Case studies

Ono Chair – the harmony of the whole with 3D printing

October 2025

Industry: Design & Furniture,

Material: PP GF,

Technology: LFAM,

Case studies

Ono Chair – the harmony of the whole with 3D printing

October 2025

Industry: Design & Furniture,

Material: PP GF,

Technology: LFAM,

Ono Chair – the harmony of the whole with 3D printing image

In a world increasingly shaped by technology and sustainability, the Ono Chair stands as a powerful symbol of interconnected design. Born from the creative vision of Ukma and brought to life through Caracol’s Heron AM platform, this project explores how advanced manufacturing can give form to deeper values—unity, responsibility, and innovation.

Designed by Ukma – Caracol’s Mexico City–based partner – the Ono Chair is more than a seat – it is a reflection of connection, interdependence, and the unseen threads that bind all things together. Every curve exists in relation to the others – remove one, and the form unravels. This design philosophy mirrors a truth present in nature: nothing stands alone. A leaf needs the tree, the tree needs the earth, and the earth depends on the cycles that renew it. So too in life – our actions, relationships, and choices are all part of a greater whole. The Ono Chair embodies this idea, reminding us that beauty is found not in isolation, but in unity.

Rethinking production: additive, efficient, responsible

The Ono Chair is a tangible expression of how design and sustainability can go hand in hand, made possible by the use of Caracol’s Heron AM LFAM platform. Heron AM breaks free from the constraints of traditional manufacturing, making space for creativity, efficiency, and low environmental impact.

Designers often strive for meaning and elegance in their work, but conventional systems limit that vision. Ono Chair demonstrates how Large-Format Additive Manufacturing enables a more liberated, circular approach – one that supports complexity without compromise and production without excess.

Heron AM: empowering sustainable and limitless design

To realize the Ono Chair, Ukma employs Heron AM, Caracol’s robotic LFAM system. This technology is central to the chair’s existence, not just as a tool, but as an enabler of bold, responsible design.

Heron AM supports the production of complex, organic shapes that would be challenging – if not impossible – to achieve with traditional methods. With its ability to print with recycled and recyclable materials like PPGF and eliminate post-processing steps, it ensures each chair is produced with minimal waste and maximum expression.
What Heron AM offers is freedom to create locally, with low emissions, to experiment and to design without being limited by industrial tools or economies of scale.

Technical Details

Technology: Heron AM 300 with HF extruder
Material: PP + 30% GF
Nozzle size: 5 mm
Printing Time: 10 hrs
Dimensions: 890 x 600 x 830 mm
Weight: 19 Kg
Post-processing: None – produced “as built”

The Ono Chair is not just an object – it’s an invite to rethink our place in the world—not as separate, but as part of a greater, interwoven whole. It’s a symbol of how design, enabled by advanced technology like Heron AM, can become a tool for storytelling, sustainability, and transformation.