Case Studies

What the technology delivers in production

A selection of real-world applications published by two of our manufacturing partners — Caracol robotic large-format printing and Eplus3D metal powder bed fusion. Every figure below comes from the partner's own case study.

At a Glance

Selected outcomes

A few of the numbers the partners report below — each one measured against the customer's previous process.

Alstom driver desk lead time: 22 wks → 5 days
JOME valve body lead time: −90%
Eplus3D racing diverter weight: −60%
Caracol Dubai staircase: World record

Robotic large-format additive manufacturing

Caracol

Heron AM composite printing and Vipra AM wire-arc metal deposition, applied to tooling, structures and end-use parts too large for a conventional printer bed.

Defence & Automotive 3D printed metal suspension and differential carrier for the NP Aerospace Mastiff, with machined mounting interfaces

Caracol · Vipra AM/ NP Aerospace / Wire-arc metal (ER100 steel)

Mastiff protected-vehicle suspension & differential carrier

CHALLENGE

NP Aerospace needed a structurally critical, load-bearing drivetrain carrier for a low-volume protected-vehicle programme. Casting or forging meant long tooling lead times and upfront costs that are hard to justify at low volumes, with little room to iterate the design.

SOLUTION

The part was printed on Caracol's Vipra XP robotic wire-arc system in ER100 steel, then heat-treated and machined. The multi-axis robot allowed extreme overhangs and organic surfaces that a fixed-axis machine could not build.

RESULTS

110 kgfully structural part ~60 hrsprint time up to −50%lead time £0hard tooling

Source: caracol-am.com

Motorsport & Tooling Representative image of a racing car on track

Caracol · Heron AM/ Duqueine Automotive / PC + 20% carbon fibre

Autoclave moulds for an LMP3 endurance racing car

CHALLENGE

Duqueine had to produce autoclave moulds and cure tools for carbon-fibre body components while keeping the agility to test and revise parts between races.

SOLUTION

Heron AM with a high-flow extruder printed the moulds in carbon-reinforced polycarbonate — each mould up to 1000×2300×2400 mm and 300 kg in a 16-hour print — supported by delivery centres near the championship venues.

RESULTS

60 mouldsin 6 months −50%lead time −50%waste −20%mould weight

Source: caracol-am.com

Railway

Train driver's cab with control desk, screens and forward view

Caracol · Heron 300/ Alstom / rPETG + 30% glass fibre

Full-scale simulator driver desks

CHALLENGE

Alstom wanted full-size simulator driver desks for validation and visualisation without machining, moulds or tooling, and without a 22-week wait.

SOLUTION

A single hollow 2100×820×500 mm desk was printed on Heron 300 in recycled glass-filled PETG, at 45° with no support structures, in a 20-hour print.

RESULTS

22 wks → 5 dayslead time 35 kgfinished desk −40%material waste >3 tCO₂ saved vs GRP

Source: caracol-am.com

Marine

Wally-style sports yacht with a dark composite hard-top superstructure

Caracol · Heron 300/ Sangiorgio Marine / ABS + CF / ASA + GF

Wally Power 64 yacht hard-top superstructure

CHALLENGE

Sangiorgio Marine set out to redesign the hard-top of the "Tenderissimo" for better performance, aesthetics and production efficiency, without losing the signature Wally lines.

SOLUTION

A 4000×2000×1700 mm structure was printed in three carbon- and glass-reinforced sections on Heron 300 with a high-accuracy extruder, removing the traditional tooling and lamination steps.

RESULTS

110 hrsprint time −70%waste −30%cost −60%lead time

Source: caracol-am.com

Oil & Gas

3D printed stainless steel sampling-valve body with a machined mounting flange

Caracol · Vipra AM/ JOME Engineering / Wire-arc metal (SS316L)

Offshore sampling-valve bodies

CHALLENGE

JOME Engineering's sampling-valve bodies were cast, taking around 60 days from mould preparation to a finished component — a supply-chain bottleneck with heavy material waste.

SOLUTION

The valve body — 220×310×220 mm, 20.5 kg — was printed near-net-shape in SS316L on Vipra AM in a 7.5-hour print, needing only minimal finish machining.

RESULTS

60 days → <48 hrslead time −90%time to part ~15 kgmetal deposited 5 barline-pressure compliant

Source: caracol-am.com

Architecture & Construction Interior of the Myata Platinum venue in Dubai with large ribbed 3D printed architectural forms and staircase

Caracol · Heron AM/ Proto21, Dubai / Glass-filled polypropylene

World's largest 3D printed architectural structure

CHALLENGE

Proto21 had to deliver an 8.6 m freeform staircase and surrounding interior architecture — caves, hollow walls, counters, planters — for a Dubai restaurant fit-out, on a fixed programme.

SOLUTION

A fleet of 158 Heron AM printers produced more than 21,700 unique glass-filled polypropylene parts, printing large angled geometries without support structures.

RESULTS

Guinness World Recordlargest by volume 1,190 m²printed surface 38 m³total volume 10+ tmaterial

Source: caracol-am.com

More Caracol applications — aerospace tooling, luxury yachts, railway mock-ups, furniture and energy piping — are collected at caracol-am.com/resources/case-studies.

Metal powder bed fusion

Eplus3D

Laser metal PBF (MPBF™) systems consolidating assemblies, cutting weight through topology optimisation and printing parts at a scale few machines can reach.

Aerospace

3D printed metal aero-engine fuel nozzle and a fuel supply manifold with fine internal channels

Eplus3D · MPBF™/ Aero-engine programme / IN718 & 316L

Fuel nozzle & fuel supply system consolidation

CHALLENGE

A conventional fuel nozzle was an 18-part assembly with a long production cycle and high cost, and the fuel supply lines needed internal channels as small as 1 mm that are hard to machine.

SOLUTION

The nozzle was redesigned as a single printed part in nickel alloy IN718 with integrated cooling channels; the fuel supply components were printed in 316L stainless steel.

RESULTS

18 → 1parts per nozzle −25%nozzle weight ~5×durability +7%combustion efficiency

Source: eplus3d.com

Aerospace & Space LEAP 71 single-piece 3D printed metal rocket thruster standing in an Eplus3D build chamber

Eplus3D · EP-M650H (1600)/ LEAP 71 / AlSi10Mg, 6×500 W lasers

World's largest single-piece 3D printed rocket thruster

CHALLENGE

LEAP 71 computationally designed a 200 kN liquid-oxygen / kerosene thruster that integrates the combustion chamber, nozzle, cooling channels, manifolds and structure into one geometry — and needed it built as a single part.

SOLUTION

The 650×650×1600 mm build volume of the EP-M650H let Eplus3D print the whole thruster in AlSi10Mg aluminium in one uninterrupted 354-hour run using six 500 W lasers.

RESULTS

200 kNthrust class >1.3 mtall, single piece 354 hrsone continuous print 1 partfully integrated

Source: eplus3d.com

Oil & Gas

Oil and gas process plant with pressure vessels and pipework

Eplus3D · MPBF™/ Pipeline maintenance / Stainless steel

On-demand pipeline repair fixtures

CHALLENGE

Bespoke pipe fixtures and clamps for pipeline repairs were CNC-milled or hand-made, taking 2–3 weeks with around 80% of the billet cut away as waste — while every day of downtime costs an operator dearly.

SOLUTION

Eplus3D metal PBF produces the fixtures to shape, in fewer steps and often without assembly, to a tolerance of ±0.1 mm — close to the point of use.

RESULTS

2–3 wks → daysfixture supply ±0.1 mmaccuracy ~80% → lowmaterial waste Shortermaintenance cycles

Source: eplus3d.com

Motorsport A set of five 3D printed aluminium suspension upright carriers for a Formula Student car

Eplus3D · EP-M260/ Delta Racing, Mannheim UAS / Ti-6Al-4V & aluminium

Formula Student suspension & steering components

CHALLENGE

The Delta Racing team needed to strip weight out of suspension and steering parts — diverters, wishbone, push-rod sockets and shims — without giving up stiffness or strength.

SOLUTION

Parts were topology-optimised with the Soft Kill Option method and printed on the EP-M260 in titanium and aluminium, putting material only where the load path needs it.

RESULTS

240 g → 91 gper diverter −60%diverter weight ~3 kgsaved across the car 99.9%part density

Source: eplus3d.com

Further Eplus3D applications across medical implants, dental, moulds and general automotive are published at eplus3d.com/3d-print-case.

These case studies are summarised from material published by Caracol and Eplus3D. Figures, part names and customer names are the manufacturers'; AM Futures reproduces them here for reference. Images, brand names and product names belong to their respective manufacturers.

Have a part or a bottleneck like one of these?

Tell us what you're trying to produce and we'll tell you whether Caracol, Eplus3D or another system in our range is the right fit — and connect you with reference applications.

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