The sector driving 3D printing: frames, housings and structural components for UAVs where every gram counts. MJF and FDM produce lightweight, repeatable parts in series production, with no tooling required.
Drone frame
MJF
Professional drone manufacturer
Lightweighted UAV frame in PA12
THE CHALLENGE
A frame lighter than aluminium milling is needed, maintaining stiffness and with no mould costs.
THE SOLUTION
Redesign for MJF with internal honeycomb structures, in PA12. A run of 800 parts in a single batch.
-38%
weight vs. aluminium
800
parts / batch
7 days
delivery
Air duct
FDM
Aerospace startup
Air ducts in engineering polymer
THE CHALLENGE
Ducts with complex geometry resistant to temperature, in a small repeatable run.
THE SOLUTION
FDM printing in ULTEM for thermal stability, with dimensional inspection on every part.
ULTEM
material
150
parts / year
±0,6 mm
tolerance
UAV Airframe
Case study courtesy of HP Inc.
Conservation Drone Manufacturer
Anti-poaching UAV airframe in PA 12
THE CHALLENGE
A rugged, lightweight airframe was needed to survive extreme conditions, from arctic chill to desert heat, while giving rangers real-time aerial intelligence.
THE SOLUTION
A modular airframe redesigned for MJF with internal lattice structures in PA 12, field-repairable and quick to iterate without tooling.
12–14 mo
faster to market
$60–80K
tooling saved
15 min
vs 1 week, snare detection
Delivery Drone
Case study courtesy of HP Inc.
Last-Mile Delivery Drone Startup
Cargo UAV fuselage in PA 12 & TPU
THE CHALLENGE
Carbon fiber layup left visible layering unfit for a high-quality aircraft, while SLA parts were too brittle and SLS parts too heavy for UAV limits.
THE SOLUTION
Switched to HP MJF with PA 12 and ESTANE TPU for 48 printed parts per aircraft, from fuselage panels to landing gear and battery cases.
-25%
fuselage mass
48
MJF parts / aircraft
5 min
shell & fill time
Drone Frame
Case study courtesy of HP Inc.
AS9100 CONTRACT MANUFACTURER
Drone frames in PA 11, PA 12 & TPU
THE CHALLENGE
High tooling costs and the design limits of injection molding restricted NECO's ability to iterate quickly on complex drone geometries.
THE SOLUTION
Adopted HP MJF with an Autodesk Fusion CAD-to-print workflow, building lattice structures and venting directly into drone fairings.
1M+
parts printed
AS9100
certified quality
$0
tooling required
Gap Seal
Case study courtesy of HP Inc.
AMATEUR-BUILT AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURER
Aerodynamic gap seals in TPU01
THE CHALLENGE
Foam and rubber gap seals were labor-intensive to make and could shift mid-flight, creating aerodynamic "steps" that hurt performance.
THE SOLUTION
3D printed custom-fit lead edge, cowl and control-surface seals in flexible BASF Ultrasint TPU01, precisely filling every gap.
7,000+
kit aircraft shipped
110 kt
cruise speed
~40 yrs
in business
Healthcare & medical
Precision and traceability.
Devices and components to tight tolerances, with suitable materials and documented dimensional control. The repeatability of MJF ensures consistent batches even at high numbers.
Medical housing
MJF
Medical device company
Housings for instrumentation
THE CHALLENGE
Moving from injection moulding to flexible production, without high minimum order quantities.
THE SOLUTION
On-demand MJF production in PA11, delivered under our ISO 9001:2015-certified quality management system and ISO 14001:2015-certified environmental management system, with a quality control report accompanying every batch.
2,500
parts / year
100%
dimensional inspection
ISO 9001
certification
SAMPLE RACK
MJF
CLINICAL CHEMISTRY ANALYSER MANUFACTURER
Sample racks for clinical chemistry analysers
THE CHALLENGE
Equip a fleet of analysers capable of processing up to 300 tests per hour with racks that are fully interchangeable across instrument generations, without tying up capital in a mould.
THE SOLUTION
MJF production using PA12, with dimensional quality control on every batch to ensure compatibility across all analyser generations. Optimised part nesting keeps unit costs low at scale.
60,000
parts / year
5 days
lead time
PA12
material
Industrial
Spare parts and tooling, on demand.
Tooling, jigs and spare parts in low and high runs, produced when needed. Less stock, less machine downtime, a single supplier from design to shipping.
Production jig
FDM
Industrial machinery manufacturer
Line jigs and tooling
THE CHALLENGE
Replacing aluminium tooling that's slow and costly to make for every new line.
THE SOLUTION
FDM engineering-polymer jigs, produced in 48–72 hours and iterated with every project revision.
-65%
tooling cost
72 h
lead time
30+
jigs / year
Spare part
MJF
AUTOMATION COMPANY
Discontinued spare parts
The challenge
Restoring spare parts no longer available in the catalogue, in variable quantities.
THE SOLUTION
Digitisation and on-demand MJF production: a virtual warehouse, no minimum order.
0
minimum order
10k+
parts / day
5–6 days
delivery
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