hand tool manufacturer WIESEMANN 1893 deployed by MakerBot METHOD X 3D printing system to support product development within its ENABLE 3D business unit.
Enable 3D offers 100 digital designs for tool accessories, all of which were developed specifically for 3D printing. Products include wall mounts, wall mounts and table mounts.
Typically, WIESEMANN made most of its prototypes through external service providers, but sought to integrate 3D printing technology in an effort to reduce time and cost. The company installed the METHOD X as its first 3D printer – largely due to its heated build chamber and ability to print in materials such as ABS, nylon, and carbon fiber composites – and also used MakerBot’s LABS extruder to ‘unleash the potential of their own materials’ on the machine. WIESEMANN would have recycled the filament from its product waste streams and integrated it into the METHOD ecosystem.
By integrating 3D printing technology in-house, WIESEMANN claims to have been able to test different iterations and designs for all WIESEMANN 1893 tools, as well as other projects for customers. It has also allowed the company to “keep production running” while deploying reduced staff on site during the pandemic.
In 2020, the company also launched the Enable 3D platform after founder and CEO Manuel Siskowski noticed an increase in consumer applications of 3D printing. Convinced that his company could add value to the products it already owned, ENABLE 3D was created to offer one hundred different digital designs of tooling accessories. Files are free to download from Thingiverse and can be printed on the customer’s own 3D printer or co-produced with ENABLE 3D. A community printing service is also available to support users who do not have access to a 3D printer. METHOD X allows WIESEMANN 1893 to first test these files and ensure they meet their high standards before releasing them to customers.
“We are seeing a shift in product design, where we can be much more creative,” Siskowski commented. “Prototyping is essential for us. We focus on quality designs and try to provide the best quality possible. To do this, it is crucial to test a lot and iterate quickly, and the MakerBot METHOD X helps us by speeding up this process. This is a great advantage when prototyping as it dramatically increases our time to market, while reducing costs.
“With ENABLE 3D, we’re commercializing and developing additive manufacturing use cases, and all of those use cases are focused on the co-production side of things. In these applications, we have a brand or a designer, and the production is done by the consumer. With the WIESEMANN 1893 brand, we continue to develop various tools and products. But with all our projects, whether for WIESEMANN 1893 or ENABLE 3D, we work hard to close the circular gap.
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