When you think of the meaning behind the word smooth, you might find yourself picturing images of scooping out a spoonful of creamy peanut butter, running your hands over silky fabric, or maybe it's even a good old pick up line you’ve used far too many times. While all of these things might strike a chord on a feel-good level, we have a slightly different interpretation of the word smooth here at fi additive.

When we think of smooth, we think of additive manufacturing. Now while this might sound like a whole lot of nothing to the average Joe, we reckon you’d be surprised by how much it would appeal if you knew just how much smoothness in our industry can mean. If you still think petting small cats sounds a bit more like you, we won’t judge. But we do want you to know a little more about how smooth can be revolutionary in the world of technology and manufacturing.

You may have heard by now that we’ve been keeping something pretty massive extra quiet. Let’s just say the word smooth can be taken as a hint. You also might be thinking, “why does smoothness have anything to do with making parts?”. Well, we’re about to tell you.

Picture this wild concept — you’ve got a start-up business idea to create a coffee cup holder for motorbikes. There are plenty of people that use motorbikes to get around in their daily lives, and having to neck a takeaway coffee down before they get back on their bike just isn’t practical (or satisfying). So what if you could design a part that solves that problem, and then have it manufactured into several hundred units in a matter of hours? Sounds pretty cool right?

Imagine that you’ve now got the product in your hands, it’s time to take it out to the testing field. After having it trialled for some time, you begin to notice that the feedback is a little on the negative side when it comes to the product’s functionality. Riders are getting their gloves caught on imperfections in the surface, the coffee is cold by the time they get to where they need to go because the product wasn’t sealed enough. In a nutshell, it’s not market-ready.

It may not have always been attainable, but at fi additive, we seek perfection in everything we create through additive manufacturing. So as we grow, our capabilities have to grow with us. It might be the coffee cup holder for a motorbike you need mastered, or it could be something entirely different, a prosthetic limb for example. Whatever it is, our goal is to make sure everything we produce is full-proof, and of the highest possible quality. And that’s why we’re constantly seeking out the best technology in the industry to make this a reality for all of our customers.

So while we are itching to tell you all about what we’ve got waiting in the wings, we’re not quite ready just yet. However, it’s only a matter of weeks before we will be, so we suggest you get prepared. If we’ve piqued your interest, even just a little, flick us an email at info@f-i.co.nz to register for the virtual event where all will be revealed on Thursday, March 3 2022 at 3.30pm. We promise it’ll be worth the wait.