Variety Vault is a contract additive manufacturer in Ames, Iowa. We design, print, finish, pack, and ship out of one building, and the same machines that run production parts for manufacturers run the goods in our own retail catalog. When a job needs something we do not run ourselves, we have a network of partners we trust to cover it, so the answer is how rather than no. Nothing here is quoted by a machine. You talk to the people who will make the part.
Small enough to answer youThe person who reads your message can walk to the machine and look at it. There is no account manager between you and the shop floor.
Equipped like a factoryAn industrial SLS system, 20+ filament machines, and 20+ resin machines, running under one set of operating standards with in-process camera monitoring.
What we are
We own the machines.
Design · print · finish · pack · ship
We run all three processes in house, which means the person quoting your part is the person who knows what it will take, and a job that needs two of those processes does not need two vendors. Around that we keep a network of partners for the work that sits outside our walls, so a project with a coating spec, a board, or a process we do not run still comes back to you as one job with one date.
We pick the processSintered nylon, filament, or resin. Owning all three means we are not talking you into whichever one we happen to have, and we combine them on one job when that is the better answer.
We finish it hereVapor smoothing, dyeing, spraying, silicone casting, and hand detail work in our own shop, with Cerakote through our coating partner. Parts leave looking like products, not like prints.
We pack and ship itKitting, packaging, and fulfillment from the same building. Drop-shipped to your customer unbranded or packed in your own boxes, your call.
A network behind the shop.Coating, board work, specialty materials, and the steps that happen outside a print shop. These are partners we have worked with and trust, so a requirement we do not cover under our own roof gets sourced instead of turned away. Knowing who to call is part of what you are hiring.
Promotional materials, print and packaging.Shirts, drinkware and promotional goods, plus banners, signage, labels and the printed pieces that go around a launch. We buy it in and it ships with the rest of your job, instead of turning up separately from a vendor you had to go and find.
The creative is in house.Branding, artwork and packaging design are not farmed out. A product can leave here designed, made, finished, packed in its own box and ready to put in front of a customer, without a separate agency in the middle.
You still deal with us.However many hands touch a project, you get one quote, one point of contact, one date, and one invoice. Coordinating the pieces is our job, not something we hand back to you halfway through.
One place to send it. The goal is that a product can be designed, made, branded and shipped without leaving our building.
Who runs it
Three people. Every machine.
Ames, Iowa
Three people run this shop, and all three of us can operate every machine on the floor. We each own a side of the business, but nothing here waits on one person being the only one who knows how.
Founder. Problem-solver.Jon CacklerI started Variety Vault with a single printer and a need to fix things: for my family, for my community, and for the people who needed parts done right. I built the systems behind the shop, the ones nobody sees, that keep jobs moving and machines fed. I have a background in hands-on work, a head for systems, and a habit of taking on challenges most people avoid. Whether it is dialing in a tricky material, scaling production, or rethinking how a part gets made, I am in this because I love the process of solving problems that matter.
Co-owner. Creative director.Emily DiesEmily runs the creative and commercial side of Variety Vault: branding, marketing, the storefront, and how the company reads to anyone who finds it. She also owns quality control and fulfillment, so the last look at a part before it is boxed is hers, and so is the box. Her ability to balance structure with creativity keeps us organized without losing momentum, and her role is central to how we scale with intention.
Production manager. Builder.RJ VannoyRJ is our boots-on-the-ground tech, and that is meant literally. He is the one changing printers over, swapping materials, and keeping the queues moving, not watching someone else do it. He runs daily production across every platform and owns the file prep pipeline, from model cleanup to slicing to Blender workflows. Whether it is optimizing supports or troubleshooting a tough job, RJ keeps parts flowing and problems solved. Around here we call him The File Whisperer, because if it is broken, he is already on it.
Work we have done
Parts that went to work.
Commercial · academic · research
A shop is only as good as what has already left it. These are sectors we have delivered into, not markets we are hoping to reach.
AgricultureComponents for equipment and operations that run in the field and in the weather.
PackagingPrinted packaging inserts and protective trays, made to hold a specific product instead of a generic void fill.
Gaming hardwareEnclosures and parts for consumer hardware, including multi-color production runs.
ArcheryFunctional components for gear that takes repeated load and abuse.
Pet productsConsumer goods made in quantity, finished and packed here for retail.
Radiation shieldingTungsten-filled components for academic research. Not a material most shops will touch.
Legacy partsReverse engineered and replicated from a physical sample when the original is discontinued.
Product developmentRapid iteration on tools, fixtures, and enclosures for engineering teams mid-project.
Many colors available · functional game parts
Durable · fine detail resin
Engineering material · functional parts