Quality 3D printing in colour: it was the foundation of what became a winning pitch at the 2014 Queen’s Innovation Centre Summer Initiative (QICSI) and the inception of Mosaic Manufacturing for co-founders Derek Vogt, Sc’14, Mitch Debora, Sc’14, and Chris Labelle, BCom’14.
Seven years later the product, named Array, promises to disrupt the manufacturing industry with a high-scale automated 3D printing system. Array is a system that will drive the shift into modern factories where mass personalization and customization are entirely possible.
Vogt, Mosaic’s Chief Technology Officer, strongly believes in the potential of this innovative technology. “Array impacts manufacturing by enabling 3D printing in scaled applications. Flexible output, mass customization, faster turnaround times and unrestricted part geometries are now accessible at production volumes in the hundreds of thousands of parts per year,” he said.
Already this system is catching the eye of many large manufacturing companies looking to increase customization while reducing costs and production time.
Through this success Vogt has been adamant to note just how instrumental QICSI was in getting the Mosaic team to where they are. “Our time at Queen’s Incubator program seven years ago allowed our founding team to come together and be in an ecosystem that allowed us to succeed,” he said. “Without its resources and support we simply wouldn't be where we are today.”
The Queen’s Innovation Centre Summer Initiative (QICSI) is a 16-week, fixed cohort incubator program, eligible to students and community members from any program, year, or level of study, where founders receive no-cost training, mentorship, and office space to launch their own venture. QICSI offers the opportunity to work on a venture full-time while receiving ongoing support from the Dunin-Deshpande Queen's Innovation Centre advisors, mentors, and staff.
While students at Queen's (l to r) Chris Labelle, Derek Vogt, and Mitch Debora founded Mosaic Manufacturing
The Mosaic team now consists of 40 people and is based out of Toronto with operations in Europe and Asia as well. This growth has created many excellent opportunities for young engineers, which is something the team is now offering specifically to Queen’s Engineering students through a QUIP internship.
“Offering internships at Mosaic has been an incredible way to give back to the next generation of engineers,” said Vogt. “Queen's gave us an excellent opportunity to grow as we were graduating, and now we're fortunate to provide similar opportunities to other Queen's Engineers.” This goes to show just how strong the Queen’s Engineering community is, alumni and students alike.
To learn more about Mosaic’s innovative technology and see just how they plan on taking the automated manufacturing industry by storm, check out their website at https://www.mosaicmfg.com/.