In 2022, Radio Flyer added its first 3D printer to the prototype store. Since then, printers have been an integral part of the design process for the brand’s iconic rides, bikes and other activity toys.
Radio Flyer’s prototype shop uses Formlabs’ Fuse selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printers and large-format stereolithography (SLA) printers to design and manufacture parts for the company’s rides, bikes and other products . The latest 3D printer added to the store, the Form 4L large-format resin 3D printer, can produce hundreds of parts per month.
“If we were building a new carriage or tricycle, it’s really the only printer we would trust,” said Agostino LoBello, product design engineer at Radio Flyer. “We use it for functional caster pods and wheel assemblies, brake assemblies, and more. Fuse printed parts answer the need for functional end-use parts that we are happy to send home to test with our families.
Radio Flyer has been using Formlabs 3D printers during the design process for the past two years. |Source: Radio Flyer
Radio Flyer has been using Formlabs 3D printers during the design process for the past two years. |Source: Radio Flyer
Radio Flyer uses Fuse printers to 3D print parts to ensure their durability and consistency. These parts are used at every step of the design process until the final stage of the model. Once the process is complete, Radio Flyer produces toys that are delivered to consumers via injection molding. Using 3D printed parts also speeds up the design process by making changes to prototypes faster and easier.
“The ability to quickly prototype our ideas allows us to come up with concepts faster and farther because we can produce more versions and test those ideas quickly using Form 4L,” LoBello said. “We can integrate new features into products that were previously difficult to do.”
Radio Flyer’s use of 3D printing in its design process continues the company’s more than 100 years of innovation and creativity in the industry.
