Engineering and Machine Building

In engineering, 3D printing is used for functional prototypes, tooling, jigs, brackets and low-volume parts – with no molds and no minimum quantities. The core material is PA12 (MJF/SLS); for special cases, PA GF, Alumide or PEEK.

Help me choose

Challenges

What we solve

Iterations

The design changes every week – machining or molding every revision is expensive.

Complex geometry

Internal channels, lattices and integrated assemblies that conventional methods cannot produce.

Low quantities

You need 5–200 parts, not thousands.

Technologies

Recommended technologies

MJF

HP Multi Jet Fusion

Functional prototypes and series in PA12/PA11.

SLS

Selective Laser Sintering

Specialty materials – PA GF, Alumide, PA11 ESD.

FDM

Fused Deposition Modeling

Large jigs and PEEK/ULTEM™ parts.

Materials

Most used materials

PA12 Nylon

For most functional parts.

PA GF (Glass Fibre-Reinforced)

For stiff, hot-running parts.

PEEK

For extreme conditions.

Applications

Typical parts

Tool holders

Precise shapes for tools and fixtures.

Gears and mechanisms

For testing and lightly loaded drives.

Enclosures

Housings for electronics and mechanisms.

Nozzles and ducts

For air and fluid flow.

From prototype to series without molds

MJF and SLS produce parts with mechanical properties close to molded ones, so a prototype can become the final part. When the design changes, simply upload a new revision and the price is recalculated instantly.

What is worth printing

Jigs, fixtures and inspection tools for the production line.
Functional prototypes of mechanisms.
Spare parts the supplier no longer makes.
Low-volume runs – up to a few hundred units.

Design tips

Before you upload

Design for additive manufacturing from the start: walls ≥1.5 mm in load-bearing areas, round internal corners.
Use metal threaded inserts for threads.
Design integrated assemblies with 0.5–1 mm clearances.