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Tools. Ideas. Real Solutions.
ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING • 3D PRINTING • REVERSE ENGINEERING • EXPERIMENTATION
For more than a decade, Robert Lanteigne has been exploring additive manufacturing one technology, one material, one machine and one problem at a time.
WHAT IF WE COULD MAKE THINGS DIFFERENTLY?
What began with desktop 3D printing has expanded into industrial additive manufacturing, 3D scanning, reverse engineering, advanced materials, hybrid manufacturing, large-format production and the exploration of metal additive manufacturing.
The problem may not be a lack of opportunity.
LIGHTBOB LAB IS WHERE THOSE IDEAS BECOME PHYSICAL.
IT STARTED WITH ONE 3D PRINTER.
Not with a factory.
Not with a manufacturing company.
Not with a master plan.
In 2015, Robert encountered desktop 3D printing in Montreal.
For someone who had spent decades designing things and then relying on others to fabricate them, something fundamental had changed:
For someone who had spent decades designing things and then relying on others to fabricate them, something fundamental had changed:
A DIGITAL IDEA COULD BECOME A PHYSICAL OBJECT.
A DIGITAL IDEA COULD BECOME A PHYSICAL OBJECT.
That was the beginning.
ONE TECHNOLOGY LED TO ANOTHER.
ONE TECHNOLOGY LED TO ANOTHER.
2015
2015
DESKTOP 3D PRINTING
DESKTOP 3D PRINTING
Voxel Factory in Montreal introduced the possibilities of additive manufacturing.
IDEA → FILE → OBJECT
2018
2018
METAL + MACHINING
METAL + MACHINING
Exposure to DMG MORI revealed that additive manufacturing did not have to replace traditional manufacturing.
Metal additive and precision machining could work together to create a finished component.
The question changed.
Not:
Which process wins?
But:
WHICH PROCESSES SHOULD WORK TOGETHER?
WHICH PROCESSES SHOULD WORK TOGETHER?
2019
2019
INDUSTRIAL ADDITIVE
INDUSTRIAL ADDITIVE
An introduction to Nicolas Lacourciere of Stratasys expanded the picture from desktop printing toward industrial manufacturing.
Larger machines.
Engineering materials.
Production applications.
Additive manufacturing was moving beyond prototyping.
2020
2020
PRINTING FUNCTION
PRINTING FUNCTION
In California, Robert encountered inventor Artak Ter-Hovhannissian and witnessed a working prototype integrating electrical circuitry with an insulated aluminum thermal structure.
It introduced an idea that would remain with him:
WHAT IF WE COULD MANUFACTURE FUNCTIONS THAT WE CURRENTLY ASSEMBLE?
WHAT IF WE COULD MANUFACTURE FUNCTIONS THAT WE CURRENTLY ASSEMBLE?
Electrical.
Thermal.
Structural.
Material.
Geometry.
Together.
2024
2024
REPAIR INSTEAD OF REPLACE
REPAIR INSTEAD OF REPLACE
XJET Nano Particle Jetting Fusion
An aviation application involving worn alloy engine components introduced another manufacturing problem.
Instead of automatically replacing an expensive component:
SCAN IT.
REVERSE ENGINEER IT.
RESTORE MATERIAL.
MACHINE IT.
RECOVER THE PART.
It brought 3D scanning, additive manufacturing and precision machining into the same workflow.
2024
2024
PRINTING WITH EARTH
PRINTING WITH EARTH
Experiments involving clay and ceramic lighting at the Clay Co-op in St. Petersburg opened another door.
A conversation with Bo Countryman led Robert to investigate MudBots and eventually connect with Jason Hawley.
Clay led to concrete.
And concrete changed the scale.
THE PRINTED OBJECT DIDN'T HAVE TO FIT INSIDE A MACHINE.
THE PRINTED OBJECT DIDN'T HAVE TO FIT INSIDE A MACHINE.
THE PRINTED OBJECT COULD BECOME THE STRUCTURE.
2025
2025
CAPTURING THE PHYSICAL WORLD
CAPTURING THE PHYSICAL WORLD
A relationship with NeoMetrix expanded the journey into:
3D SCANNING
METROLOGY
REVERSE ENGINEERING
DIGITAL MANUFACTURING
Now the manufacturing process did not necessarily have to begin with a CAD drawing.
THE EXISTING OBJECT COULD BECOME THE DATA.
THE EXISTING OBJECT COULD BECOME THE DATA.
2025
2025
MARITIME
MARITIME
NewsFender and the creation of NewsFender America introduced a completely different operating environment.
Ships operate for decades.
Suppliers disappear.
Parts become obsolete.
Equipment changes.
Sometimes you don't need 10,000 pieces.
SOMETIMES YOU NEED ONE IMPORTANT PART.
SOMETIMES YOU NEED ONE IMPORTANT PART.
And you need it now.
That makes scanning, reverse engineering, digital inventory and additive manufacturing especially interesting.
2026
2026
THE LAB BECOMES REAL.
THE LAB BECOMES REAL.
After more than a decade of exploration, Lightbob moved from observing additive manufacturing to actively building its own manufacturing capability.
Today Lightbob operates a:
SEVEN-MACHINE POLYMER ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING CAPABILITY.
SEVEN-MACHINE POLYMER ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING CAPABILITY.
Prototype.
Test.
Modify.
Print again.
Produce.
Learn.
Repeat.
And keep moving forward.
WHAT CAN WE DO TODAY?
WHAT CAN WE DO TODAY?
3D PRINTING
3D PRINTING
Rapid prototypes, components, fixtures, tools, lighting elements and low-volume production.
From a digital file to a physical part.
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Have an idea but no part?
We can help move an idea through:
CONCEPT → DESIGN → PROTOTYPE → TEST → REVISION → PRODUCTION
REPLACEMENT & OBSOLETE PARTS
REPLACEMENT & OBSOLETE PARTS
The manufacturer disappeared.
The tooling is gone.
The drawing doesn't exist.
But the part is sitting in your hand.
THAT MAY BE ENOUGH TO START.
THAT MAY BE ENOUGH TO START.
3D SCANNING + REVERSE ENGINEERING
3D SCANNING + REVERSE ENGINEERING
Physical objects can become digital information.
Digital information can become new manufacturing capability.
OBJECT → SCAN → MODEL → MODIFY → MANUFACTURE
LOW-VOLUME PRODUCTION
LOW-VOLUME PRODUCTION
Not every product needs a mold.
Not every component needs thousands of units.
Additive manufacturing creates another possibility:
MAKE WHAT YOU NEED.
MAKE WHAT YOU NEED.
WHEN YOU NEED IT.
THE MACHINE IS ONLY THE BEGINNING.
THE MACHINE IS ONLY THE BEGINNING.
Lightbob Lab is not about collecting 3D printers.
Machines become valuable when they solve problems.
We are interested in the complete manufacturing chain:
DESIGN
↓
SCAN
↓
ENGINEER
↓
↓
MACHINE
↓
ASSEMBLE
↓
TEST
↓
DEPLOY
The future of manufacturing may not belong to one machine.
IT MAY BELONG TO CONNECTED PROCESSES.
IT MAY BELONG TO CONNECTED PROCESSES.
DIFFERENT SCALE.
DIFFERENT SCALE.
SAME QUESTION.
SAME QUESTION.
Polymer.
Composite.
Clay.
Concrete.
Metal.
Nanotech.
What happens when we stop defining additive manufacturing by the machine...
and start defining it by the problem we are trying to solve?
WHERE WE ARE GOING
WHERE WE ARE GOING
Lightbob Lab is continuing to develop capability toward:
ADVANCED ENGINEERING POLYMERS
FIBER-REINFORCED COMPOSITES
LARGE-FORMAT ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
3D SCANNING & METROLOGY
REVERSE ENGINEERING
DIGITAL PART INVENTORIES
OBSOLETE-PART RECOVERY
HYBRID ADDITIVE + SUBTRACTIVE MANUFACTURING
METAL ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
AEROSPACE
DEFENSE
MARITIME
INDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURING
HEALTH
This is not a finished story.
THAT'S WHY IT'S A LAB.
THAT'S WHY IT'S A LAB.
LOOK FOR THE GAP.
LOOK FOR THE GAP.
BRING US SOMETHING INTERESTING.
BRING US SOMETHING INTERESTING.
A broken component.
An obsolete part.
A prototype.
A fixture you cannot buy.
A product idea.
A strange manufacturing problem.
An object that needs to be digitized.
Or something everyone keeps telling you cannot be made.
LET'S SEE WHAT WE CAN DO WITH IT.
LET'S SEE WHAT WE CAN DO WITH IT.
ONE QUESTION REMAINS.
ONE QUESTION REMAINS.
DMG MORI demonstrated that additive and subtractive manufacturing could work together.
Aviation demonstrated the potential of scanning, material deposition and machining.
Clay introduced another printable material.
Concrete changed the scale.
And an inventor in California demonstrated that electrical, structural and thermal functions might not always need to remain separate assemblies.
After more than a decade, all of those experiences lead back to one question:
WHAT IF ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING COULD DO MORE THAN PRINT THE SHAPE OF AN OBJECT?
WHAT IF ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING COULD DO MORE THAN PRINT THE SHAPE OF AN OBJECT?
WHAT IF WE COULD BEGIN TO PRINT ITS FUNCTION?
WHAT IF WE COULD BEGIN TO PRINT ITS FUNCTION?
LIGHTBOB LAB
TOOLS. IDEAS. REAL SOLUTIONS.
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