End-Use Parts

3D printing is often used for final or low-volume production parts, especially complex or customized
components. For instance, ION Mobility (a drone maker) prints about 80% of its drone parts on a Formlabs Fuse 1+ SLS system using glass-filled nylon (Nylon 12 GF). The result is lightweight, rugged drone airframes and housings with excellent heat resistance. In-house SLS printing cut ION’s development costs by 60% and sped prototyping by 70% – turning weeks-long lead times into hours and enabling on-demand manufacturing of parts that were “previously too complex or expensive to manufacture”. Formlabs Surface Armor finishing also produces professional-quality surfaces straight off the printer.

On the polymer side, Formlabs SLA printers build end-use parts with tough, durable resins. PSYONIC’s prosthetic hand, for example, uses long-lasting Formlabs Tough 1500 parts. Engineers print at 25 μm resolution so that components fit precisely in the mechanism – as one designer explained, any variation “could cause … misalignment, so they need to be made as precisely as possible”.

On the metal side, Markforged users also print real production parts. Cutting-tool maker Guhring UK now 3D-prints metal cutter bodies on the Markforged Metal X (using H13 tool steel). The 3D-printed cutters are 60% lighter than conventional ones and were prototyped in Onyx nylon first. Likewise, automation supplier Festo printed over 200 custom parts (sensor mounts, clamps, handles, etc.) on Markforged printers for use in their factory. The net effect is lighter, custom parts made cheaply in-house – for Guhring this meant faster tool changes and reduced cycle times, and for Festo this meant tens of thousands in savings on maintenance parts. Overall, 3D printing lets manufacturers produce strong, precise end-use parts in nylon or steel that would be too costly or slow to make otherwise.