3D Precision Printer by 9T Labs - Torizon | NXP i.MX 8QM Apalis SoM

9T Labs is a multinational company that provides automation technology to digitize the composite production workflow at the most innovative companies, aspiring to mass produce high-performance composites as easily as metals.

In the quest to manufacture strong, lightweight, and sustainable composite parts, 9T Labs faced the challenge of developing their own composite manufacturing technology. To improve their productivity and streamline their production process, they needed solutions from hardware to software, that could deliver high performance and OTA updates solutions, enabling them to develop, deploy, and iterate faster. With Toradex, NXP, and Torizon, 9T Labs addressed their unique requirements and overcame the challenges they faced.

Ueli Graf

Ueli Graf

Senior Robotics Engineer,
9T Labs AG

Choosing Torizon has simplified our development processes and allows us to dynamically roll out software updates to our production platform and perform remote diagnostics. The secure remote update mechanism allows us to respond to customer feature requests quickly and with minimal machine downtime.

9T Labs Journey with NXP and Torizon

Avoid Running Into Performance Barriers

The journey began with hardware requirements, as they didn’t want to worry about performance barriers. This way, 9T Labs was looking for hardware that could offer high performance and robustness for precision 3D printing, complex control algorithms, and HMI. The Toradex Apalis System on Module, powered by NXP i.MX 8 QuadMax, was able to meet their requirements, offering high performance and a wide range of peripherals in a small and easy-to-use form factor.

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Simplifying OS Maintenance and Focusing on Application Development

The second turning point of the solution was the necessity to focus on the core business, not having to worry about the maintainability of the OS, but focusing on the application. Torizon OS (formerly TorizonCore) provided a Linux-based operating system with a containerized environment, reducing engineering costs and time-to-market.

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Streamlining Remote Updating and Improving Productivity

With a fleet of devices in the field around the globe, remote updating the application and the OS was not just an option anymore. Furthermore, they sought a solution to make their process more productive. Torizon Cloud (formerly Torizon Platform) Services allowed for the reliable and secure remote updating of their system, enabling 9T Labs to faster deploy new features to devices internally and respond to customer feature requests quickly with minimal machine downtime.

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The reason why we chose Toradex and Torizon is to make sure that we focus on our core business, and for us, it was very important to be able to focus on developing the machines and the algorithm.

Ueli Graf

Ueli Graf

Senior Robotics Engineer,
9T Labs AG

The NXP i.MX 8 QuadMax, part of the Apalis iMX8, proved to be the perfect fit for 9T Labs' precision 3D printing, complex control algorithms, and HMI needs, offering high performance, robustness, and precision. The small form factor and ease of integration were also major advantages.

Ueli Graf

Ueli Graf

Senior Robotics Engineer,
9T Labs AG

We chose the Apalis iMX8 to avoid running into performance barriers. It's got all the performance we need and it's still a very simple system, in a small form factor, very easy to integrate into our machine.

Torizon's ecosystem of solutions enabled 9T Labs to speed up the development and deployment of new features while reducing costs and shortening time-to-market. With the Torizon OS and the Platform Services, 9T Labs was able to focus on its core business, developing the machines and algorithms without the added burden of operating system maintainability. Remote device monitoring had a significant impact on their process, as they were able to access data on various aspects of all their on-site machines, leading to improvements in the Red Series technology.

And as the final result, The Red Series® is the culmination of 9T Labs' efforts, featuring an all-in-one smart manufacturing technology that delivers unparalleled accuracy, reliability, and end parts capable of withstanding even the most extreme conditions. In addition to its exceptional performance, the Red Series® employs a sustainable manufacturing process that results in minimal waste, further emphasizing 9T Labs' commitment to environmental sustainability.

The reason why we chose Toradex and Torizon is to make sure that we focus on our core business, and for us, it was very important to be able to focus on developing the machines and the algorithm.

Ueli Graf

Ueli Graf

Senior Robotics Engineer,
9T Labs AG

The Apalis iMX8 is a small form factor SoM based on the latest NXP^® i.MX 8 SoCs. The i.MX 8 SoC offers the best performance and the i.MX 8QuadMax features two Cortex-A72 and two Cortex-A53 applications processor cores, as well as two Cortex-M4F microcontroller cores with FPU.

Torizon OS
Torizon Cloud Services
On-board dual-band 802.11ac 2x2 MU-MIMO Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5
Advanced hardware security and safety features
Free OTA Update Solution
Linux OS Support included

With the Red Series Additive Fusion Technology (AFT)™, with software and hardware from 9T Labs, users can make structural composite parts that can compete with metal parts at scale within an automated manufacturing environment.

Build Module

CF material: Omnidirectional Filament Placement (OFP)
Neat plastic material: Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF)
Build volume: 350 mm x 270 mm x 250 mm
Fiber Placement Accuracy: 0.1 mm
Connectivity: Ethernet, USB
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