In the ever-evolving landscape of water conservation and sustainability, companies are constantly seeking innovative solutions to make a significant impact on our planet's future.
Hydrific, an innovative venture-backed by LIXIL, is focused on water conservation. LIXIL is a global leader in housing and building materials, products, and services, and Hydrific's mission is to make water conservation enjoyable and easy. Their first product, Droplet, entered the market in March 2024.
With help from Makelab, the Hydrific team discovered a new material and 3D printing approach using Inkbit's Vision-Controlled Jetting (VCJ) technology.
Inkbit's VCJ technology originated from traditional inkjet 3D printing and integrates a 3D computer vision scanning system that captures the print geometry of each layer in real-time. This digital closed-loop feedback control operation eliminates the need for mechanical planarizers and enables printing with slow-cure chemistries that build the polymer chain more precisely. As a result, VCJ can directly print intricate, multi-material parts in a wide range of mechanical properties with accuracy and precision.
Inkbit's VCJ technology along with its soft elastomer material, Soft Elastic 30A, has uniquely solved a prototyping challenge for a Hydrific part that required a set of complex characteristics, including durability, flexibility, and a watertight seal.
Hydrific was able to rapidly print and iterate the 3D part on demand with lead times as fast as 7 days, avoid expensive tooling of custom O rings at this early stage, and ship their product for field testing on time.
Meet the Innovators
Ari Morse
Ari is a mechanical engineer dedicated to shaping the physical design of Hydrific's groundbreaking water conservation device. From design to packaging, he is deeply involved in the product's development, ensuring it meets the highest standards of precision and functionality.
Emilie Williams
With 20 years of experience in industrial design, Emilie has left her creative mark on renowned brands like Contigo and American Standard Brands. In early 2021, she was part of the co-founding team at Hydrific and took on the role of leading the creative direction, brand, and design for Hydrific's first product.
The Prototyping Challenge
Hydrific's journey began with a crucial challenge: creating seals and gaskets for prototypes intended for field testing the Droplet device, a smart IoT product that will help homeowners and tenants understand their water usage. These components needed to be not only precise but also capable of ensuring water-tight integrity. Ari explained, "We didn't think there was a 3D-printed material that could solve this problem."
The team had previously experimented with silicone-like printing materials, like the other flexible SLA materials but found it to be too thick for their requirements. Soft tooling was another option, but it was slow and costly. They needed a faster and more cost-effective solution that would meet their high-quality standards.
The Makelab x Inkbit Solution
The breakthrough came with the discovery of Inkbit's Soft Elastic 30A, a thin and flexible solution that met all the requirements for Hydrific's prototype. This material enabled the creation of precise, cost-effective, and rapid prototypes of the seal, essential for field testing. Makelab played a crucial role in this phase, providing their printing support and expertise, which was vital in effectively utilizing Inkbit's innovative material.
Ari excitedly reported, "And it worked. It was the exact shape we needed. Faster and cheaper than soft tooling, watertight, and we were able to quickly integrate it into our prototypes for field testing." Emilie added, "It's game-changing to have something this thin, flexible, and functional. I didn't know this was possible. I can imagine the incredible potential of this new material for testing asymmetrical and complex seal designs for various applications. This material and technology can extend beyond seals and gaskets to applications like flexible hinges, over-molded parts, and even wearables.
Makelab x Inkbit
Makelab is the on-demand 3D printing partner for Inkbit VCJ technology and materials like Soft Elastic 30A and Tough Epoxy.
Makelab vs In-House 3D Printing
Hydrific initially used an in-house FDM printer for quick prints during the early ideation phase. However, they encountered limitations in terms of materials and quality.
While trying out other on-demand service providers, Makelab emerged as the ideal partner due to a unique combination of high-quality prints, speed, and expert support to assist with the ideal materials and technology to achieve their goals. Beyond Inkbit's innovative 3D printing materials & technology, Makelab augments the basic FDM they have in-house with SLA technology and materials like Standard Resin, and Tough 2k Resin, helping to address diverse prototyping challenges that arise during the iterative design phase.
Makelab's ability to provide same-day pick-up and delivery in NYC where Hydrific is based was especially important when creating many iterations and improvements in a short period of time to speed up the product development and design process.
What's Next for Hydrific?
By leveraging cutting-edge 3D printing technology and materials like Inkbit's Soft Elastic 30A, Hydrific has unlocked new possibilities for designing efficient and sustainable water conservation solutions.
Hydrific is excited to launch their debut water conservation product, and with partners like Makelab, they look forward to continuing the collaboration to help keep rapid prototyping at the forefront of their product development expansion and success. The Droplet device is now available at hydrificwater.com
