GENERAL INVENTIONS BEGAN WITH AN IMPULSIVE PURCHASE: A COMMERCIAL VACUUM FORMER.

THE INITIAL PLAN WAS TO BRING AN IDEA TO MARKET WITH A FAMILY MEMBER. THAT UNEXPECTED BUY JOLTED THE BUSINESS INTO ACTION, AND ALONG THE WAY I ALSO EXPERIMENTED WITH MAKING CAR PARTS AS A SIDE IDEA.

AS AN AEROSPACE ENGINEER AND A CAR ENTHUSIAST WITH A KEEN INTEREST IN ALL THINGS MECHANICAL, I ENJOY EXPLORING HOW TO TURN IDEAS INTO REAL, FUNCTIONING PARTS. THE BUSINESS WAS TO DIFFERENTIATE ITSELF FROM ALL THE OTHERS PRODUCING LOW QUALITY FDM 3D PRINTED PARTS, BY USING THE VACUUM FORMER. WE SOON ADDED A LARGE FORMAT SLA RESIN PRINTER TO PRODUCE HIGH-QUALITY MOLDS FOR VACUUM FORMING, IMPROVING ON WHAT 3D PRINTING ALONE COULD ACHIEVE

AT FIRST, EVERYTHING WAS DONE OUT OF A SMALL WAREHOUSE IN MELBOURNE, WHICH MADE GROWTH DIFFICULT. THE PARTS HAD AN INJECTION MOLDED LEVEL OF SURFACE FINISH, BUT THE PROCESS PROVED VERY LABOR INTENSIVE AND IMPOSSIBLE TO SCALE.

LEARNING FROM THOSE MISTAKE, THE BUSINESS HAS RESTRUCTURED, GROWN AND CAN NOW OPERATE GLOBALLY, NOT JUST LOCALLY.