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Fast Radius

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Fast Radius
FormerlyCloud DDM
Company typePublic
Nasdaq: FSRD
FoundersLou Rassey, Bill King, Pat McCusker, John Nanry
Headquarters
Chicago, Illinois
Area served
Global
Key people
Lou Rassey (former CEO)
Productsprototyping, production parts, design consulting services
Number of employees
240 (as of 2021)
Websitefastradius.com

Fast Radius is a company that provides manufacturing services in four main areas: application discovery, product design and testing, production-grade manufacturing, and global fulfillment.[1][2][3] Its on-demand manufacturing capabilities include additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, CNC machining, injection molding, and urethane casting.

Fast Radius’ headquarters is located in Chicago, Illinois, with additional facilities located in Atlanta, Georgia; Louisville, Kentucky; and Singapore.[4][5] Fast Radius operates a digital Cloud Manufacturing Platform that allows users to order parts and manage the product lifecycle from product development through fulfillment.

History and about

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Fast Radius, LLC was formed in 2014 by Rick Smith and Mitch Free, and in 2017, Fast Radius, LLC merged with Fast Radius, Inc.[6][7] Fast Radius, Inc. was co-founded by Lou Rassey, Pat McCusker, Bill King, and John Nanry in a partnership with the shipping and logistics company UPS in an effort to leverage additive manufacturing as a supply chain solution.[8] Since its founding, the company has grown to more than 240 full-time employees and has expanded from supply chain solutions[buzzword] to all manner of parts manufacturing.[3][9]

Currently, Fast Radius specializes in manufacturing industrial-grade metal and plastic parts for applications including consumer goods, medical devices, automotive, aerospace, industrial equipment, and electronics, along with product development and design services and artificial phalluses.

Its Chicago headquarters, which has been in operation since 2018, is home to the largest public install base of Carbon DLS 3D printers in North America.[3] It was named a Lighthouse Factory, a distinction honoring the best digital factories in the world, by the World Economic Forum.[10]

In addition, Fast Radius’ has a large footprint of HP Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) equipment, Formlabs Stereolithography (SLA) printers, and the Desktop Metal Studio System.[11] Fast Radius also has a robust presence of Stratasys FDM printers co-located at the UPS World Port facility in Louisville, Kentucky.[12][13] The company is technology-agnostic, and works with a global network of manufacturers to provide CNC machining, injection molding, and urethane casting services.

Notable customers include Satair (an Airbus Services Company), Curtiss Motorcycles, Axial3D, Bastian Solutions (a Toyota Advanced Logistics Company), Rawlings, Yanfeng, Aptiv,[14][15] Danfoss, and Steelcase.[16][17][18][19]

In 2019, Fast Radius raised $48 million in a Series B funding round led by UPS and assisted by Drive Capital.[5][9]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Fast Radius designed a 3D-printed respirator mask in response to the nationwide PPE shortage. The company released the design files and instructions online as an open-source resource. Fast Radius also produced face shield kits for frontline healthcare workers. They also worked with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to design and patent a microfluidics chip for a point-of-care COVID-19 testing solution.[buzzword][1][20][21]

In 2022, the company became listed on Nasdaq through a merger with ECP Environmental Growth Opportunities Corp.[22] As of August 29, 2022, the company remains insolvent and the stock's share price is down over 95% since its IPO.

Partnerships and awards

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Partnerships

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  • United Parcel Service (UPS): Fast Radius was founded in partnership with UPS, opening a factory with 100 3D printers at the UPS worldwide hub in Louisville, Kentucky. UPS boosted its commitment to the relationship, linking the 3D printers in 60 of its U.S. stores to the Kentucky hub to create a robust digital manufacturing network.[23]
  • Carbon: In 2018, Fast Radius partnered with the digital 3D manufacturing company Carbon to redesign Steelcase's SILQ office chair. Both companies worked with Steelcase to design, engineer, and print a custom armrest intended to react intuitively to the sitter's body and movements. Fast Radius and Carbon showcased the armrest at the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) in Chicago September 10–15, 2018.[24]
  • Hewlett-Packard (HP): In June 2020, Fast Radius became the first Chicago-based member of the HP Digital Manufacturing Network.[25]

Awards

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  • In September 2018, Fast Radius was named one of nine Lighthouse factories by the World Economic Forum.[10]
  • In July 2019, Fast Radius CEO Lou Rassey was named to Crain's Chicago Tech 50 List.[26]
  • In October 2019, Fast Radius won the 2019 Chicago Innovation Award.[27]
  • In 2019, Fast Radius was named an end-to-end Manufacturing Lighthouse by the World Economic Forum. According to the WEF, this distinction is given to factories that have implemented technology to mass-produce customized products, share real-time data with suppliers, and optimize processes through shared data science and predictive analytics.[28]
  • In January 2021, Fast Radius was named one of the 100 best midsize companies to work for in Chicago by BuiltIn Chicago.[29]

Customers

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Fast Radius producing face-shield kits with 3D printing". Smart Industry. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  2. ^ Davis, Katherine (8 January 2020). "Fast Radius Opens Satellite Office at Manufacturing Innovation Center MxD". ChicagoInno.
  3. ^ a b c Griffiths, Laura (25 April 2019). "Interview: Fast Radius CEO on embracing additive manufacturing for production". TCT Magazine. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Fast Radius to open 3D Printing factory, Singapore". 3D Fab Print. Archived from the original on 9 February 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Fast Radius Raises $48M to Expand Platform for Production-Grade Additive Manufacturing". GlobeNewswire. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  6. ^ "Inline XBRL Viewer". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
  7. ^ "Fast Radius Takes Significant Step Towards High Volume 3D Printing Manufacturing as Launch Partner for Carbon's Revolutionary SpeedCell™". www.businesswire.com. 2017-03-16. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
  8. ^ "CloudDDM — Factory With 100 (Eventually 1,000) 3D Printers & Just 3 Employees Opens at UPS's Worldwide Hub". 3DPrint.com. 4 May 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  9. ^ a b Rekdal, Andreas (2 April 2019). "Fast Radius raises $48M, with plans to double its team". Built In Chicago. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  10. ^ a b Cann, Oliver (7 September 2018). "Europe, Asia Lead the Way to the Factories of the Future". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  11. ^ Colyer, Jack (24 May 2019). "Fast Radius Becomes One Of First To Use Desktop Metal Production System". 3D Printing Industry. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  12. ^ McKenna, Beth (7 June 2016). "UPS Is Launching a 3D-Printing Service With a Significant Competitive Advantage". The Motley Fool. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  13. ^ Guthrie, Michele (28 March 2019). "HP Propelling Industry to 3D Production". HP Press Center. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  14. ^ "Serial Products in 16 Weeks - an Aptiv and Fast Radius Success Story". Carbon. Retrieved 2021-07-02.
  15. ^ "The "Yes" Philosophy in Action by Staff". Engineering.com. Retrieved 2021-07-02.
  16. ^ Davies, Sam (17 March 2020). "Satair teams with Fast Radius and HP to 3D print aircraft maintenance tooling components". TCT Magazine. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  17. ^ Stackpole, Beth (30 September 2019). "Fast Radius Puts Curtiss Motorcycles on a Manufacturing Fast Track". Digital Engineering 247. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  18. ^ Essop, Anas (8 June 2020). "Axial3D and Fast Radius to Supply 3D Surgical Models in U.S. With Dicom-to-Print Service". 3D Printing Industry. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  19. ^ Boissonneault, Tess (8 April 2019). "Bastian Solutions and Fast Radius present 3D printed robotic materials handler". 3D Printing Media Network. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  20. ^ Waikar, Sachin. "Fast Radius 3D Prints COVID Personal Protective Equipment". Kellogg Magazine. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  21. ^ Ahlberg Touchstone, Liz (31 August 2020). "Study: Portable, point-of-care COVID-19 test could bypass the lab". Illinois News Bureau. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  22. ^ "Fast Radius goes public as other SPAC deals fizzle". American City Business Journals. February 7, 2022.
  23. ^ Stevens, Laura (18 May 2016). "UPS Boosts Commitment to 3-D On-Demand Printing". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  24. ^ Saunders, Sarah (11 September 2018). "Steelcase Calls on Fast Radius and Carbon to Create a 3D Printable Redesign of its SILQ Chair". 3DPrint.com. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  25. ^ Davies, Sam (4 June 2020). "HP unveils new Metal Jet 3D printing applications, a BASF polypropylene material & partners with Fast Radius". TCT Magazine. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  26. ^ Pletz, John. "Crain's Tech 50 2019: Lou Rassey, 45". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  27. ^ "Chicago Innovation Award Winner: Fast Radius". Chicago Innovation. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  28. ^ "Global Lighthouse Network: Insights from the Forefront of the Fourth Industrial Revolution" (PDF). WeForum. December 2019.
  29. ^ "100 Best Midsize Companies to Work For in Chicago 2021 | Built In Chicago". www.builtinchicago.org. January 2002. Retrieved 2021-07-02.
  30. ^ "Fast Radius: Key Takeaways On The SPAC Deal Backed By Goldman Sachs, Palantir". markets.businessinsider.com. Retrieved 2022-05-28.
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