Case Study: Andritz Ritz achieves 85% prototype cost savings and rapid patternless product development with ExOne

Streamline Product Development with Patternless Process

Andritz Ritz, a leading water pump manufacturer, needed to fast-track complex prototype and spare part production to meet tight schedules, reduce costs, and conduct functional tests on prototypes. They engaged ExOne and its digital part materialization / sand printing process to produce printed molds and cores directly from CAD, eliminating the need for pattern tooling.

ExOne printed multiple cores and shells for complete mold packages and used a hybrid approach with traditional methods to produce prototype step pump housings and impellers. The ExOne solution cut lead times dramatically (forms in 20 minutes–20 hours versus ~6 weeks for tooling), reduced per-part costs from €8,000–40,000 down to about €400–6,000 (saving more than 85%), enabled testing of different geometries for hydrodynamic performance, and delivered accurate bronze castings (±0.3 mm) for low-batch, time-sensitive projects.

Andritz Ritz