Before and After 3D Printing : a Comparison
65% saving in time
75% saving in cost
Problem
Ever since its inception in 1973, Guhring UK has been operating from Birmingham as part of the larger Guhring Group, manufacturing high precision cutting tools for their customers. Although Guhring UK started as a company who provided standard-quality cutting tools, today, they can be found manufacturing tools for some of the world’s most powerful companies; with BMW and BAE Systems amongst their customers. Their specialty is creating bespoke tools that fit their customer’s unique requirements, whilst supplying the accuracy that comes with their world-renown carbide and polycrystalline diamond (PCD) tools.
As each piece of tooling needs to be approved by a customer before being manufactured however, Guhring realised that their process was becoming expensive and time-costly, especially for smaller customers asking for more complex parts. Prototyping was immediately found to be the cause for only larger contracts to be viable for business, whilst smaller contracts were simply too expensive.
Solution
Having realised this issue, the team immediately looked to 3D printing as a way to help reduce the costs of prototyping. Setting out with the aim of reducing these costs whilst also reducing their production cycle, the company decided to purchase a Markforged Metal X which allows for the printing of incredibly strong carbon fibre parts to be made. In only a few weeks of using the Metal X, Guhring UK had turned to produce fully-functional tool prototypes, at a third of the time and at a lower cost. The parts printed are also cheaper than their metal counterparts, by up to 60%, without having to sacrifice on strength. Instead, Guhring UK has been allowed to produce more versatile and lightweight parts for their customers, albeit at a far lower cost.
