ROCK HILL, South Carolina - 3D Systems Corporation (NYSE:DDD), announced today that A.O. Smith is creating more attractive and efficient water heaters through its advanced new product development process, which integrates 3D printing solutions from the company's full-color professional 3D printers.
Using a ZPrinter® to create prototypes in-house, A.O. Smith is shaving weeks off product development, saving substantial cost as well as time. This enables them to iterate more productively and thoroughly refine designs, according to the R&D team.
"Instead of commissioning aluminum molds or sending out to busy contractors for plastic models, we pump out our own high-resolution color prototypes for a fraction of the cost," said A.O. Smith CAD Supervisor, Steve Wood, from the company's Johnson City, TN, manufacturing facility. "When a trial design isn't perfect, we quickly revise it and print another 3D model, or we create several different prototypes at the same time. This new versatility shows up every day in beautiful, durable, efficient products that our customers value."
An aluminum mold, including setup and prototype production, can be costly, consuming as much as six weeks from the company's design cycle before the first part is produced. Worse, if the prototype doesn't work, a significant design revision can require a new mold and another cycle of waiting. With its ZPrinter 650® 3D printer, A.O. Smith can print multiple prototypes reflecting a wide range of design alternatives in a few hours at a significant cost reduction.
"We expected the ZPrinter® 3D printer would have a short payback," stated A.O. Smith CAD Operator Robert Anest. "Since we're finding it increasingly valuable as time goes on, and thus, are using it more, it is sure to pay for itself sooner than we thought."
In addition to printing prototypes, A.O. Smith is printing molds for the production of plastic molded parts - again avoiding costly aluminum molds. According to Wood, "To produce prototypes from our own molds, we're spending less money and time."
The integration of the ZPrinter® 650 3D printer into A.O. Smith's product development cycle is driving higher sales for the company and its partners who sell its water heaters under household-name brands. The R&D team prints colorful scale models of water heaters for use at trade shows and sales calls, including one manufacturer's five-bus nationwide tour. "It's both a unique and an effective sales tool," said Wood. "Our customers and partners love them - for one thing, they don't have to lug around a 200-pound water heater. We're getting great feedback from everyone involved."
About 3D Systems Corporation
3D Systems is a leading provider of 3D content-to-print solutions including 3D printers, print materials, and on-demand custom parts services for professionals and consumers alike. The company also provides creative content development, design productivity tools and curation services and downloads. Its expertly integrated solutions replace, displace and complement traditional methods and reduce the time and cost of designing new products by printing real parts directly from digital input. These solutions are used to rapidly design, communicate, prototype and produce functional parts, empowering its customers to create with confidence.
More information on the company is available at www.3DSystems.com
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