Case Study: Waupaca Foundry achieves rapid, tooling-free core production and improved casting quality with ExOne S-Max Pro

Looking Ahead to the Next 150 Years with 3D Printing

Waupaca Foundry, a long-established iron caster founded in 1871 and producing more than 1.4 million tons annually, faced challenges around long lead times, tooling costs, quality issues and supply‑chain instability for complex cores. To modernize and bring capability in‑house, Waupaca installed an ExOne S‑Max Pro binder‑jet sand 3D printer at Plant 1 in 2022 to automate core production and enable rapid, toolless prototyping.

Using ExOne’s S‑Max Pro, Waupaca now prints complex, single‑piece core assemblies and digital molds, cutting tooling costs and accelerating development. Results include a 20% project cost saving by eliminating tooling on a tractor steering‑column job, 3D printed cores delivered in eight days (saving 2–3 weeks), faster sample turnarounds (same‑day vs. weeks), reduced scrap and elimination of recurring downtime on a compressor housing—allowing profitable low‑volume runs and easier design iteration thanks to ExOne’s sand 3D printing.

Waupaca Foundry

Nick Bonikowske

Sample and Process Analyst