Nestled within the historic neighborhood of Charlestown, one in every of Boston’s oldest waterfront enclaves, Fast Liquid Print (RLP) is doing one thing extraordinary: rewriting the principles of 3D printing — with out gravity.
This Boston-based startup has stored a low profile for years, constructing out its workforce, perfecting its course of, and printing elements for industries starting from healthcare to trend. However with the revealing of its first industrial printer, referred to as Levity™, at RAPID + TCT this spring, RLP is getting into the highlight.
And never simply the economic one. Earlier this yr, RLP’s work debuted on the Paris runway because of a collaboration with the style model Coperni, which tapped the corporate to provide a sequence of shiny, lattice-structured silicone purses. Going from the lab to the runway proved that RLP’s platform is production-ready.
“I by no means thought we’d be printing a purse,” Schendy Kernizan, co-founder and CEO of RLP, defined throughout a tour of the corporate’s headquarters in June 2025. “However that’s what’s thrilling about this work, you get these stunning requests that find yourself pushing the boundaries of what we are able to do.”
RLP Co-founder and CEO Schendy Kernizan subsequent to Levity™.
From MIT Lab to Business Launch
RLP’s origins hint again to the MIT Self-Meeting Lab, the place co-founders Kernizan and CTO Bjorn Sparrman had been exploring new methods to fabricate tender, purposeful elements. Their huge breakthrough was a course of now referred to as Fast Liquid Printing, which entails extruding supplies inside a gel suspension. This medium holds the printed construction in place with out the necessity for helps or layer-by-layer constraints, “successfully neutralizing gravity,” because the founders say.
“While you draw within a gel,” Kernizan stated, “gravity doesn’t restrict the way you design, and it doesn’t restrict how briskly you may make that half. In reality, RLP’s proprietary course of permits quick, large-scale, gravity free printing of industrial-grade silicone elements. Meaning no post-processing apart from a rinse and dry, no curing ovens, no sanding, no chemical waste.”
And due to the corporate’s determination to work with established industrial supplies (like platinum-cure RTV silicones), the printed elements already include recognized mechanical properties and security profiles.
“We’re not altering the chemistry, we’re simply altering the way it flows. Meaning prospects can belief the half they get is production-ready.”
3D printed elements at RLP’s headquarters in Boston.
Introducing Levity™
The corporate’s new machine, Levity™, is RLP’s official entry into the industrial {hardware} market. With a 500 x 500 x 500 mm construct quantity, whisper-quiet operation, and a built-in lighting and monitoring system, Levity™ is designed for engineers and designers who need velocity, precision, and ease of use with out compromising on materials efficiency.
“We’re opening shipments in 2026, however we have already got early curiosity,” Kernizan stated. “Some prospects might even get even earlier entry as early adopters.”
Vanesa Listek subsequent to RLP’s Levity™.
RLP has spent the previous few years working as a service bureau, printing prosthetic liners, gaskets, and design prototypes for shoppers throughout the healthcare, footwear, automotive, and aerospace industries. This hands-on service mannequin has given them the insights they should evolve Levity™ right into a machine constructed for each prototyping and manufacturing at scale.
“The objective has all the time been to bridge that hole,” stated Kernizan. “Lots of people prototype with one materials, then outsource for manufacturing. We needed to supply a platform the place you don’t must make that swap.”
RLP’s prototype printer. Picture courtesy of RLP.
The Coperni Crossover
Nonetheless, no single mission has generated as a lot buzz for RLP because the collaboration with Coperni. The French trend home, recognized for its tech-forward design, approached the RLP workforce about producing a restricted line of purses for his or her present. Though the luggage weren’t designed with RLP’s course of in thoughts, the workforce tailored the recordsdata and printed them in-house in Boston.
“It turned out to be a fantastic alternative — not only for visibility, however to really produce one thing that folks needed,” stated Kernizan. “We ended up printing elements for Coperni to promote, and now we’re speaking about what else we are able to create collectively.”
RLP’s Coperni bag. Picture courtesy of RLP.
The collaboration resulted in two most important industrial variations of the purses: the modern black Liquid Print Swipe Bag and an electrical blue, limited-edition Disney × Coperni Liquid Print Swipe Bag, alongside a gray prototype that I noticed throughout my go to. The design attracts inspiration from the iPhone’s “swipe to unlock” icon, giving the bag a clear, trendy, futuristic, tech-inspired form. Each colours are bought at $620.
Holding the bag in individual was a fantastic second. It felt a lot cooler than some other 3D printed bag I’ve seen; it’s tremendous easy, powerful, and modern. I truthfully didn’t anticipate it to really feel that strong.
RLP’s Coperni luggage on show at RLP headquarters in Boston.
What makes the bag stand out isn’t simply the form, it’s the fabric. RLP’s silicone print seems to be shiny and modern.
After printing, the elements had been laser-etched with logos, cleaned, and shipped abroad. The luggage debuted in a Disneyland Paris runway present in October 2024, the place the blue model, dubbed the “Ariel” Swipe Bag, was an ideal match for the theme of the night.
“Trend wasn’t one thing we anticipated to interrupt into, however it’s now one of many many capabilities we now have,” Kernizan stated. “We’d like to co-develop a design sooner or later that’s truly optimized for our course of.”
The Greater Image
At its core, RLP isn’t simply promoting a printer; it’s pitching a brand new platform for digital manufacturing. Kernizan identified that they don’t even like to make use of the time period “3D printing” anymore, as a result of it comes with outdated assumptions.
“While you say 3D printing, folks consider layers, helps, post-processing,” he stated. “However that is one thing else. It’s extra like drawing in area. That’s rather more than simply semantics. The absence of gravity within the course of means elements may be printed quicker, cleaner, and extra sustainably. There’s no wasted assist materials, no want for molds, and no tooling to retailer or discard. You print what you want — and nothing extra. That’s the longer term.”
The RLP workforce. Picture courtesy of RLP.
RLP’s ambitions go far past trend. The workforce is at present exploring functions in different industries, together with medical, industrial automation, high-performance sportswear, and transportation. On the similar time, they’re increasing their IP portfolio, formulating new supplies, and planning for Formnext 2025 in Frankfurt.
And whereas RLP’s story began with MIT, it’s now a enterprise all its personal, one that’s nonetheless comparatively quiet, however undeniably highly effective.
“Folks have adopted us because the early days at MIT, however hadn’t seen the tech in individual,” Kernizan concluded. “Some thought it wasn’t actual. However now they’re seeing it, touching it. And so they’re blown away.”
Photos courtesy of 3DPrint.com until in any other case famous
Subscribe to Our E-mail Publication
Keep up-to-date on all the newest information from the 3D printing business and obtain data and provides from third social gathering distributors.
Add your 3D Fashions and get them printed shortly and effectively.
