May 2026, Operational & Manufacturing Update
Hello everyone,
I want to finally give a proper update on what has been happening behind the scenes over the past weeks.
The short version is: the company grew faster than I was realistically able to handle alone.
What started as a small enthusiast-driven operation turned into a full-scale manufacturing, logistics, support, compliance, and export-management problem almost overnight. Orders increased, support emails exploded, shipping queues grew, paperwork piled up, and I found myself trying to simultaneously build printers, answer customers, manage customs issues, process refunds, deal with payment processors, handle certifications, and now navigate export and regulatory reviews.
At my current solo production pace, some of you probably would have received your printers sometime around the year 2030, personally delivered by an exhausted snail carrying a tracking number.
That joke became a little too real.
The truth is that while I did continue shipping units recently, and several more printers successfully went out the door before the latest regulatory complications appeared, that still is not enough. We do not need to ship “a few more printers.” We need to consistently move dozens per week if we want to recover properly and stabilize the backlog.
That requires help.
Over the past year, I attempted to internally scale hiring and operations myself. To put it politely: I massively underestimated how difficult it is to build a reliable production team from scratch while also running every other part of the business simultaneously. Managing assembly, testing, quality control, logistics, customer communication, and training all at once became unsustainable very quickly.
Because of that, the path forward now appears to be partnering with an established manufacturing company that already has the structure, reliability, staffing, and operational discipline needed to help us scale properly.
The important part is: this does NOT mean handing the project away or losing oversight. It does keep me from slowing it down. Thats a good thing.
I will still oversee production, testing, validation, firmware direction, and quality standards. The goal is not to disappear behind a factory wall. The goal is to stop bottlenecking the entire company through one exhausted human being trying to do twenty jobs simultaneously.
Right now, discussions with a potential manufacturing partner are going very well. Nothing is officially signed yet, so I cannot announce names or make guarantees, but for the first time in quite a while I feel cautiously optimistic that we may finally have a realistic path to stable output and faster fulfillment. And if that partnership does not come through for any reason, we already have a second manufacturing company lined up and ready. We are not betting the company on a single conversation.
If finalized, this partnership would allow:
- faster assembly throughput
- more consistent testing
- improved packaging and logistics
- faster shipment handling
- and enough breathing room to continue development on future upgrades and the enclosure project
At the same time, we have also been dealing with increasing regulatory and administrative pressure related to exports and product classification reviews.
Because our printers support advanced high-temperature engineering materials and are sold internationally, questions were raised regarding export classification and potential “dual-use” review requirements. This triggered additional paperwork, technical documentation requests, notarized forms, declarations, shipment reviews, and formal submission processes that unfortunately move at bureaucratic speed.
To be clear: we have NOT been accused of sanctions violations or illegal exports, and we are continuing to cooperate fully with all required procedures.
But dealing with these reviews while simultaneously trying to manufacture, support customers, and survive financially has been one of the most stressful experiences of my life.
There were moments where it honestly felt like I spent more time printing legal documents than printing printer parts.
At the same time, waves of payment disputes caused serious operational damage. Previous ecommerce and payment systems became unstable after large numbers of disputes were filed during the delay periods. A small number of those went further than a normal commercial complaint, including fraud-coded chargebacks and other formal claims filed before delivery had even been attempted. I want to be direct about this part: a delivery delay is not fraud. A civil commercial dispute is not fraud. Filing it as fraud, or escalating it into formal accusations against a small company that is actively communicating and processing refunds, causes real and measurable damage. It freezes payment rails, it consumes legal hours, and it pulls time away from the very production work that gets people their printers. We are now documenting every case carefully and will respond through the proper legal channels where appropriate.
The result of all of this combined was brutal:
- delayed orders created complaints
- complaints disrupted payment systems
- payment disruptions restricted operational cash flow
- and restricted operations created even more delays
- Refunds wait for money to be cleared, not cool.
It became a feedback loop from hell.
Because of this, I have not been able to maintain Discord, social channels, and community communication at the level people expected. Right now, every available hour has been going toward:
- production
- compliance
- shipping
- legal coordination
- paperwork
- logistics
- and trying to stabilize the company itself
I know the silence frustrated many people. I understand that completely.
But despite everything, I am still here, still shipping, still working, and still trying to push this company through one of the hardest periods imaginable for a small manufacturing business.
I have never dealt with lawsuits, regulatory reviews, export paperwork, payment processor shutdowns, or organized legal pressure before. I have never had debts hanging over me in my life. Getting hit from all sides at once has honestly been overwhelming at times.
But we are not done.
The goal now is simple: stabilize production, secure proper manufacturing support, clear the backlog, improve fulfillment speed, complete pending projects like the enclosure, and move the company into a healthier long-term structure that is no longer dependent on one person trying to operate at impossible speed.
To everyone who stayed patient and supportive through all of this: thank you. Seriously.
More updates will follow as soon as agreements are finalized and operations stabilize.
– Nathan
Founder, STōN-3D s.r.o.
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April 2026. New Site, New Chapter.
We moved from Shopify to WooCommerce. New site, cleaner setup, better payment options. If you had an account on the old site, you’ll need to create a new one.
Current expected dispatch for new orders: 8-10 weeks. Built to order, tested by hand, shipped when ready.
Firmware Overhaul
The STōN-WoLF firmware package has been completely rebuilt. Every unit ships with these systems pre-installed, pre-configured, and ready to use. All optional. All open source.
- STōN Modes. Pick your speed. Printer handles the rest.
- STōN Flow. Hotend can’t overrun. No more mystery under-extrusion.
- STōN Homing. Sensorless homing that actually works. Every time.
- STōN-PROBE. Load cell probing. Perfect first layers, any nozzle.
- STōN Maintenance. Your printer tells you when it needs service.
- Wireless KlipperScreen. Any phone or tablet is your display.
- Three-layer accel safety. Push hard. The printer won’t let you break it.
- Interruptible thermal soak. Skip it if you’re in a hurry.
- Nozzle wiper. Clean nozzle before every probe. Automatically.
- Single config file. One file, everything tunable, no SSH.
Full specs and details on the product page.
Open Source
GitHub is live: github.com/STON-PRINTERS
Hardware: CC-BY-SA-4.0. Software: GPL-3.0.
Contact
Email is the best way to reach us: nathan@ston-3d.com
No Discord for now. More updates when there’s something worth sharing.
Nate