H. Gautzsch - The future for distribution companies based on special Lab

Customer: Peter Benthues, H. Gautzsch Firmengruppe
Country: Germany
Industry: Electronics, Consumer Products, Industrial Products
Application: Research, End-Use Parts
Uses: Replacement Parts Exposed to Electricity
Top reasons: Low System Cost, Material Variety, Reactivity

Background

German distribution giant, H. Gautzsch Firmengruppe has two primary businesses - distributing electrical com-ponents for industry professionals, and marketing their own home and garden product range, Siena Garden. They have over 1000 employees and are market leaders in both businesses.

Problem

The future of international manufacturing and supply chains is facing some uncertainty driven by the flexibility of AM. Products are no longer only feasible in batches  ofa thousand parts and production plants can shrink  to the size of a kitchen. AM enables companies to return their production to local suppliers and even in-house  AM hubs. This next evolution in manufacturing will disrupt the way products are distributed.
Large distributors like Gautzsch will be the first  
to experience the disruption in manufacturing methods due to additive manufacture on a large scale.
Can the innovators at Gautzsch use Additive manufac-turing to excel with new capabilities?  
Peter Benthues described how their in-house AM Lab  is exploring the latest AM trends. 

Solution

Equipment used: Sinterit Lisa 3D Printer, Powder Sieve
Material used: PA12

Gautzsch launched an in-house AM lab to investigate the potential of AM and how it may influence the future of distribution.
They decided to add an SLS printer from Sinterit to broaden the scope of their investigation into more advanced polymers.

“The Lisa is one of the few economically feasible solutions in the first stages of any AM Strategy. At lower volumes, it is a perfect solution.”

Because of the part size, they decided to use the Lisa PRO and manufacture the part in-house as outsourcing costs were estimated at $2.28 per sleeve in quantities of 1000. Although they do not have an exact cost, they estimated that they are saving almost 50% per sleeve  and have the option to modify the design (which they have done twice) since October. 
The Lisa PRO provided the accuracy we required, over  an FDM, as the thinnest wall measurement at the corners was 0.6mm. The workflow allowed us to print three  
to four designs overnight, fill them with epoxy, and test for results the same day.

“For a company at the beginning of an investigation, support from, and discussion with
the technology experts is extremely beneficial.”