In order to improve production efficiency, worker comfort, ease of use and process repeatability, FDM is used to strengthen the ergonomic design of handheld assembly equipment. The design freedom of FDM allows engineers to make configurations with greatly improved operability, weight and balance. Schmid said, "our tool design is usually not comparable to machined parts and molded parts." For example, BMW adopts sparse filling technology, which reduces the weight of the equipment by 72%. By replacing the solid with the inner reinforcement, the weight of the equipment is reduced by 1.3 kg (2.9 lbs). "Although it doesn't look like a lot, it will be very different when workers use tools hundreds of times per shift." Schmid said so.

Another advantage of direct digital manufacturing is function improvement. Since the additive process can easily produce extended flowing organic shapes, tool designers can greatly improve the performance and grip characteristics at the same time. "The layered FDM manufacturing process is very suitable for the production of tools with complex structures. For this kind of tools, if the traditional metal cutting process is used, it is not only very difficult, but also very expensive." Eidenschink said. For example, a tool for installing a buffer support is characterized by a curved tube bent around an obstacle, which can accurately place the fixture magnet where it is needed.

The fixture and fixture Department has developed a simple flow chart to determine when to adopt FDM. Standards are based on temperature, chemical exposure, accuracy, and mechanical loading. When STRATASYS ABS materials are used, many vehicle assembly tools can meet the above standards,

Because engineers found that its performance was comparable to that of polyamide material (PA 6). For tools that meet the standards, designers can create equipment that takes advantage of all the advantages of additive technology.

Evstech and eidenschink believe that if rapid prototyping technology is not used in product development, no enterprise can afford it. But they still see many possibilities. "As an alternative manufacturing method for a few parts, FDM is becoming more and more popular

Important. " Evstech said.