Almost 12 years ago, MOBA was one of the first companies to buy a 3D printer. Back then, the printer was pretty basic. Nonetheless, it remained an innovative, helpful tool for the validation of mechanical parts. It improved our inhouse daily work a lot. The parts themselves were printed in detail but the stability cannot be compared to the existing materials of today. Furthermore, the system was quite complex and it took a while for the 3D print to be done.

3D Print in Technology Companies – State of the Art

 Nowadays, it is state of the art to print all mechanical parts of a product for validation during the development phase. Companies who specialize in printing those parts offer different kinds of printers and materials. By this means, extreme dimensions are made possible. Also, stability and quality of the printed parts are very close to the plastic parts, which are produced in an injection molding process. 

 3D print of the MCP parts

3D Printer Usage at MOBA

However, sometimes it is helpful to have an inhouse 3D printer to have smaller parts directly available the next morning. With the new 3D printer that MOBA bought a couple of months ago, we are now able to print two different kinds of material simultaneously.

We mainly use PLA plastic for the parts. It is still impressive how accurate and precise the printer is in producing the parts. The printing materials available today provide a lot more possibilities in comparison to the past. Another advantage of today’s 3D printers is that they run the whole day. A plastic cap for an exhibition sample is one of the things that could be available within a couple of hours. Another example is a cover plate for a prototype of a junction box.

 Due to the new materials, it is also possible to print tools for the assembling/disassembling process in the manufacturing department.

3D Print Clever Idea

 A colleague had the idea to offer a tool to open the screw connection of a star knob in a comfortable way. He asked a colleague from the mechanical development department to produce a construction spanner with a lever arm. It allows you to turn the star knob in an easy way. A couple of hours later my colleague presented the service technician a drawing of the first idea. After slight modifications, they immediately started the printer. Just 1 day later, they could test the construction spanner in real life. In the past, it took much more money to have such a tool.

The construction spanner is just one 3D print that convinced all parties in terms of stability. We are excited and open-minded about what further items are worth being printed in the future. Do you have any suggestions? What would you like to see?