Qualification for 3D Printing

Not every spare part is suitable for 3D printing. Therefore, we thoroughly analyze spare part inventories, including technical and economic factors such as material properties, size, demand frequency and lead times. Usually this leads to around 7-10% of printable parts. In a next step we validate the spare parts in a test print and give a quote. Using this data, it is possible to save the part designs in our digital inventory, so they can be printed on-demand and decentral, leveraging our 3D printing network.

Additive manufacturing offers a wide range of different technologies, used for different purposes. They are liquid, powder or solid based. 3D printing allows the use of many different materials from thermoplastics, metals, ceramics and biochemicals. Based on your part requirement (e. g. stiffness, hardness, UV-resistance) we can choose the right material and technology for your parts or you can access our free material database with easy filtering options.

We can use simulation to visualize the thermo-mechanics during manufacturing, leading to a production of high-quality and high-accuracy spare parts. If we see a potential for a better performance of your part, we can also redesign it, leading to lighter and more durable parts with increased lifetime. Thus, reducing energy, costs and CO2 emissions during the usage phase of your product.

Especially for older spare parts, design drawings are often not available anymore and CAD files are usually not existent at all. However, those legacy parts are a good fit for 3D printing as they cannot be manufactured in a cost efficient way anymore using traditional production methods. For this reason we are offering services for reverse engineering and the conversion of 2D drawings into 3D files. By digitally storing the design, you can produce spare parts for aging assets on demand.