Three New Large Format Printers Join the BFGarage Print Farm

We've expanded the print farm at our Leeds workshop with three new large format FDM machines. Two went live in June and the third in July. Each has a build envelope of 800 x 800 x 1000 mm, which is a significant jump over the 500 x 500 x 500 mm we previously offered.

This is the biggest single capacity increase we've made, and it changes what we can quote on.

What large format actually means for your parts

Until now, if a part was bigger than our standard build volume, we had two options. Split it into sections and bond them together, or machine it instead. Both work, but both come with compromises.

Splitting a part introduces joints. Joints need alignment features, adhesive or fasteners, and a finishing pass to hide the seam. They add labour, they add lead time, and they are almost always the weakest point in the finished component. For a visual prototype that might be acceptable. For a functional part under load, it often isn't.

With a build envelope of 800 x 800 x 1000 mm, a lot of parts that previously had to be split now print in one piece. No joints, no bonding, no seam finishing, and significantly stronger than a bonded joint.

What this opens up

Here are the kinds of jobs we can now take on that were difficult or impossible before:

Full size automotive panels and body sections, printed as single components rather than assembled from segments.

Large ducting, manifolds, and housings for industrial and HVAC applications, including complex internal geometry that would be awkward to machine.

Vacuum forming and composite layup tooling at a scale that previously meant outsourcing to a pattern shop or paying for CNC time in a large block of material.

Architectural models and display pieces at presentation scale, printed as one object with consistent surface finish throughout.

Jigs, fixtures, and workholding for large assemblies, where the fixture itself needs to span a metre or more.

Furniture components, props, and set pieces for film, theatre, and exhibition work.

Enclosures and cabinets for equipment that simply wouldn't fit on a standard machine bed.

Three machines, not one

The other half of this story is throughput. We didn't add one large printer, we added three.

That matters for two reasons. First, a single large part can take days to print. With three machines running, a long job on one no longer blocks everything else in the queue. Second, for batch work we can now run three large parts in parallel rather than in sequence, which cuts the calendar time on a production run to roughly a third of what it would have been.

Combined with our existing print farm and the queue automation we use in-house, the workshop now runs unattended for far longer overnight and at weekends. That feeds directly into shorter lead times for you.

What hasn't changed

The materials list is broadly the same as our standard FDM offering, so you can specify PLA, PETG, ABS, and the tougher engineering filaments depending on what the application needs. Layer heights and wall configurations are still tuned per job rather than run to a fixed default.

Pricing still works the same way. Large format parts are quoted on material volume and machine time like everything else, so a big part that is mostly hollow is priced very differently to a big part that is solid. If you're not sure which side of that line your model falls on, send it over and we'll tell you.

Our quality process is unchanged too. Every part still gets inspected before it leaves the workshop, and we'll flag anything in your model that we think will cause a problem before we start rather than after.

Design notes for large parts

A few things worth knowing if you're planning a part at this scale:

Warping and thermal management become more significant as parts get bigger. We'll usually recommend a material and orientation that keeps this under control, and in some cases a small design change makes a large difference to the outcome.

Wall thickness and infill strategy matter more at scale, both for strength and for cost. A part that is over-engineered internally can cost several times what it needs to.

Print orientation affects strength, surface finish, and support requirements, and the trade-offs are more pronounced on tall or wide parts. This is worth a conversation before you commit to a design.

If you want a hand with any of this, our Design for Additive Manufacturing service covers exactly these decisions, and we're happy to review a model and give you an opinion at no charge.

Getting a quote

Upload your file to our InstaQuote calculator for an instant estimate, or get in touch directly if your part is unusual, needs a mix of processes, or you want to talk through the approach first.

If you've previously been told a part was too big to print, it's worth asking again. The answer may well have changed.