Case study

Boom Supersonic: more than 700 printed drill guides for the XB-1

Aerospace · FDM (Fortus 450mc, F900; Nylon 12CF, ULTEM 9085 resin)

Boom Supersonic builds the XB-1 demonstrator aircraft. Joining its parts requires many holes in the airframe structure.

The challenge

Drilling each hole one by one takes a lot of time. Power-feed drilling also needs fixtures to support the tool and set the angle. Metal drill guides would have been costly and slow to make.

The solution

Boom printed multi-hole drill guides on the Fortus 450mc and F900 in FDM Nylon 12CF and ULTEM 9085 resin. These stiff thermoplastics support the power-feed drills and locate holes accurately, also through a CFRP and titanium stack-up.

The results

About $3,700 saved in material for one typical guide
92% cost saving versus machining
Lead time from weeks to days (1 week on average)
More than 700 drill blocks printed for the XB-1

Application: Drill guides

Printed drill guides keep the accuracy of machined guides, without the cost and lead time. Metal bushings can be pressed in.

More about jigs & fixtures

Source: Stratasys Application Guide and Stratasys case material. Photo: Stratasys.

Want to explore this application?

SEIDO Systems is Stratasys Platinum Partner across Benelux, France and the Nordics. Contact us for advice, a demo or a test print.