Legacy Results, US visible results studio, remodeled how bodily manufacturing property are constructed in the course of the making of Superman 2025 by integrating Bambu Lab‘s X1C 3D printing methods mid-production into practically each nook of their fabrication workflow. The consequence was a quicker iteration, lighter stunt fits, and camera-ready components that when required slower, costlier processes, all with out a single on-set failure.
A Studio Modernizes Its Craft
The studio entered manufacturing going through a well-known stress: shrinking schedules, rising complexity, and a workflow that pressured trade-offs between turnaround velocity and half high quality. Their present fleet of business machines, from Stratasys and Markforged to WASP and Raise3D methods, every had strengths, however none erased the hole between a fast tough print and one thing prepared for digital camera.
That modified when the group started testing Bambu Lab’s X1C on the Hammer of Boravia armor. What began as a trial shortly revealed one thing sudden: components had been coming off the machine quick and polished. Because the studio famous internally, the platform had reached a degree the place FFF output was “of ample high quality to serve not solely as prototypes however, in some instances, as last components.” The fleet expanded, and Bambu Lab grew to become the spine of their fabrication pipeline.
What Obtained Constructed and How
The scope was broader than most would count on. Full stunt fits for the Hammer of Boravia and LexCorp Raptors had been assembled as multi-part FFF prints, fitted to performers, stress-tested by means of motion choreography, and revised, generally a number of occasions in a single day.
Mr. Terrific’s mechanically reworking flying chair mixed printed structural parts with MJF joints and steel {hardware}, then went by means of sanding, priming, and portray to attain a reflective hero end. For the Fortress of Solitude’s animatronic robots, inner brackets and articulation mechanisms had been first printed in PLA, then migrated to PA-CF as soon as tolerances had been confirmed, slicing weight and collapsing what had beforehand been multi-component steel assemblies into single built-in components.
Materials selections had been deliberate all through. PLA dealt with speedy iteration and ornamental surfaces. TPU (95A) stood in for silicone throughout actor match testing, Mr. Terrific’s T-shaped masks needed to flex with real looking facial actions earlier than the ultimate model. PA-CF supported structural masses, changing steel components. Moreover, the group efficiently ran Markforged’s Onyx filament by means of the X1C on a generic profile, attaining output speeds that outpaced the filament’s native {hardware}.
Ripple Results on the Manufacturing Flooring
The deeper shift wasn’t simply in particular person components, it was in how departments labored collectively. Digital sculpts and scanned clay fashions moved immediately into the printer with out interpretation or rework on the store flooring. Engineering groups ran 5 – 6 half revisions in a day, whereas mold-making and artwork groups labored in parallel reasonably than ready in sequence. Massive assemblies printed as soon as grew to become masters for urethane castings, giving stunt performers lighter, better-fitting fits with out sacrificing floor element.
The absence of on-set failures was cited as a significant benchmark, a affirmation that 3D printing has moved from a help position into one thing nearer to a major fabrication software in high-end sensible results work.
The studio anticipates elevated use of 3D printing in future productions. This progress is predicted to create demand for larger-format machines, together with dependable {hardware} and linked workflows. The group can be bettering how print jobs are managed and transferred throughout shifts, with the goal of decreasing guide steps throughout prolonged manufacturing runs.
3D Printing Throughout Movie Productions
3D printing lets producers flip advanced digital designs into exact, tangible props and miniatures that conventional fabrication can not match. Past creativity, it solves essential constraints of accuracy, repeatability, and manufacturing velocity, making scenes and results attainable that might in any other case be too expensive, dangerous, or technically unfeasible.
For the ultimate season of Stranger Issues, manufacturing groups used 3D printing to resolve a security problem, creating life-sized, digitally scanned replicas of kid actors to face in throughout a harmful climactic sequence involving the huge “Thoughts Flayer” set piece.
In Frankenstein (2025), Guillermo del Toro used 3D printing to supply a 30-foot “maxiture” gothic tower, precisely replicating intricate set particulars whereas accelerating manufacturing and decreasing reliance on full-scale builds. In Pinocchio (2023), del Toro printed mechanical heads, torsos, and alternative components, permitting a number of facial expressions and preserving tremendous textures that might be troublesome to attain manually.
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Featured picture reveals the engineer is performing floor ending on the 3D printed components of the Animatronic Robotic. Photograph through Bambu Lab.