3D Printing – Child’s Play?

Since the early 2000s, the family-owned company Readymade AB has had playgrounds as its field of work. Its tasks range from installing playgrounds and developing new products to ensuring that outdoor environments remain safe and inspiring for the children who use them.

In the spring of 2025, a new opportunity arose when Readymade was invited to take part in the RISE-coordinated project 3D-Action 2.0 – an initiative aimed at increasing awareness and knowledge of additive manufacturing (commonly known as 3D printing) among small and medium-sized enterprises in Västra Götaland. Robert Lapidus, CEO of Readymade AB, was immediately intrigued by the new technology.

“Over the years, we’ve had a close collaboration with IUC Sjuhärad, and when they recommended 3D-Action 2.0, the timing couldn’t have been better. We had just started investing in product development for games as educational tools in schools, and through the project our interest was sparked – both in a wide range of new materials and in additive manufacturing,” he explains.

At the outset, Robert Lapidus was invited to visit the Application Center for Additive Manufacturing at RISE.

“We hardly knew anything about 3D printing before, and it was important for us to understand the breadth of possible applications. Soon after, we received a great deal of support in learning how to set up our own printer, what materials are available, and which design programs are useful to work with. It didn’t take long before we saw the potential.”

From idea to product

Readymade decided to invest in its own 3D printers for plastic materials, and shortly afterwards the company hired someone to work full-time in the area. But how would the technology be used?

“We quickly identified an important product that was well suited. It’s what’s known as inspection probes, which are used by playground inspectors.”

An inspection probe is a plastic tool designed with the same dimensions as a child’s head, neck, chest and fingers – matching the age group that will use, for example, a climbing frame. The tool is used to assess the risk of pinching and other types of injury.

“Inspection probes are used by all playground inspectors today, and historically they have been quite expensive to purchase,” says Robert Lapidus.

“We discovered that 3D printing makes it possible to produce these inspection probes at a much lower cost. The technology allows multiple probes and tools to be integrated into a single unit, with different openings and compartments. This not only simplifies production but also makes them easier to handle. Achieving something like this would have been extremely difficult without printing,” he adds. 

A bigger impact than expected

Changing a product’s design isn’t always possible. But when there’s room to do so, additive manufacturing can really shine – something Readymade discovered firsthand. The technology works by building components layer by layer. This can sometimes allow multiple parts to be replaced by a single unit, or enable the creation of internal structures, curves, and channels that aren’t possible with traditional methods. But there are other benefits as well.

“Rapid prototyping. That has been important to us. At the moment, we’re running extensive product development for our games, and our 3D printers are at the heart of the process. In the future, we hope to replace physical parts in the games with printed components as well. Being able to produce both prototypes and finished parts in-house has truly transformed the way we work, bringing production and expertise closer to our team,” says Robert Lapidus. 

“It creates a more direct and flatter organisation when it comes to these aspects, compared with dealing with a factory far away that holds both the production resources and the expertise. Now we’re connecting the factory with our own development and with our colleagues’ ideas and input, which makes it much easier to turn creativity into reality,” he continues.

Full speed ahead

Things have moved quickly for Readymade, and Robert Lapidus is equally eager to keep the momentum going. He has big plans for integrating 3D printing further into the production process.

“We want to take 3D printing further, both in terms of materials and the size of components. I’m convinced it will open up new opportunities for us. We’ve seen that working with this technology can be economically advantageous in several ways, both in production and in the preparation stages,” he says.

Participation in 3D-Action 2.0 marked the start of a transformative journey for Readymade, one that is likely to have a major impact on the company’s products and services going forward. Robert Lapidus is very pleased with the outcome.

“I have to say, the support from RISE and IUC has been absolutely fantastic. It’s been just the right amount for a smaller company to handle. There’s been flexibility in our meeting schedules and in how much we can contribute in terms of resources. It’s not always the case for smaller companies to have someone working full-time on a project,” he explains.

To other small and medium-sized enterprises with products that could potentially be 3D printed, Robert Lapidus has this advice:

“I would strongly recommend taking an interest in additive manufacturing. Partly to be better prepared for the future with new CAD or production technologies, but also to bring the technology directly into your production for certain components or prototypes. We’ve already seen huge benefits – these days, we spot almost daily opportunities to hit the print button, which is something entirely new for us over the past six months.”