Kratzer Sees 90% Improvement with AM

Kratzer's Christian Maier poses with the new Fortus machine. Image: Stratasys

Kratzer uses the fixtures as part of its system of manufacturing milled/honed/grinded parts for dental, automotive, and aerospace applications. Creating fit-for-purpose fixtures quickly can directly impact production flows.

“We have traditionally manufactured parts, which over time naturally start to crack and break,” said Christian Maier, Division Manager Fixture Construction and Training Supervisor at Kratzer. “Previously, we had to wait for the team to manufacture another fixture, which delayed the production process by several days. Now, we have the file, we can have the fixture in just a few hours. This dramatically enhances our production flow.”

The company previously milled new fixtures. The printers allow them to quickly create complex and customized parts.

Kratzer now 3D prints fixtures for their laser devices, allowing the company to engrave multiple parts simultaneously. Image: Stratasys

“Since the installation of our new Fortus 450mc 3D Printer, we can have the fixture ready the next day, which results in time savings of up to 90%,” Maier said.

The use of 3D printing has also introduced new flexibility on the company’s production line. For example, using custom fixtures has made laser etching more efficient.

“Very often, our customers require parts that need a serial number, logo or writing applied to them, which is undertaken by our laser machines,” Maier said. “Prior to having our Fortus 450mc, we had to put each part separately into the laser device, or mill customized fixtures for every job to hold several parts. Obviously, this was extremely tedious and time-consuming, but with additive manufacturing, we can create holding fixtures to laser 30 parts simultaneously, saving us an incredible amount of time and labor.”

Kratzer prints most of the durable fixtures out of polycarbonate and ABS, and also uses ULTEM for parts that require resistance to extreme temperatures or exposure to chemicals.

Source: Stratasys