Scalable Material
Control Systems
An ecosystem for advanced multi-material 3D printing. Designing the theoretical frameworks and hardware that drive next-gen multi-material fabrication.
Filament Highway System
The Architecture of Decoupled Material Delivery. Shifting complexity from the moving gantry to a centralized, serviceable hub.
Abstract
Standard multi-material units (MMUs) suffer from a fundamental scaling limitation: they are strictly 1:1. Each printer requires its own dedicated multiplexer and spool buffer, linearly increasing hardware complexity and failure points with every machine added to a farm. The Filament Highway System inverts this model.
Core Topology
The FHS operates on a "many-to-many" or "one-to-many" topology. A central bank of extruders manages a shared inventory of materials - the "Highway." PTFE guideways route these materials to individual toolheads on demand.
Resource Locking & Concurrency
The system logic functions similarly to a database mutex. When Printer A requires Mars Red, the FHS locks that specific spool index. If Printer B requests the same material, it enters a WAITING state until the resource is released.
Infinite Spool Swap
A printer is no longer limited by 4 or 5 slots. It has access to the entire centralized library.
Automatic Redundancy
If Spool 1 (Black) runs out, the system can failover to Spool 2 (Black) without user intervention.
Dynamic Unlocking
Spools are only locked when actively in use. A single red layer at print start doesn't monopolize the spool for hours.
Hot-Swap Scalability
Add or remove printers and spools on the fly - even mid-print. The system adapts in real-time.
Explore the Platform
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System Configurator
A logic-driven web application for validating MMU hardware configurations. Built to visualize complex compatibility matrices and generate BOMs automatically.
Theory & Docs
Comprehensive guides on buffer management and filament logic.
Hardware Kits
Sourced components validated for high-speed switching.
Engineering Philosophy
Scalability is our Specialty. Complexity should be centralized, not duplicated. Our goal is to create systems where a single, highly capable unit manages the material needs of many printers simultaneously. We prioritize elegant, straightforward mechanical design that reduces friction - both literally in the filament path and figuratively in your workflow. By leveraging smart routing over brute force, MMULabs turns multi-material printing into a scalable utility rather than a machine-specific luxury.
MMULabs serves as both a documentation hub for these findings and a portfolio of the tools I've built to solve these problems.
Core Competencies
- Systems Integration
- Embedded Systems
- Kinematic Analysis
- Design for at Scale Manufacturing