Case Study: Sphero achieves faster, production-ready prototyping with Fictiv

How Sphero leveraged the Fictiv platform to quickly and easily extend their prototyping capabilities

Sphero, the Boulder-based consumer electronics company behind the Ultimate Lightning McQueen robotic toy, needed a wider range of prototyping materials and higher-fidelity parts to develop tight-tolerance subsystems like tiny 0.3 mm gears for smooth, emotive motion. Their internal tooling produced high-friction, low-quality blanks that prevented accurate tuning of motors and drive-train losses, so Sphero turned to Fictiv and the Fictiv platform, using Fictiv’s ABS-like material to better mimic production parts.

Fictiv supplied high-resolution, low-friction ABS-like 3D parts with rapid turnaround, enabling Sphero to dial in motor and gear distances close to eventual injection-molded components, more accurately estimate current draw and drive-train losses, and iterate faster on fit and function. By using Fictiv’s solutions, Sphero validated designs more quickly and transitioned from prototype to production more rapidly.

Sphero

Doug Webster

Senior Mechanical Engineer