Case Study: CNC Performance Engineering achieves lifelike, high‑precision prototyping and faster production with 3D Systems' full‑color ZPrinter 650

3D Systems’ ZPrinter Changes the Face of Stop-Motion Animation

3D Systems’ full-color ZPrinter 650 helped LAIKA tackle a core stop-motion challenge: traditional clay hand-sculpting limited facial expression range and subtlety, yet stop-motion demands dozens of faceplates per second to create believable movement. For LAIKA’s 2012 film ParaNorman, the studio needed a way to increase expression variety and maintain exact frame-to-frame continuity without prohibitive hand-painting effort.

By printing replaceable, full-color faceplates and props using a plaster-like powder and colored liquid binder (with Photoshop color maps), the ZPrinter enabled over 8,000 unique expressions—up from mere hundreds—delivering fine surface detail, richer colors (≈0.025" paint depth), and new effects like dual-face motion blur. The result was more lifelike, subtle performances, faster duplication of parts, and a major reduction in manual painting and sculpting time.

CNC Performance Engineering

Chris Nachtmann

Owner