Prototypes & Onlays

We use 3D resin printers, laser cutters, and CNC routers to create product samples and prototypes for ourselves and for our customers. We also use them to create 3D Onlays for customers who want to add graphical 3-dimensional images to cabinets, walls, tables, and other flat surfaces. 

 

3D Onlays offer a quick and easy way to add 3-dimensional graphics to flat surfaces. They can be glued in place or bonded with a double sided adhesive or foam mounting plate. The 3-dimensional artwork is carved into materials such as wood, MDF, cardboard, plastic, foam or metal, then mated with the flat surface to become an integral part of the surface. Our Feature Product for May 2025 - an artistic diversion safe fashioned as a tabletop statuette of Aphrodite -- takes advantage of the onlay method. The carved sculpture pictured above is the same one used on the front panel of the safe.

Onlays could also be created as adhesive-backed 3D stickers in foam or elastomer materials that you could stick on everything from cell phone casings to book binders and laptop cases. By using onlays instead of carving or molding the 3D artwork directly into the flat surfaces of the product, we can let customers choose the custom artwork they want to display without having to create a new product for each different 3D graphic.

 

Carved in Wood, or 3D Printed?

While carving the 3D figure might be the go-to solution for many applications, 3D printing offers a unique appearance to features in the model that overhang. Consider the onlay above created from a copy Aphordite's statue. Since a conventional 3-axis carving machine moves the tool into and out of the wood as it carves, as illustrated in the photo above, there cannot be any undercuts. Using an additive 3D resin printing process, however, makes it possible to recreate these undercuts and subtle details like the back of the pleats in the dress. 

Need custom onlays for your construction projects? Ask us at info@alati3d.com