Origin pivoted from 3D printers to COVID test swabs and scaled to millions in weeks

In April 2020, as hospitals faced critical shortages of COVID-19 test swabs, San Francisco-based Origin made the decision to halt production of its flagship 3D printer — the Origin One — and redirect all resources toward manufacturing 3D-printed nasopharyngeal swabs. The company, founded in 2015 by Google and Apple alumni, had built its reputation on programmable photopolymerization technology for industrial-grade additive manufacturing.

Origin collaborated with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), a Harvard Medical School affiliate, to design and clinically validate the swabs. Using the nTop Platform for rapid design iteration and its Open Material Network for medical-grade materials, Origin's swabs passed human factors, materials testing, and PCR compatibility evaluations by April 12. The swabs qualified as FDA Class 1 Exempt Devices and underwent additional testing with the U.S. Army, UCLA, and independent labs.

Within weeks, Origin had over 50 printers running swab production, each capable of printing 1,500 swabs in under eight hours. The company secured demand for over 500,000 swabs immediately and projected total demand in the tens of millions, while forming a distribution partnership targeting the top 50-100 healthcare systems globally.

Clinical validation, FDA Class 1 Exempt status, 50+ printers producing millions of swabs, demand in tens of millions

The pandemic created an urgent, massive shortage of test swabs with only a few factories worldwide producing them traditionally.

Origin's programmable photopolymerization technology allowed complex geometries without molds, enabling rapid design iteration and scalable production.

Clinical validation with a Harvard-affiliated medical center provided credibility that accelerated adoption by healthcare systems.

The FDA Class 1 Exempt classification meant the swabs could be deployed quickly without lengthy regulatory approval.

Existing manufacturing technology can be rapidly repurposed for critical supply needs when design flexibility meets regulatory clarity.

Origin joined the PrintedSwabs.org consortium to coordinate industry-wide supply, partnered for global distribution to major health systems, and continued ramping production to meet projected demand of tens of millions of swabs while maintaining its commitment to support existing 3D printer customers.