The Sit-Stand Desk

Formative 3D approached Pump with a goal of rethinking how furniture is manufactured by using large format 3D-printing technology. Their vision was to reduce production lead time, allow for easy customization, reduce assembly time, and develop a product that can be easily disassembled and recycled at the end of its life. 

The sit-stand desk was the first piece of furniture developed through this collaboration and served as a demonstration of the potential of large-format 3D-printing. A sit-stand desk is a complex piece of furniture due to the precision of the telescoping leg assembly, which must meet demanding load and reliability requirements. Rather than simply enclosing a conventional metal leg with a printed plastic shell, the implemented design utilized 3D-printed parts as structural elements while meeting the same precision, load, and reliability requirements. 

In addition to designing structural leg assemblies, Pump was tasked with making the desk quick and easy to assemble while also enabling simple disassembly and material separation at the end of the product’s life. Our solution incorporated a lift column that delivered the required lifting performance through a modular integration, unlike the fully integrated designs used in most sit-stand desks. This approach allows the lift column to be easily removed for repair, replacement, or reuse. 

Multiple rounds of prototyping and testing were completed to validate the product’s functionality and durability. Once the design met Formative 3D’s product requirements, Pump continued testing and refining the product and its assembly until it met the industry standards established by the Business + Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA).