The Transition from Graphic Design to Bicycle Manufacturing with the Fuse Series

Posted by FIT THAI on May 11, 2026

“Agility” is a buzzword that the manufacturing industry loves to talk about, but even the most agile hardware manufacturers have something to learn from the Polish graphic design company ARTNOVA. When faced with declining demand for 3D visualization work from clients, Artur Dmochowski, the company’s director, not only developed a new working approach but also decided to completely shift into a new industry.

“With the rapid development of AI, I started to worry that ‘desk jobs,’ whether graphic designers, programmers, or UX designers, might eventually lose significant work. So I wanted to start selling tangible products that you can actually hold in your hands, rather than just providing services.”

Artur Dmochowski, Director of ARTNOVA

The best way to create tangible products without the traditional infrastructure like most manufacturers is to have a reliable 3D printing ecosystem that can produce parts for practical use directly.

ARTNOVA has utilized the Fuse Series Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) 3D printer with Nylon 12 Powder material, as well as the Form 4 Stereolithography (SLA) 3D printer to produce carbon fiber molds, to kickstart their new business called BeSmart Bike.

Facing AI

Dmochowski knew that to maintain profitability in a rapidly changing market, ARTNOVA needed to diversify its business model. As AI tools became more capable of generating renderings, visualizations, and high-quality graphic designs, he needed to find alternative products along with a new customer base.

This idea came about while he was looking for parts and accessories to decorate his own bicycle but found it difficult to find products that met his needs.

“I thought, ‘Why don’t we design and print it ourselves?’” Dmochowski said.

The team already had experience with 3D printing. After designing the first prototype using Plasticity software, they printed it with a large Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) 3D printer, the Prusa XL model.

Although they could find customers through Etsy almost immediately, the feedback regarding FDM parts was not very good.

“Customers often complained about the surface quality of FDM parts,” Dmochowski said.

The issues were not only related to functionality; for parts used in practice, aesthetics and surface quality were almost as important as functionality.

Negative feedback from the first group of customers led the ARTNOVA team to start looking for solutions that could meet the needs in terms of practical use, weather resistance, long-term strength, and a smooth, beautiful surface that could harmoniously fit with premium bicycle frames.

Fuse Series for in-house production

The end-to-end workflow of the Fuse Series ecosystem allows the entire ARTNOVA team to learn and use it easily.

With the help of CADXPERT, Formlabs' partner in Poland, ARTNOVA has expanded its 3D printing capabilities and added the Fuse 1+ 30W to its operations.

The differences in surface quality and usability are evident from the start.

“SLS provides much better surface quality and clearly offers more design freedom. You don’t have to worry about supports or post-processing. Customers notice the difference immediately,” Dmochowski said.

The decision to adopt the Fuse Series as an in-house production system partly stems from ARTNOVA's appreciation for well-designed tools.

As the team members are also designers and artists, they enjoy working with manufacturing technologies that are user-friendly, organized, and have a smooth, uncomplicated workflow.

3D printed bicycle parts

Bicycle parts printed with SLS 3D Printing technology (spherical parts under the seat) allow customers to further customize their bicycles for enhanced comfort and functionality.

Bicycle parts printed with SLS 3D Printing

The dimensional accuracy and precision of the Fuse Series make it easy to produce parts that fit into existing structures. The SLS 3D Printing technology also enables the actual production of such in-house aftermarket parts.

“Formlabs designs both the machines and accessories beautifully and creates a cohesive ecosystem, both in terms of aesthetics and user experience (UX). I truly appreciate good design, even though this may not be the most engineering-focused selection criterion, I enjoy using well-designed tools and being surrounded by beautiful things.”

Artur Dmochowski, Director of ARTNOVA

The installation and startup process is straightforward, as the company has engineers with technology expertise on the team, making both the printer installation and the printing of the first batch of parts go smoothly.

Dmochowski stated that learning the system is not difficult either.

“Our team is highly capable and learns quickly, so the learning curve is not a major issue for us.”

Next steps with carbon fiber molds and additional innovations

With the very short time used for Post-Processing of SLS parts, the team can focus on developing new product designs and workflows for additional accessories, such as producing molds printed with SLA 3D Printing for carbon fiber parts.

ARTNOVA's production capacity continues to grow in line with the expansion of its customer base. Competitors, both large bicycle manufacturers and local small sellers, cannot keep up with ARTNOVA's ability to respond to customer requests and create new products almost immediately.

Using the Fuse Series in-house allows the team to produce parts for real use in small quantities cost-effectively, without relying on large manufacturers or plastic injection processes at all.

The entire workflow, from design to delivery to customers, can be completed in just a few days.

Their product catalog can therefore continuously diversify without creating a heavy burden in terms of storing parts or production planning, as everything can be produced on-demand immediately without lead time using the Fuse Series in-house.

Personalized customization and one-off production can also be done, which helps ARTNOVA build a strong customer base and good relationships.

From the first group of customers they found through Etsy to the large customer community they have today, SLS 3D Printing technology has allowed them to meet requests ranging from small clips to custom accessories.

For the next step, the ARTNOVA team has also purchased an additional Form 4 SLA 3D printer to start producing molds for carbon fiber parts.

“We are planning to produce molds for carbon fiber parts, which will be used to manufacture certain types of fixtures. SLS will definitely remain an important part of our production line, and we expect demand to increase starting this spring. We are also considering a second Fuse machine, which may include the Form 4L as well. As I said, I am a huge fan of Formlabs,” Dmochowski said.

If you want to learn more about the Fuse Series, you can find more details on the Formlabs website, and if you want to experience the strength of Nylon 12 Powder yourself, you can request a free sample of SLS 3D Printing.