Tokoshie Inc.: Democratizing Manufacturing with Fully Automated Continuous 3D Printers and AI

Toward a World Where "Anyone Can Make What They Want, Exactly How They Want"

Hello, everyone. My name is Ryutoku Watanabe, President and CEO of Tokoshie Inc. Thank you for having me today.

Under our vision, "To build a world where anyone in the world can make what they want, exactly how they want it," we are a startup challenging the democratization of manufacturing.

Currently, the importance of 3D printers in product development and manufacturing is rising globally. Compared to traditional methods, using 3D printers allows companies to reduce product weight by 90%, handle small-to-medium lot production from 1 to thousands of units, and reduce dead space for parts storage by over 70%. As a result, an increasing number of companies are adopting 3D printers for final product manufacturing, moving far beyond mere prototyping.

However, heavy challenges still exist in the process from product planning, design, and prototyping to mass production. First, design and printer output settings (such as slicing configurations) are highly dependent on individual skills, meaning the quality and know-how vary drastically between veteran and novice engineers. Second, CAD (design), CAM (manufacturing preparation), and the 3D printer are operated using independent software, causing a complete disconnection in the workflow. Currently, engineers manually bridge and adjust these steps, which requires enormous effort. Furthermore, on the actual 3D printing factory floor, the operation is still entirely human-dependent and lacks automation.

Integrating Belt-Conveyor 3D Printers with "Manufacturing Professional AI"

To solve these design, prototyping, and mass production challenges, we provide two major solutions addressing both software and hardware.

The first is our "Manufacturing Professional AI." This is a SaaS system that integrates traditional CAD- and CAM-centered software. The AI agent automatically connects each process from design to manufacturing preparation, interactively proposing optimal design plans and printing parameters based on the 3D data. This allows even beginners without specialized 3D printing knowledge to proceed seamlessly from design to manufacturing starting today.

The second is our "Online 3D Printing Service" directly connected to this AI. By simply uploading designed 3D data, we deliver high-precision physical parts to your door using our uniquely developed innovative hardware.

The 3D printer we developed features a multi-axis (5-axis) movement mechanism on top and a belt-conveyor system on the print bed. Conventional 3D printers are box-shaped, requiring someone to manually peel off the product every time a print finishes, which has been a major bottleneck for continuous production. Our printer automatically ejects completed parts as the belt conveyor rotates, immediately starting the next print automatically. This enables long-length printing and fully automated, continuous mass production. Developing everything from hardware to software in-house is our greatest strength.

From Prototyping to Lot Sizes Below Mold Limits: Fully Automated On-Demand Manufacturing

Our business model is very simple. The "Manufacturing Professional AI" is provided under a monthly subscription model, while the "Online 3D Printing Service" is transaction-based, calculated by multiplying the materials used by the printing time.

Our target is all manufacturing companies that have already introduced or are considering 3D printers. The Japanese 3D printing market alone is worth 250 billion yen, but with this technology in hand, we are actively expanding into the US 3D printing market, worth 1.5 trillion yen, as well as the rapidly growing US drone and electric mobility markets.

Currently, this online 3D printing service is undergoing proof-of-concept (POC) testing in stealth mode, showing overwhelming results by reducing a design-to-prototype cycle that usually takes 7 days to just 2 days. Our service is much cheaper and faster than traditional cutting or molding methods, and offers the overwhelming advantage of automated mass production at a lower cost than conventional 3D printers.

Currently, our team of three specialists develops all software and hardware in-house. We have established joint research with the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Engineering and have transaction records with Mitsubishi Pencil Co., Ltd., a major writing instrument manufacturer. This January, we exhibited at CES, the world's largest technology show in Las Vegas, gaining strong confidence for global expansion.

We have two objectives for today's presentation. The first is to raise 30 to 50 million yen in our seed round, connecting with VCs and angel investors who can serve as lead investors. The second is to build alliances with business partners for global expansion and manufacturing companies interested in utilizing our on-demand manufacturing. Please help us change the common sense of manufacturing and upgrade the future of the industry. Thank you very much.

Q&A and Feedback

Mr. Suzuki (Commentator): Thank you very much. That was excellent. It is impressive that you are already building a solid track record through joint research, corporate clients, and exhibiting at CES. Do you plan to sell these developed 3D printers as products in the future?

Mr. Watanabe: Thank you for your question. Currently, we do not plan to sell these developed 3D printers as standalone hardware. Instead, we offer them as an on-demand "3D printing service (contract manufacturing)." We receive 3D data from customers online, print them fully automatically using our belt-conveyor printers, and deliver them as finished parts.

Mr. Suzuki: I see. So you offer it as a manufacturing service (Manufacturing-as-a-Service) rather than selling the machine. In that case, is the conveyor-belt-driven automated mass production capability your main differentiator and strength compared to competitors?

Mr. Watanabe: Yes, exactly. With conventional 3D printers, every time a print finishes, someone has to stand by, peel it off the bed, and reset the machine. This manually disrupts a production cycle that takes hours or days. Our conveyor-belt printer automatically moves the conveyor to eject parts and starts the next job. This "fully automated" manufacturing process is our greatest unique strength.

Mr. Suzuki: Understood. In manufacturing, while a single prototype is fine on a 3D printer, mass-producing tens of thousands of units makes steel molds cheaper. Are you targeting the gap in between—where making molds is too expensive, but companies still need small-to-medium lot production of hundreds or thousands of units?

Mr. Watanabe: Exactly. While a few units can be handled by conventional printers, making tens of thousands of units makes molds cost-effective. However, there has been no suitable manufacturing method for the intermediate zone of "hundreds to thousands of units." Companies either accepted losses to build expensive molds or manually operated 3D printers with intensive labor. Our solution fills this "below-mold mass production" gap fully automatically and at low cost without requiring manual labor.

Mr. Suzuki: That makes perfect sense. This seems like a powerful tool for advanced hardware sectors like drones and mobility where high-mix, low-volume production is key. We look forward to your global success.

Mr. Watanabe: Thank you. We will continue to lower the barrier to manufacturing and support faster innovation.