Armac Martin is a UK-based manufacturer of metal household/furniture parts such as handles, knobs and door knockers, that has invested in a Stratasys Objet24 Desktop 3D Printer to improve in-house workflow and productivity. The results proved even more beneficial than anticipated for this family-owned SME, the 3D printer proving its worth for both prototyping and end use manufacturing to some extent as well.
Watch the video below, where Mark McGrail, Managing Director of Armac Martin explains the benefits of using the Objet24 within their manufacturing processes.
Besides the obvious first-glance benefits of 3D printing tech for a traditional company such as this – the wide range of customizability and the short time (and cost) from a 3D model to a concretized (prototype) object – Armac Martin also uses their printer to create sand-casted parts as well. This is done by first 3D printing a model piece, then creating a mold from the piece using sand, which is then filled with the final manufacturing material – e.g. brass – to end up with the perfect piece identical to the primary 3D model.
Armac Martin and their Objet24 is another good example of how traditional (specialized) businesses can capitalize on 3D printing to great effect – whereby it does not replace the functional subtractive processes, but complements them in different phases of the manufacturing processes.
Source: Stratasys
