Rubber sealing system company reduces tooling costs by 50% with Stratasys FDM® 3D printers

Developer of rubber sealing systems Rustin has invested in additive manufacturing to optimize the production of its rubber sealing systems.

The France-based company is acknowledged for the invention of the cycle tyre puncture patch. A recent issue it had to address helps it assess the importance of AM for its production workflow.

The company received an emergency parts request from rail equipment OEM Alstom that wanted to get back up and running after the failure of an engine air duct. Rustin therefore combined the strengths of thermal isolation material and a silicon sleeve with 3D-printed end connectors to fabricate right-angled joints that would replace the non-functioning duct. The company explained that, instead of being out of production for weeks, the production line was back up and running within four days.

 For the production of these end connectors, the French expert had the choice between two new Stratasys FDM® 3D printers it recently acquired – a Fortus 450mc and F370. Following this application, the company now intends to develop components that combine 3D printed parts with those produced traditionally in metal – in addition to tooling produced completely in FDM materials such as ABS, ULTEM™ 9085 resin and Nylon 12CF.

According to Louis Rustin, Managing Director, Rustin, it is now around 50% less expensive for the company to produce production tooling or parts with Stratasys FDM additive manufacturing compared to traditional machining. However, a reduction in cost per part is just one element of the overall savings.

It’s about time, operational speed and production capabilities, and with Stratasys FDM additive manufacturing we have more of each than we would with traditional machining methods,” explains Rustin. “The result of this efficiency means that our operators are effectively given more time to devote to applications like molds or dies in which traditional manufacturing is still deployed, but are nevertheless more labour intensive.”

The flexibility of additive manufacturing allows us to blend materials according to requirements, but it’s definitely fair to say that, due to the complexity of certain components, much of what we produce with the technology wouldn’t be possible through other more basic machining methods,” says Guillaume Rigaud, a CAD designer/developer at Rustin. “Even if we could do so, there would typically be several stages to go through before we had a finished part or tool. With Stratasys FDM additive manufacturing, we can produce any tool design we want – even complex items – in just one step. The technology removes barriers for us.

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