Fused Deposition Modeling

Advanced Composite Structures (ACS) repairs components for planes and helicopters, and manufactures low-volume composite parts for the aerospace industry. A typical job might include repairing a helicopter blade or building an aircraft camera fairing. Tooling is often a big portion of a job's cost, including layup tools to create composite parts and fixtures for drilling. 

In the past, CNC machining weighed down ACS with heavy costs and lead times. The typical tool cost around $2,000 to make and required eight to 10 weeks. If the tool wasn’t perfect the first time around, the process began again.

So ACS streamlined by moving all of its tooling production to a Fortus 3D Production System, which creates durable, lightweight plastic jigs and fixtures directly from a CAD file through Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). It now takes about two days and $400 to produce a typical tool, meaning ACS trimmed one of its biggest expenses by 80 percent. Plus, reworking a component is less of a setback. 

“FDM has helped us substantially improve our competitive position,” said owner Bruce Anning.

Read the whole story of ACS’s low-volume manufacturing success.