Before and After 3D Printing : Comparison
Costs reduced to 14%
Lead times reduced by 92%
Problem
Brooks Automation manufactures equipment that must be able to handle fragile objects with high levels of precision. For each of these parts, the automated system must be designed precisely in order to ensure that the equipment is handled with care.
This means that, in production, systems are iterated upon many times before the final product can be classed as ready for service. With traditional manufacturing methods therefore, the development cycle can be incredibly long.
Solution
Through the utilisation of Markforged 3D printing, with the ability to create carbon fibre parts, Brooks were instantly able to shorten their prototyping process. Jeff Cavins, mechanical engineer says that through using their new printers, they are able to “print thin enough and stiff enough to prototype the type of parts [they’re] looking for”. The functionality of the parts that the Markforged printers produce adds even more value atop the reduction in cost and lead times; bringing Brooks to have brought more Markforged printers into their inventory. In their present state, Cavins states that Brooks are able to “take prototype parts into a meeting and show what the finished parts may look like”, when before, this would have been impossible.