers for additive manufacturing success for every enterprise. We are confident that the AstroPrint software solution has a great deal of promise for us and for the industry.”
The Android of the 3D printing industry
Dubbed “the Android of the 3D Printing Industry,” AstroPrint develops cloud-enabled software that simplifies the operation of desktop 3D printers through a 3D Printing App Marketplace. Most recently, AstroPrint, launched the AstroBox Touch control pad with this software.
This device, when connected to a desktop 3D printer, provides an intuitive interface specifically designed for“non-technical” users. 3D printing related apps from 3rd parties can be installed on the AstroBox which synchronizes across 3D printer desktop software, and web portals.
Once connected, engineers can gain data from a fleet of 3D printers from one dashboard, i.e., the Enterprise Cloud platform. This enables shareable resources from a single system for larger scale projects.
“We’ve been in the 3D Printing industry for a long time now and we are proud to have pioneered one of the first (and best) software systems to manage 3D Printers through the cloud,” stated Drew Taylor, CEO of AstroPrint.
“It’s now time for us to anticipate the needs and bottlenecks that large, multi-location companies, such as Stanley Black & Decker, will face as they invest significantly to grow their Additive Manufacturing programs.”
Stanley Black & Decker and 3D printing
As well as empowering 3D printing start-ups, Stanley Black & Decker has integrated additive manufacturing into its product range. Last year, the company redesigned and 3D printed two complex components using the Markforged Metal X 3D printer.
The components, an actuator housing for a PD45 Hydraulic Post Driver and a wheel shaft for the PG10 Profile “Frog” Grinder, were said to reduce production lead times by lead times by 95%.
Through Stanley Black & Decker, AstroPrint’s focus now is to scale out the Enterprise Cloud for large manufacturers who need to connect, control, and optimize their 3D printer fleets.
AstroPrint began life as a fork from open-source project OctoPrint. Other options for simplifying the use of 3D printers include Octoprint and the MyMiniFactory click and print plugin.
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Featured image shows AstroPrint’s cloud-enabled software. Image via AstroPrint.
