Case study

East/West Industries: 3D printed soft jaws at half the cost

Aerospace · FDM (Fortus 450mc, Nylon 12CF)

East/West Industries, founded in 1968, designs and makes aircraft seats and products that save aircrew lives. It serves OEMs such as Boeing, Lockheed and Sikorsky.

The challenge

Soft jaws hold complex parts during machining. Milling them is slow and labor-intensive. CNC machining is faster, but it takes capacity away from revenue-generating work.

The solution

East/West prints soft jaws on a Fortus 450mc in FDM Nylon 12CF. Printing is virtually labor-free, complex shapes are easy and the carbon-fiber material gives a non-marring holding surface.

The results

50% lower cost per soft-jaw application
Soft jaws ready two days sooner
Product readiness up to two weeks faster across a life-saving system

Application: Soft jaws for CNC

Print soft jaws in Nylon 12CF instead of machining them, and keep the CNC for revenue-generating work.

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.