Interview with BQ: How to democratize 3D printing?

BQ are a well-known 3D printer manufacturer hailing from Spain that produce a number of popular printers. Perhaps the most popular of their range of BQ 3D printer machines is the Witbox Go! This sleekly designed machine was designed to be as simple to use as possible, and can even be operated via your smartphone. We therefore sat down with Astrid Sánchez, Business Director of 3D Printing and Robotics at BQ, to ask questions about BQ’s history, how their printers can be used in education, and what their plans are for the future.

3DN: How did BQ start in the 3D printing industry and why did you decide to manufacture 3D printers?

At BQ we are always attentive to market demands. We started distributing 3D printers in 2013 when 3D printing was barely known in Spain, and clients had to go to manufacturers in other countries. We realised two things: how difficult it was for users to receive support if they had a problem, and that 3D printing could interest a wider audience, yet was only used by a minority with very technical knowledge.

A group of students using the BQ Hephestos 3D printer, an adaptation of the Prusa i3.

Therefore, we took the step in manufacturing our first DIY 3D printer, the Prusa i3 Hephestos. Additionally, we created a ready-to-use 3D printer, the Witbox. Since then our catalog has grown and we now design our printers from scratch and manufacturing them allows us to control the entire production process. We manufacture the printers here in Noáin (Navarra), Spain, and make around 400 machines per day to be sold all over the world.