Our Pods are made of Polylactic Acid (PLA): The environmentally responsible plastic. PLA filament is a bioplastic made from renewable, plant-based materials, typically corn, beets or sugarcane. Unlike traditional Plastics, PLA is biodegradable, making it more environmentally friendly. Some types of PLA have additional additives in them to create a glossy effect, glittery effect, or just to improve the mechanical properties. Additives to PLA can often improve its appearance but often at the cost of strength. So silk PLA will be weaker than regular PLA, with PLA Plus and PLA Pro being stronger.
Unfortunately, 3D (FDM) printing is not a rapid process. The smallest pods we make can still take 4 to 5 hours to produce, and that’s with the latest generation of machines that are able to produce models twice as fast as the previous generation of machines. On average, pods take anywhere from 10 to 12 hours to print, but as the size of the model grows, so does the print time. Our Penthouse Pod needs over 60 hours of print time to produce.
Most Plastic products that you encounter on the market are injected molded. In order to manufacture those, a business has to do a lot of tooling to make sure they have all the equipment set up to make that 1 specific part or model. That introduces a very high upfront cost, but if the business can sell enough volume, they’re able to distribute that cost over a high production run making each part very inexpensive. Items manufactured this way also tend to be extremely uniform. 3D printing, on the other hand, has very low startup costs, but the cost per model doesn’t come down with volume in the same way it does with traditional Manufacturing.
The other major difference is that with additive Manufacturing, another term for 3D printing, it is far more likely to produce items with small irregularities. It’s almost guaranteed that no two items produced will ever be exactly the same, due to a wide variety of factors.
Due to the nature of 3D printing, all sales are final for Design-A-Pod (in which you choose your colors/patterns/effects), and custom pods.
Pre-printed, in stock pods can be returned within 7 days of receipt. A return authorization is required so please reach out to us first to discuss your return. If the return is approved, you are responsible for return shipping.
We offer a flat rate of $10 shipping and handling anywhere in the continental United States.
A custom pod solution typically can be produced in less than 2 weeks. Although that time can vary dramatically depending on if you have the exact measurements for the items you want to store, and if you are quick to respond to communication so that we can go through the process faster. Going through multiple design cycles will elongate this process, and in some cases that’s unavoidable depending on the complexity of the pod requirements.
If the Pod design and construction is fairly simple and straightforward, we will be able to get a 3D model created for your approval rather quickly. Once you approve the 3D model we can typically have it printed and shipped within a few days.
If your pod is damaged during shipping, you have 48 hours from delivery of your Pod to report the damage to us. Pictures of the damage will be required in order to replace your Pod or issue a refund.
Our Pods do not come with a warranty, but are guaranteed to be free from major mechanical issues and will be structurally sound. Due to the nature of additive Manufacturing (3D printing), items will have tiny imperfections and no two Pods will be exactly alike. Please reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns. We strive to create products that are stronger than what most companies produce, making them more durable in the long run.