Mehmet ÖZEN

Owner / Uğur Design

• Who are Ugur Design and Mehmet Özen? Could you tell us about yourself and Uğur Design?

I am Mehmet Özen. The name of our company is Ugur Casting and also known as Ugur Design. In fact, our establishment dates back to the 1900s. At that time, we were a company that only did casting work in the Turkish jewelery market. But later we established a department for model design. When we took the initiative to establish the 3D printer track, our aim was to make products that cannot be produced in rubber and offer them to the market. Then we realized that it was more likely to be marketed abroad. Because it is more difficult to ship it as a casting, that is, a valuable product. Gold products are causes problems in customs procedures. You are wasting a lot of time during the shipping process. Neither you nor the buyer company has any profit from it, but selling them as resin is very advantageous for both you and the other company. This is already something sought for the country’s economy. You create added value and sell it abroad.

After we started this business, we decided that we should not limit ourselves only to rubber production. We can also move non-rubber produced products and rubber produced products to this area. This time, our product range started to expand. We were previously a company that only made rings and handcuffs. Later, once we had such an opportunity, we realized that we had the opportunity to do anything and we set out on such a journey. Our meeting with Uniway happened while we were starting this journey.

• Can you tell us about your story of meet with Uniway technology?

We can make many models, but these models have some differences in themselves. Moveable and still parts, mills… We have all looked at that we have some problems with the machines we prefer; we have started to try 3D printer brands. At first we started with another brand, we were making fixed products in it, then when the demand for stoned design products increased, we started to make stoned products. But the returns we got on stoned products were about the products being constantly faulty. In other words, we were faced with problems such as stone fractures and frosting of such stones as sector. When we researched these, we found that the resin models we produced in other brands continued to be cured after production, some measurements in the model changed due to curing and the stones became ice. We investigated which firm’s resin would not continue to be cured, meaning it could remain under these lights to a constant extent. Then, Uniway came up to us.  The testing phase did not last very long. We put it under the lights with 2-3 models and tested it. We were convinced that the cure did not continue.

I guess it’s probably the fourth year since we started working with Uniway. We have had Uniway machines for 4 years. We are very pleased. Technology meets our needs. As these 3D Printer brands diversified in the market and we realized that we found some of the features we were looking for in Uniway, we started to increase our cooperation and investments with Uniway. Then we started transferring the stone models to Uniway. After we started to produce all stone models with Uniway, movable chains started to be sold in the market. Just as the size of stone nest’s size does not decrease, this time we may be making chains here. This time, we started making the moving parts at Uniway. When we shifted the moving parts to Uniway, the machine park became insufficient. We created a new place for Uniway and built a track for Uniway.

We met Uniway thanks to this stone problem. After we met, we started producing moving models. Currently, Uniway machinery operates 24/7.

• What made Uniway technology different for you?

Uniway’s technology we use in production is resin-based 3D printer. We also produce by printing models from resin. This gives us great peace of mind in terms of exports and cargo. It does not melt, break or warp. You can keep products in stock for months. There is no changes in measurements. Since Uniway provides the necessary support in this regard, our cooperation with Uniway started with the decision to produce stone products and then came to this point.