Inside Aalto's University 3D Printing Lab With UltiMaker S6

A drone bracket once took 10 hours to print. On the new UltiMaker S6, it takes 3 hours 12 minutes. On the older S7, the same part would have taken twice as long again. The result comes from Aalto University's Design Factory in Finland. A small PrintShop team runs the full fab lab for students, researchers, and start-ups. The Design Factory pairs laser cutters and CNC tools with a fleet of UltiMaker S5, S7, and S6 printers. The S6 has become the workhorse for fast iteration in the university 3D printing lab.

Why Aalto chose the UltiMaker S6 for its university 3D printing lab

PrintShop Master Erwin Laiho, a sculptor by trade, runs the lab with two colleagues. They handle every print request through Aalto Design Factory's PrintShop. Jobs run from semester-start prototypes to end-of-year exhibition pieces. The team's pressure point is timeline. Students hit deadlines. Start-ups hit funding milestones. A slow print queue puts both at risk.

"Speed matters, especially when we're running against tight deadlines. The UltiMaker S6 gives us the flexibility to get an extra iteration per day, that makes a big difference."

The lab also values the European manufacturing base behind UltiMaker. Data security is not a daily concern for an academic lab, but the team appreciates knowing where the printer comes from and how the company handles design files.

"Knowing where the printer comes from and how the company handles data, it gives us peace of mind."

From the S7 to the S6: speed gains for student deadlines

The drone bracket is the lab's headline number. Printed in PET CF, the part dropped from 10 hours on the previous workflow to 3 hours 12 minutes on the UltiMaker S6. On the older S7 the print would have taken roughly twice as long. The full project covers a custom camera-module bracket and cover plate for a student drone team. We documented the deeper case study in our Aalto drone components case study.

"The print quality is as good as we could hope for from FDM."

Surface finish improved too. The S6 prints came off the bed ready to use, with no post-processing.

Real student work: drone brackets to bio-foam nozzles

The drone bracket is one project among many. The Design Factory also supports start-ups working out of campus space. One team is developing applications for sustainable bio-foams. They used the S6 to print a PET CF nozzle prototype. The design has a large opening at the top for foam input, a smaller vent for releasing air and bubbles, and two bottom holes for extrusion. Rapid prototyping on campus let the team iterate on a critical machine component without sending the file to an external supplier.

PrintShop Master Erwin's own sculpture work also finds its way into the lab. Prototypes for one of his pieces print in white tough PLA, alongside the academic and start-up jobs in the queue. The breadth shows what a true university 3D printing fab lab looks like: research, teaching, and creative practice running through the same printers.

Digital Factory adds 12 hours of machine time per day

Every STL file submitted by a student or researcher moves through a single managed workflow. UltiMaker Digital Factory queues, monitors, and manages every job across the fleet. The team often runs jobs remotely.

"Digital Factory easily adds 12 hours of machine time per day."

"We can start prints from home, check progress, and make the most of off-hours. With just a small team, that's a major boost."

For a three-person operation managing prints across multiple printers, the remote workflow is the difference between hitting deadlines and missing them.

An open materials approach

The Design Factory does not lock its workload to a single supplier. Standard UltiMaker materials sit alongside third-party filaments. Examples include BASF Forward AM and FormFutura aluminium-look PLA. The open filament system gives Erwin's team room to match material to project. The brief might call for engineering-grade PET CF, a flexible TPU, or a visual-finish PLA.

The UltiMaker Material Station handles continuous large-spool jobs on the S5. The S6 takes the rapid-iteration work. The shift from the S7 to the S6 was smooth, and the lab now runs both side by side. Reliability matters when the lab team carries lab-environment responsibility on top of print supervision.

What this means for Australian universities

Australian university labs face the same iteration pressure Aalto does. Funding rounds and semester deadlines do not flex. Bringing rapid prototyping university work in-house removes external lead times, customs delays, and freight overhead, which hit Australian labs harder than European ones.

Three building blocks make a university 3D printing lab pay back: a multi-printer fleet, a Material Station, and a managed software loop. Australian 3D Printers plays the same local-partner role for Australian institutions as Maker3D plays for Aalto in Finland. The work covers initial fleet design, training, materials supply, and warranty support. For the wider value-prop view, our top benefits of 3D printing in higher education guide sets out the case for institutional buyers.

The UltiMaker S6 sits in the wider UltiMaker range for design factory 3D printing rollouts of any scale.

Frequently asked questions

What is Aalto University's Design Factory?

The Design Factory is a fab lab in Espoo, Finland. It supports students, researchers, and start-ups with prototyping tools. It runs laser cutters, CNC tools, and a fleet of UltiMaker S5, S7, and S6 printers. PrintShop Master Erwin Laiho and two colleagues manage every job.

Why did Aalto upgrade from the UltiMaker S7 to the S6?

Speed and surface finish. The same drone bracket dropped from 10 hours to 3 hours 12 minutes on the S6. Erwin's team also values the open materials platform and the Cura plus Digital Factory workflow.

How does Digital Factory help a university 3D printing lab?

Erwin's team reports it adds about 12 hours of machine time per day. The team starts prints from home, monitors off-hours runs, and queues jobs across multiple printers without standing at the printer.

What materials does the Aalto fab lab use?

Standard UltiMaker materials plus third-party filaments such as BASF Forward AM and FormFutura aluminium-look PLA. PET CF appears in the engineering-grade jobs. White tough PLA covers the sculpture prototypes.

Are the UltiMaker S6 and accessories available for Australian universities?

Yes. Australian 3D Printers ships the UltiMaker S6, the Material Station, the Air Manager, and supporting materials nationally. Pricing, fleet design, and warranty support are handled locally.

How does the UltiMaker S6 compare with the S8 for university workflows?

The UltiMaker S8 sits above the S6 in the S-series. It offers a larger build volume and additional advanced features for production-scale work. The S6 is the better fit for cost-aware university labs after speed, dual extrusion, and S5 backward compatibility without the larger footprint or price tag.

---

Want to view the entire range of UltiMaker products? Click here.

Leave a comment

Leave a comment

Name*

Email*

Comment*

Send

• Share on:
• WhatsApp
• Deel
• X
• Pin it
• Messenger
• Email

---

Tags

3D Printer 3D Printer Australia 3D Printers Case Study Design Factory Education Higher Education UltiMaker UltiMaker Air Manager UltiMaker Material Station UltiMaker S6 University