Tekton

Miniature Concrete 3D Printer for Material Research

Summary

The research team knew what experiments they wanted to run. My job: Turn that into a buildable system spec, then ship it.

Context

Product Engineering Intern Tvasta Manufacturing Solutions

Construction-tech startup · concrete 3D printing

The Problem

Scale mismatch

Industrial printers: Built for construction sites, priced out of labs.

Material mismatch

Desktop printers: Clogging, abrasion, inconsistent flow on construction pastes.

What I Worked On

A research-focused concrete 3D printer.

Concrete + paste materials Modular build Easy cleaning

My Role

Owned requirements through testing, present wherever decisions got made.

Requirements Mechanical design Integration Testing

Failure triage

Fix Workaround Accepted constraint

Outcomes

+20%

Print accuracy

Tekton · iterative flow tuning · multi-cycle tests

−15%

Material waste

Tekton · modular extrusion · setup + between runs

Research-grade at lab budget

Fraction of commercial printer cost

Focus Areas: System Design Prototyping Testing Iteration Tradeoff Analysis

Problem Context

Output scale vs. Learning speed

Concrete printers optimize for output scale. Research teams need repeatability, fast iteration, and easy maintenance.

Reframe

Production machine → Research instrument

Product Goals

Fits a lab Construction materials Easy teardown + clean Fast iteration

System Architecture

Motion System

Cartesian motion: Predictable positioning, simple to maintain.

Material Handling

Batch storage and delivery, built to resist clogging.

Extrusion System

Mechanically driven, interchangeable parts for dense materials.

Key Design Decisions

Four intentional tradeoffs.

Architecture

Coupled system → Modular subsystems

Independently serviced and upgraded

Workflow

Print throughput → Experiment reliability

Constraints

Full capability → Accepted limits

Traded for reliability and usability

Learning

Theoretical metrics → Real prints

Testing & Results

Subsystems first, then the full print path.

Subsystem validation Material-flow tuning Extrusion consistency

Learnings

Material handling is the dominant constraint.
Maintainability matters as much as print quality.

In Action

Printer in operation

Printed sample

Non-proprietary views only

Key Takeaway

Requirements don't come pre-written.

The product skill wasn't engineering. It was turning a vague research need into a buildable spec, then catching where the build diverged.