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Overview
Supernova Labs is a research and development lab in Cheshire working on advanced technologies including 3D printing, drones, virtual reality, aerospace manufacturing and space manufacturing applications, with a long term vision of of open source and 3D printable space planes that can fit in our garages.
They are currently building a fixed-wing drone demonstrator that will be controllable via a connected backpack PC that provides telemetry and video to a head-up display (HUD) in a connected helmet and environmental control suit. Supernova Labs breaks from a tradition of building these technologies for military applications, instead opting for commercial and private applications such as surveying and sports.
Background
Founder Adam Paigge came from FabLabs and makerspaces and wanted to step up from small workshop practice to industrial approaches, ultimately running a 2 year pop up workshop in Dalston, London, now consulting and operating from his local hackspace.
Aerospace partners can be closed and risk averse, so Adam sought structured learning on production lines, safety gating and robotics to engage big industry on equal terms. He chose 3D 360’s Advanced Manufacturing Skills Bootcamps after recommendations from Manchester Hackspace.
Democratising manufacturing through open source
Adam advocates open source as a way to de risk innovation in a traditionally locked industry. By publishing designs and methods, others build on the work, and the benefits flow back, which accelerates progress without breaching security controls.
Programme Delivery
Adam describes the course as inspiring and immediately useful. He valued trainers who “pointed me in the right direction”, contextualised cutting-edge options and kept support going through clinics. Building and running the programme printers developed fundamentals he still prefers for fast iteration, noting that Ender 3 class machines are controllable, repairable and upgradeable for pennies. The Skills Bootcamp also gave the team practical routes to scale ideas into credible production workflows.
Outcomes & Impact
- Rapid drone production – using the course printer he designed and printed a full airframe, learned strength to weight tuning and now produces one complete drone per week across two machines in four to five build plates for under £500.
- Thermal and propulsion experiments – created a 3D printed heat shield fabric with magnetic attachment for easy maintenance, bone-like lattice heat exchangers and small engine test rigs that reveal fluid dynamics before committing to metal.
- Tritium micro reactor demonstrator – a magnetically focused chamber with mirrors and a tritium vial that explores micro fusion concepts. The precise alignment and orientation of internal magnet geometries make this only feasible with 3D printing, which produces complex fixtures that would be impractical by any other method.
- Credibility with major players – progress opened doors with the Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and an on site meeting at Airbus via the Constellation network, giving Supernova Labs a platform to discuss biomimicry, graded materials and production methods in the same language as primes.
- Cost and speed advantages – open source methods and additive tooling let the team fail fast for a few pence, proving concepts that would be prohibitive with mould tools or outsourced machining.
Future Developments
Since completing the course, Supernova Labs have prototyped the end-to-end connectivity pipeline’s hardware and software stack, as well as releasing their custom operating system for the space industry, OS-1.
Next steps include a lighter drone design, formalising a small production line with safety gating, moving selected parts to metal additive, and using AR and VR for simulation and risk reduction. Supernova Labs will continue to engage with Airbus and sector bodies while exploring graded materials and lights-off manufacture for repeatable throughput.
Looking to build practical 3D printing skills that deliver real impact and fast?
3D 360’s 3D Printing & Industry 4.0 Skills Bootcamps offer hands-on, industry-focused training that equips professionals with the tools to solve problems, increase productivity, improve efficiency and drive innovation. Suitable for all abilities, they cover 3D Printing, 3D CAD, robotics, automation, AI, Big Data and much more. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to upskill your team, these programmes provide a solid foundation in advanced manufacturing.
Places go quickly, so register your interest or request a call back to find out more.
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Objective
Move from makerspace projects to industrial practice to engage aerospace partners and scale open source hardware.
Solution
3D 360’s Advanced Manufacturing Skills Bootcamps provided practical training on 3D CAD, printer operation, the foundations for production line design and safety gating with ongoing expert support.
Outcome
Engineers gained valuable diagnostic and troubleshooting capabilities, enabling more effective integration of 3D printing into clinical workflows and laying the groundwork for future innovation. his has contributed to more tailored treatments and improved patient outcomes through faster, more precise medical solutions.
"There's a lot of information in the Skills Boot Camp about how to set up production lines what goes into it how do you do safety gating for all your robotics. ... that was really key information for me going forwards when we scale up to that scale.”
“I love the course ... having somebody that's been through that and can point me in the right direction and give me context on what's available ... because when I'm working in things day to day I don't have the time to be looking at manufacturing and all of the things that are going into that to know what's on the very cutting edge. ... coming into that boot camp I've learned a couple of things about how I can approach this differently and things that I didn't even know were possible before I even started.”
