Whale, a company that manufacturers water pump and heating systems, announced an increase in new business following the purchase of an Objet Connex multi-material 3D Printer for its headquarters in Bangor, Northern Ireland. The multi-material technology of the 3D printer means the company can now prototype design concepts with supreme accuracy and undertake robust testing using watertight digital materials – helping the company to bring its products to market quicker than ever before.
“We saw Objet Connex multi-material technology as a means to provide a broad capability,” commented Richard Bovill, Whale Design Engineering Manager. “The range of materials from rigid to rubber gives us a great advantage when recreating production parts, especially the water tight material, as it allows us to carry out robust tests that can reduce the product development process by weeks or even months.”
Over the past three years Whale has issued 15 worldwide design patents, supplying products to the marine, caravan and motor home, shower drainage, and industrial markets. Whale added an Objet Connex 3D Printer to its portfolio of rapid prototyping systems to expand its capabilities when designing new products and make improvements to current offerings.
“Using Objet Connex multi-material technology we can now produce rubber, over-molded, transparent and waterproof models, allowing us to recreate design faults and identify ways we can improve our products in a more cost effective and timely manner,” said Managing Director Patrick Hurst. “This has enabled us to increase our existing business and create new business opportunities, while maintaining the level of innovation our customers are accustomed to.”
With the Objet Connex multi-material 3D Printer currently in operation 24 hours a day, Whale is using a large variety of materials to deal with the demand and diversity of its customer’s design projects.
“Having such a wide range of shore hardness and the ability to print rubber parts, means that it is like having three machines in one. We can now deliver our customers a finished high quality model in as little as 24 hours,” concluded Hurst.
Objet Ltd.
www.objet.com
