Case Study: Steelcase achieves 70% material reduction and rapid production-grade design iterations with Fast Radius

Steelcase - Customer Case Study

Steelcase set out to reimagine its award‑winning SILQ chair to expand personalization and speed product development, and turned to Fast Radius through its Application Launch Program® to explore production‑grade additive manufacturing. Using Carbon’s Digital Light Synthesis™ technology, Fast Radius partnered with Steelcase to design, engineer and digitally manufacture a custom arm cap that could deliver new aesthetics and functional benefits for end use.

Fast Radius translated Steelcase’s vision into 100 design concepts and produced 12 unique, nearly production‑grade prototypes in just six weeks, then printed the final arm cap as a single part in EPU 41 with an exposed lattice. The vendor’s solution consolidated three parts into one, cut material usage by up to 70%, accelerated real‑time iteration, and enabled on‑demand, zero‑cost mass customization — delivering faster development, distinctive aesthetics, and measurable efficiency gains.

Steelcase

Bruce Smith

Director of Global Design