Case Study: The Denby Pottery Co. Ltd. achieves hours-long prototyping and halved time-to-market with 3D Systems

Denby Pottery Extracts Unanticipated Benefits from Full Color 3D Printing

The Denby Pottery Company, a 200-year‑old UK maker of stoneware, china and porcelain, faced slow, imprecise prototype development: designers relied on hand‑carved plaster models that could take up to four weeks (and production prototypes up to six weeks), making it hard to communicate designs, test customer reactions, and move quickly to market.

Denby brought 3D printing in‑house (initially a ZPrinter 310, later a Spectrum Z510), which cut concept prototyping from four weeks to about two hours and production prototype time from six to two weeks. The change accelerated problem detection by roughly four weeks, halved product launch cycles (four years to two), reduced prototyping costs versus service bureaus, improved focus‑group feedback and supplier communication, and boosted the brand by showcasing advanced technology.

Denby Pottery Co. Ltd.

Gary Hawley

Designer