Having established itself as the leader in hardware for 3D printing soft materials, Structur3d Printing of Kitchener is now raising capital to help it expand into commercializing the materials themselves.

Structur3d was started by materials researchers Charles Mire and Andrew Finkle to add a new dimension – admittedly, a poor choice of words – to the 3D printing craze. Their Discov3ry Paste Extruder allows anyone with a 3D printer to print a three-dimensional subject using soft materials – from silicon paste to wood filler to Nutella.  

CEO Mire and his eight colleagues are now raising capital with a target of $500,000 so that they can begin producing materials to be used in the Discov3ry device. Make no mistake – they will continue to produce new features for Discov3ry. But they see a huge market in specialized soft materials that can be used to 3D print unique objects.

Mire (a native Texan) received his PhD in chemistry in Australia and Finkle is now completing his doctorate at University of Waterloo.  The team has the brainpower to produce revolutionary materials for 3D printing.

“We have a lot this knowledge from our research background,” said Mire in an interview. “Our goal is to be the go-to company for these soft materials in the 3D printing market.”

When they started, they felt there were enough 3D printers on the market, and anyone who had one wouldn’t want to buy another. So rather than a new printer for soft materials, they produced the Discov3ry Paste Extruder, which works off any existing 3D printer.

Discov3ry sits beside your printer and attaches to your machine. It holds and dispenses the goop while the printer’s mechanism crafts the model, but the soft material won’t clog your printer.  

“The mechanics [of the 3D printer] never come in contact with the material,” said Mire. “You put whatever soft material you would like in the cartridge. The tube and the tip are the only things you have to put on the existing 3D printer.”

Structur3d, a graduate of Communitech's former Hyperdrive accelerator, has found a market in the retail 3D printer market and also in more specialized niches, such as academic researchers and innovators within corporations. It’s sold about 450 units so far.

“Our market now is primarily the maker market because this is a group of very smart people doing very clever things with 3 printing, and they like being on the cutting edge,” said Mire. He added they love to experiment and re-experiment with a new device. “If something doesn’t work right, they’re willing to do something different.”

Discov3ry is already leading to such innovations as:

• The printing of foods for elderly people who have trouble eating normal food. These people need soft food but will often eat it only if it resembles something they’re familiar with.
• The printing of orthotics for shoes.
• Tissue engineering. You can print a biopolymer material (a biological material made of the repetition of similar molecules) into a structure that you can then grow cells on.

Structur3d has been researching specialized materials in two market areas – industrial materials (such as polymers that can conduct electricity) and biological materials. The market potential seems obvious: soon entrepreneurs and corporations will be using these materials to produce new products, which in turn can lead to new industries. 

Eye on KW is a regular feature on Entrevestor focusing on the startup community in Kitchener-Waterloo.