How women are using additive manufacturing to create innovative products

The Formlabs team is always driven by progress and real impact, and the best inspiration comes from the people who make technology truly meaningful. In this article we also talk about the feminine side of additive manufacturing. If you thought it was only the prerogative of men, discover that times are changing. Here are some women who are opening new doors and reinventing what’s possible with 3D printing in their fields.

 Jenny Wu: Multidisciplinary design with additive manufacturing

What if you could bring the unique design freedom of 3D printing to the jewelry market? This is the question that inspired architect and jewelry designer Jenny Wu to launch her business LACE by Jenny Wu. Jenny designs, prototypes and experiments with 3D printing to build her jewelry brand and offer something truly unique to customers. He discusses how he bypasses extensive and time-consuming workflows by 3D printing end products. In this clipat minute 17:50 of the session you can hear Jenny’s perspective on how she mixes architecture and jewelery in her design process.

2. 2. Dani Clode: design for people

Dani Clode is not afraid to challenge the human body. Through prosthetics, Dani creates truly personalized, wearable products that expand our conception of what the body can be. In this session, Dani talks about her experience using Formlabs Tough 2000 Resin to create boundary-pushing prosthetics and how her work celebrates body positivity. Dani’s inspired work is revolutionizing the way we use 3D printing to enable the integration of design and the human body. Dani explains Here the concept of «designing for people» at minute 7 of the session.

3. 3. Janet Liberman-Lu – on how she developed a product that earned her over $575,000

Janet Lieberman-Lu’s company, Dame, focuses on high-quality design to reduce waiting times for female pleasure. Using 3D printing, Janet and her team quickly designed and printed prototypes of their flagship product, the Eva vibrator. Dame raised $575,000 and brought Eva to market within months.

4. 4. Dr. Summer Decker, winner of the 2020 Formlabs Impact Award

When COVID-19 began spreading globally in March 2020, Dr. Summer Decker, Ph.D., director of 3D Clinical Applications in the Department of Radiology at the University of South Florida (USF), knew she wanted to help. Vara has been busy mobilizing colleagues at USF, working with Formlabs and the radiology team at Northwell Health in New York, to begin 3D printing nasopharyngeal swabs for COVID-19 testing. Its efforts to design, validate and mass produce these swabs have helped fill a vital gap in the COVID-19 supply chain. Summer and her close collaborators, Johnathan Ford and Todd Goldstein, were honored with the Formlabs Impact Award at last year’s Global User Summit.

Conclusion

The intent of the article is to spotlight the significant and often overlooked contribution of women in the field of additive manufacturing (AM), demonstrating that the industry is rapidly moving beyond any perceived gender exclusivity. By featuring women who are leveraging 3D printing to achieve real impact and progress, Formlabs seeks to highlight the diverse talent pool driving innovation. The success stories shared aim to shatter the notion that AM is solely a «prerogative of men,» showcasing how these female pioneers are opening new doors and reinventing what is possible within their respective professional domains through the strategic use of 3D printing technology. This shift is crucial for fostering inclusivity and maximizing the creative potential of the entire industry.